In a stunning grab for power, hours before President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address, Congresswoman and former president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, known as GMA, ousted Pantaleon Alvarez to become the Speaker of the House.
One of the most controversial public figures of the Philippines (and that is saying a lot!) GMA has been accused of plunder, electoral fraud, and human rights abuses.
We often say that Filipinos are too forgiving, or quick to forget. Maybe we are, but maybe it is also that our leaders betray us, and we have few avenues to hold them accountable. Too often, our politicians and legal systems are not impartial and do not uphold the very laws that they are meant to protect.
Some examples: After fleeing the Philippines the Marcoses were persona-non-grata due to the billions they stole. Imelda was allowed to return to face charges of graft and tax evasion. It was our judiciary system and courts that let her off despite overwhelming evidence of their family’s theft. President Ramos then allowed the body of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos back into the country. And Duterte then allowed Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in Libingan ng mga Bayani, despite the People Power movement and the fact that Marcos was ousted and hardly a hero. Again, despite evidence of corruption, the Supreme Court dropped the plunder charges against GMA. Now our congressmen and women have voted for her as Speaker of the House.
Aside from my shock at her rise to such a powerful position again, I’m very concerned for reproductive health. GMA is extremely conservative and reproductive rights and health languished under her presidency. Because of her push for only natural family planning methods and abstinence only education in schools, during her terms, the number of teen pregnancies and maternal deaths in the Philippines skyrocketed. In fact, the Philippines had signed on to the Millenium Development Goals, pledging to reduce our maternal deaths to 52 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2008 the maternal mortality rate (MMR) was 162 deaths per 100,000 live births. Instead of going down to the target of 52 deaths, our MMR shot up to 221. This was absolutely linked to her anti RH policies.
Because of her conservatism, we can also expect that GMA will try to block some of the more liberal laws that Congress has been discussing, including a divorce law, LGBT rights, and same-sex marriage.
We must be vigilant and guard the reproductive health progress of the last few years. We’ve had an RH Law for nearly six years. Its constitutionality has been defended and confirmed. President Duterte has called for its full implementation. The Department of Health just released guidelines last week for the Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum. We must stay on course and continue to move forward. We must not let GMA undo the important progress we’ve made. The health of our young people and of our country depends on it.