Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Fierce debate over Philippine Contraception bill
Fierce debate over Philippine contraception bill
In one of Manila's sprawling slums, Clarita is busy making lunch for her family.
She has 10 children and making sure they do not go hungry is a daily struggle.
Down a narrow alleyway another desperately poor woman has eight children. Another woman just round the corner has nine.
It is hardly surprising then that the Philippines has the highest birth rate in South East Asia. In 1990 there were 60 million Filipinos. Now there are more than 95 million.
Like her neighbours and more than 80% of the population, Clarita is a Catholic.
She regularly attends church and has a picture of Jesus Christ and a bible verse taped on to the wall of the one small room in which the family live.
But recently she has begun to think that, on one matter at least, the Church is wrong.
"I used to believe in the Church's teachings about having lots of children," she says.
"But now I really think we should have family planning."
'Happily out of step'
In theory, it is easy to get contraception in the Philippines. You can buy the female pill over the counter at any pharmacy and virtually every corner shop sells condoms.
But for someone like Clarita, these options are far too expensive. A packet of condoms would cost her almost as much as her weekly food bill.
Bishop Teodoro Bacani says the government should not be promoting family planning
That is why the government has put forward a reproductive health bill that includes a provision to give out free contraception and family planning advice to couples that want it.
But the bill is facing fierce opposition from the Church.
"It's not the business of government to be promoting contraceptive devices," says Bishop Teodoro Bacani.
"It's like the government saying it will pass a law which will fund the promotion of pork-eating among the Muslims. Can you imagine what an uproar there would be among the Muslim population?"
While many Catholic countries are debating whether to allow abortion, that issue is not under discussion here. Everyone in this debate knows that a bill to legalise abortion would have little support.
This is purely about contraception, which according to many senior bishops is almost as bad as abortion anyway, because anything that prevents a sperm meeting an egg prevents a potential birth.
Bishop Bacani said he realised the Philippines was out of step with the rest of the world, saying: "We are… and happily so."
This is not a belief that is confined to the clergy. Many senior members of society - politicians, media commentators, businessmen - are openly siding with the bishops.
And every Sunday, churches are packed with people listening to the message from the pulpit - and frequently that message involves the reproductive health bill.
'Refuse to hear'
But supporters of the bill say you only need to go into a government-run hospital to see why the country simply cannot cope with so many births.
In the Jose Fabella Hospital, near Manila's seafront, there can sometimes be more than 200 women and their babies in a ward - and often two or even three women have to share a bed.
Maternity wards at the Jose Fabella Hospital are full of new mothers
"Mothers just lie down alternately - one will sit, the other will lie down," says Christina, one of only three nurses on the ward.
It is understandable why, in October, the United Nations chose the hospital as one of several locations around the world to mark the birth of the seven billionth baby.
This is not an issue which has caught Philippine politicians unaware. The bill currently being debated in Congress is the fourth family planning proposal that has has been put forward.
The other three times, the Church and its political allies managed to block the plans from ever becoming law.
But supporters of the bill hope that, this time, the situation will be different.
In the past, the sitting president was either against contraception or tried to abstain from such a controversial debate. But President Benigno Aquino is one of the main backers of the current bill.
Speaking of his own Catholic faith, Mr Aquino said: "We're taught that when you come before the Almighty, you will be asked: 'What have you done to the least of your brethren?'
"I cannot in good conscience say we saw the problem and we refused to see it, we refused to talk about it, we refused to hear it. That would be criminal, against the oath that I subscribe to. That would be against the teachings of the Church I belong to."
Mother-of-10 Clarita says she thinks contraception is needed in the Philippines
It is a risky strategy for the president to take. He insists he does not want an argument with the Church, but he looks set to have one all the same. The bishops have vowed to fight the bill to the bitter end.
And they have an important, if slightly unexpected, ally in the champion boxer-turned-congressman Manny Pacquiao, who says contraception is against God's will and that it will not get people out of poverty - only stamping out corruption can do that.
His argument may have been undermined somewhat by his wife Jinkee's admission that she has been taking birth-control pills, but it is impossible to understate Manny Pacquiao's influence in the Philippines.
He is without a doubt the most famous person in the country - his face shines down from many of Manila's advertising hoardings, and some of his fans treat him like a demigod.
So the reproductive health bill is now dividing Church and state, and pitting the president against the most popular person in the country.
As every nuance is debated in parliament, Philippine Catholics know that somehow, they need to find a way to reconcile their faith with the reality of life for the country's poor.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
FREE No Needle/ No Scalpel Vasectomy Mission
in Cebu City Philippines, conducted by NSV International Inc. (NSVI)
NSVI 2012 Mission Team
Foreign surgeons/vasectomists joined the Filipino doctors in providing modern & hi-tech vasectomy to *Filipino men who wish not to have additional children anymore due to economic, health and other reasons.
Out of 300 men who showed interest for No Needle/No Scalpel Vasectomy, 261 have availed of the FREE services last Feb 1-3,6-7, 2012 @ SWU Sacred Heart Hospital, Cebu City, Phils. The rest were screened out/ counselled ... either too young, too old, only one child or hypertensive and other reasons.
When a man comes and showed interest for the modern/hi-tech vasectomy mission, it is not automatic, they will still have to undergo the Pre-Operation procedure - NSV Orientation/Education, Counseling, Information taking, including Vital signs, Medical History, etc.
We want them to have full knowledge of the procedure and whatever questions they have, will be properly addressed and they have DECIDED it on their own, not forced or coerced by somebody.
NSVI is planning to conduct another mission about the same time next year. We are willing to partner with local or international organizations whose clients are the poor families, and to any Media Network who is willing to help Inform/Educate/Communicate to the poor families who don't intend to have additional children anymore, and or concern with Poverty and the ever growing/over Population in the country.
For GOS/NGOs/LGUs/POs and other organization who wants NSV Orientation/Education to their clients/groups, you may contact Social Worker Frohnie D. Cagalitan of Pro Quality Life Training & Dev't. Inc. (Q-Life) Tel 4166084 / 09275719399.
For those who cannot wait for the next NSV mission, or request for NSV fliers, you may contact the RH Nurse Myrna H. Danuco @Sacred Heart Hospital - Tel 4188980 / 0922 8230 298
MS. FROHNIE D. CAGALITAN, RSW
Pro Quality Life Training & Dev't. Inc. (Q-Life)
e-add: proqualitylife@gmail.com
* there were foreign nationals who came in, w/c we cannot also discriminate ( just like the previous missions...)
...after instructing the nursing studs on how to screen clients
the pre-op area
NSV orientation conducted to the prospective NSV clients
Testimony by Engr. Bob Kiamco (NSVI Founder) who had vasectomy many years ago
you may also visit the links/website below:
you may "Like" us on FB and be updated,comments and suggestions will be greatly welcome esp. on
how many poor families can benefit of the services, esp. on the NSV Orientation/Education
http://www.nsvi.org/ - the website of No Scalpel Vasectomy International Inc.
http://www.vasweb.com/ - for detailed information about NSV, etc. from Dr. Stein's website including the
NSV Missions conducted in the Philippines , Haiti, Kenya
To the National & Local Officials, read this pls ! ....
LCP LATEST NEWS
Dispelling Myths, Advocating Truths: Men’s Role in Reproductive Health**Rey T. Uy*
2012-02-01
Reproductive health is a civil right. In a man’s point of view, it is not only a right but a huge responsibility to bear. It is in this premise that the state should take a serious stance on the issue of reproductive health. The growing nexus between a ballooning population and the dismal state of poverty in the Philippines should alarm us all - from government officials down to the ordinary folks. The waves of friendly and sometimes fiery debate between two opposing sides should not really be a force to divide us, rather it should help us dispel myths and advocate the truth.
The Reproductive Health Bill had been a very serious topic of national debate. It is just high time that we elevate the level of our intellectual discourse and come face-to-face with the issues at hand.
We can never get out from the picture of the looming state of poverty in the country. This is probably best explained by the growing number of our population and our inability to get the majority of them, most especially men, to be employed to support their respective families.
One of the current thrusts of my administration is to elevate the state of living of my constituents and to break the bonds of poverty—like many of our local chief executives’ dream for their people. To realize this, we took a bold step to materialize our aspirations.
In the City of Tagum, I am very proud to share that we have bannered a local reproductive health program that sets the balance between men’s and women’s right to a better reproductive health they rightfully deserve. We have been able to accommodate the desire of numerous men to submit themselves to a no-scalpel vasectomy for free, courtesy of the local government and the Marie Stopes Foundation, a civic society organization that supports this cause.
This has magnified the local government-CSO participation in championing this advocacy. It complements the free tubal ligation procedure offered to the women in our city who believed they had enough children. This is anchored on the premise that our actions should be proactive rather than reactive. By doing this program, we do not only grant their right to a better reproductive health but we are also doing our city, this country and this world a great favor.
The result of this program had been monumental. Our city was not included among the recipients of the current government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Conditional Cash Transfer) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The DSWD cited our low poverty incidence rate at 15.42%, as stipulated in the department’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction Program. The national poverty incidence rate is estimated around 27%.
This is another significant breakthrough for our city - thanks in part to our local reproductive health program. The substantial connection between reproductive health and poverty reduction is indeed very evident.
So what makes it successful by then? Two words: Political Will.
An approach that focuses on men as clients deals with the great need to provide men of their reproductive health services. But still many were not sold out to the idea of vasectomy, in our city’s case. The challenge is how do we make reproductive health services be palatable to men?
The answer is simple: we should emphasize men’s important role in ensuring wellness for themselves, their wives and their respective families. The government should be consistent and true in pioneering reproductive health services that focus on men. The interventions that involve men as agents of positive change, however, are relatively few. The state should increase men’s informed choices, their possibilities for learning and development, and the survival and well-being of family members.
The issue of reproductive health is a very sensitive issue, especially to the Roman Catholic Church. While many of the men in the pulpits would oppose the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into a national law citing that the state cannot legislate morality, it is but right for the government to not be bullied by the church.
First, this bill seeks to uphold people’s right to reproductive health which will contribute to solve our problem on poverty—a thing that has not been either solved by the church. There is still a big room though to settle down things and build a consensus but both parties cannot deny that poverty is rising and time is ticking.
The shape of our future will depend heavily on the decisions we make and the action we are taking today. The time is now for us to be serious and get real.
Men, along with women, must work hand-in-hand to curse poverty through the implementation of a best reproductive health program. But I would like to put emphasis that above all parties involved, it should be the men who should take the first step towards the realization of this goal. That way, we will be able to ensure a better future for our children’s children and for the future generations.
* Hon. Rey Uy is the City Mayor of Tagum, Davao Del Norte, who is also the LCP’s Regional Representative for Region IX. For more information, contact Office of the City Mayor at (084) 217-3688 or (084) 218-1957.
** This article is first published in the Population Chronicle. Men and Reproductive Health, an LCP publication for the ongoing United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-supported Reproductive Health and Commodity Security Project. The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of LCP and UNFPA.
2012-02-01
Reproductive health is a civil right. In a man’s point of view, it is not only a right but a huge responsibility to bear. It is in this premise that the state should take a serious stance on the issue of reproductive health. The growing nexus between a ballooning population and the dismal state of poverty in the Philippines should alarm us all - from government officials down to the ordinary folks. The waves of friendly and sometimes fiery debate between two opposing sides should not really be a force to divide us, rather it should help us dispel myths and advocate the truth.The Reproductive Health Bill had been a very serious topic of national debate. It is just high time that we elevate the level of our intellectual discourse and come face-to-face with the issues at hand.
We can never get out from the picture of the looming state of poverty in the country. This is probably best explained by the growing number of our population and our inability to get the majority of them, most especially men, to be employed to support their respective families.
One of the current thrusts of my administration is to elevate the state of living of my constituents and to break the bonds of poverty—like many of our local chief executives’ dream for their people. To realize this, we took a bold step to materialize our aspirations.
In the City of Tagum, I am very proud to share that we have bannered a local reproductive health program that sets the balance between men’s and women’s right to a better reproductive health they rightfully deserve. We have been able to accommodate the desire of numerous men to submit themselves to a no-scalpel vasectomy for free, courtesy of the local government and the Marie Stopes Foundation, a civic society organization that supports this cause.This has magnified the local government-CSO participation in championing this advocacy. It complements the free tubal ligation procedure offered to the women in our city who believed they had enough children. This is anchored on the premise that our actions should be proactive rather than reactive. By doing this program, we do not only grant their right to a better reproductive health but we are also doing our city, this country and this world a great favor.
The result of this program had been monumental. Our city was not included among the recipients of the current government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Conditional Cash Transfer) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The DSWD cited our low poverty incidence rate at 15.42%, as stipulated in the department’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction Program. The national poverty incidence rate is estimated around 27%.
This is another significant breakthrough for our city - thanks in part to our local reproductive health program. The substantial connection between reproductive health and poverty reduction is indeed very evident.
So what makes it successful by then? Two words: Political Will.An approach that focuses on men as clients deals with the great need to provide men of their reproductive health services. But still many were not sold out to the idea of vasectomy, in our city’s case. The challenge is how do we make reproductive health services be palatable to men?
The answer is simple: we should emphasize men’s important role in ensuring wellness for themselves, their wives and their respective families. The government should be consistent and true in pioneering reproductive health services that focus on men. The interventions that involve men as agents of positive change, however, are relatively few. The state should increase men’s informed choices, their possibilities for learning and development, and the survival and well-being of family members.
The issue of reproductive health is a very sensitive issue, especially to the Roman Catholic Church. While many of the men in the pulpits would oppose the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into a national law citing that the state cannot legislate morality, it is but right for the government to not be bullied by the church.
First, this bill seeks to uphold people’s right to reproductive health which will contribute to solve our problem on poverty—a thing that has not been either solved by the church. There is still a big room though to settle down things and build a consensus but both parties cannot deny that poverty is rising and time is ticking.The shape of our future will depend heavily on the decisions we make and the action we are taking today. The time is now for us to be serious and get real.
Men, along with women, must work hand-in-hand to curse poverty through the implementation of a best reproductive health program. But I would like to put emphasis that above all parties involved, it should be the men who should take the first step towards the realization of this goal. That way, we will be able to ensure a better future for our children’s children and for the future generations.
* Hon. Rey Uy is the City Mayor of Tagum, Davao Del Norte, who is also the LCP’s Regional Representative for Region IX. For more information, contact Office of the City Mayor at (084) 217-3688 or (084) 218-1957.
** This article is first published in the Population Chronicle. Men and Reproductive Health, an LCP publication for the ongoing United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-supported Reproductive Health and Commodity Security Project. The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of LCP and UNFPA.
* NSV International Inc. has been conducting the modern/ hi-tech "No Needle/No Scalpel" Vasectomy in the Phils...
for more info, pls. contact: proqualitylife@gmail.com or visit the links below:
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
NSVI "No Needle/No Scalpel" Vasectomy Mission in Cebu & Manila
FREE No-Needle NSV Mission in Cebu & Manila
NSV International Inc. (NSVI) will be back again to conduct “No Needle/No Scalpel” Vasectomy Mission in Cebu on Feb. 1-3, 2012 @SWU Sacred Heart Hospital and Feb 6 @ the Manila Adventist Medical Center.
No-Needle NSV is a modern, hi-tech vasectomy, which is a Safe, Simple & Quick (15 min. or less) no incision, no suture, just Band-aid! and lately No Needle! anaesthesia, almost always Painless!
This is a good Option and a great Opportunity for those who don’t want any more additional children! After NSV there is NO CHANGE in sex drive, in climax sensation, in the testes/scrotum, in erection or strength. This can even improve sexual relationship of the couples since there is so no more worries for unwanted pregnancies.
NSV Orientation/Education has been conducted for months already and during the mission. NSV is voluntary and intended only for those who are interested.
Many have already underwent NSV, i.e. workers, drivers, laborers, etc. The Fil-Am NSVI Founders themselves (and their families/relatives) have had their vasectomy many years ago, are satisfied, hence their strong advocacy for NSV esp. to the low income families with several children. NSVI started conducting NSV Missions in the Phils. in 2001 and the No Needle NSV in 2009, the 1st in the country.
Engr. Bob Kiamco is the Head of Missions and among the Team of Surgeons are US Urologists & NSVI Founder/President, Dr. Ramon U. Suarez, & Dr. Douglas G. Stein with local NSVI certified surgeons. Dr. Stein is one of America’s top Doctors, (from Florida)is affiliated with 4 star hospitals and 4 star medical schools, vasectomy service provider for 31 of Florida's 67 County Health Dept. and has been invited in several countries related to NSV. Dr. Stein has performed over 26,000 vasectomies, as of Oct 2011, ( www.vasweb.com) pls. visit also www.nsvi.org.
For NSV Facts Sheets, NSV Orientation, Pre-Registration and other information pls. contact the undersigned or Ms. Myrna Danuco, SWU Sacred Heart Hospital, Urgello St. Cebu City, Tel 4188980 /09228230298 or in Manila pls. contact Dr. Bibly Macaya Tel 5259191 or email: biblymacaya@gmail.com
Ms.FROHNIE D. CAGALITAN, RSW
Pro QUALITY LIFE Trng. & Devt. Inc
e-add: proqualitylife@gmail.com
Tel (032) 4166084 / 09275719399
 |
| Feb 2011 "No Needle / No Scalpel Vasectomy" Mission @ SWU Sacred Heart Hospital, Urgello St. Cebu City, Phils. |
“Poverty can be reduced, if GOs/LGUs/NGOs and concerned citizens, will help Educate
our POOR families to Responsibly PLAN their family. Options & Opportunities
must be provided, for them to be Less Reproductive (and Economically Productive).
Pro QUALITY LIFE Training & Devt. Inc
Sunday, December 25, 2011
NSVI conducted 2nd No Needle NSV in Haiti
Sharing to you the 2nd NSVI Mission in Haiti. Early next year NSVI President- Dr. Ramon Suarez, Development Director Dr. Douglas Stein and several doctors/vasectomists will be here in the Phils. 1st week of February to conduct No Needle NSV Mission. For details pls. contact: proqualitylife@gmail.com
http://www.nsvi.org/where-we-work/haiti/haiti-2011/
http://www.nsvi.org/where-we-work/haiti/haiti-2011/
Second NSVI Mission to Haiti – May/June 2010
A summary of the second NSVI vasectomy mission to Haiti was compiled by NSVI Development Director Dr. Doug Stein before he was comfortable with the use of WordPress, the software used to compile this NSVI website. So rather than repeat it all here, we ask that you click the link below, which will open another window.
Second NSVI Mission to Haiti – May/June 2011
NSVI President Dr. Ramon Suarez performs a vasectomy as Dr. Fritz Lolagne puts the patient at ease in Creole.
Dr. Stein operating until well after dark, while Dr. Lolagne learns that the patient has eight children and his assistant Lisette stands ready to assist with post-op instructions. In Plaisance there is no public electricity and no running water, but we had plenty of batteries for headlights, sterilizing solution, and bottled water.
Don’t forget to click the link above for the whole story.
Third NSVI Mission to Haiti – October 2011
Inspired by the success of the mission to Plaisance and the willingness of Pastor Myrtil to lead another, NSVI made plans to return directly to Plaisance in October. Pastor was scheduled to be in Pilate and Plaisance in October to work on his other mission, the Duvivier Project, with supporters from a church in Indiana. Drs. Stein and Suarez would return to Plaisance after he had been in Haiti for enough time to set up a location and spread the word that free vasectomies would be offered October 10 & 11. They would save transport time by taking IBC Airways nonstop from Ft. Lauderdale to Cap Haitien, where Pastor Myrtil would pick them up for the two-hour drive to Plaisance. Orlando Pediatrician Dr. Ted Kaplan (who introduced Drs. Stein and Lolagne to each other) offered the assistance of his organization, the Cap Haitien Health Network. In fact, his Haitian-American wife Elizabeth would accompany Drs. Stein and Suarez on their flight from Florida to Cap Haitien. Dr. Lolagne and his surgical assistant Lisette offered to drive Elizabeth and any other CHHN staff from the airport to Plaisance. And thus began the Third NSVI Mission to Haiti.
During this second mission in Plaisance, the NSVI Team performed 44 vasectomies, up from the 32 performed in Plaisance during the mission of May 2011. We have every reason to believe that the numbers performed during future missions will continue to rise as the men and women of Plaisance enjoy the freedom to nurture the children that they already have without concern for unwanted pregnancy and the burden of too many children.
Without the dedication and assistance of the Haitians and Haitian Americans who share our vision, these missions would not be possible and the families of Plaisance would not have the option of quality dependable male-oriented contraception.
We cannot continue without donor assistance. The Board Members of NSVI have given thousands of personal dollars to support the missions of NSVI. Ourvolunteers in the Philippines in Haiti are paid to barely cover expenses, but it hardly covers their time. Only a love of their homelands and a deep-seated belief that their services will enhance the lives of their countrymen inspires them to help year after year. Even if the Board had unlimited personal funds, the IRS requires that 501(C)(3) corporations demonstrate that substantial support comes from outside the organization. A donation to NSVI is support for children, who can claim more of their parents’ emotional and financial support if they do not have to compete with numerous siblings. A donation to NSVI is a donation to the environment and wildlife, elements of which can be saved only if we can control the human population, a population which will inevitably take back what has been set aside for wildlife as a matter of their own survival. Please help us to continue our mission. In doing so, you’ll make it your own!
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