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Women Rights

Why I support the Reproductive Health Bill

“Doesn’t every woman deserve the right to have a safe pregnancy and a baby that’s born healthy? I believe this is a very basic human right.”
Katya Matanovic

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RH advocates at the House of Representatives with Congressman Edcel Lagman. In the photo are Carlos Celdran, Red Tani, Beth Angsioco, Joy Virata, Adrienne Vergara, my daughter and other RH advocates. Photo by Adrienne Vergara.

Lauren and I participated in wednesday’s pro-RH rally. Both my daughters are RH advocates too. We were at the rally to make sure there were no delays at the Committee on Appropriations before it went into Plenary where debates, pros and cons are heard, before coming to a vote.

The good news was that the RH Bill passed the committee and will soon be debated in the plenary. A lot of hurdles still face the bill. Your congressman may conveniently be absent and thus, make a quorum impossible. But for now, baby steps until it becomes a law. In the photo you can see our happy faces, full of hope that the RH Bill will become a law.
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The politics of motherhood

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I cringe every time someone outside the blogging world, asks me “what exactly do you do? or How long do you spend at your computer?” Well, let me just say, that we, mom Bloggers are not frumpy women that hang out with our computers all day. There’s more to being a mom blogger than one might think. Some of us are former career women, and professionals who decided to spend more time with our kids and blog because we are passionate about something and not as our primary job.

We also know when to have fun, to take time away from our kids and to take care of ourselves. When someone feels rotten about their day or asks me “what should I do? we had a fight” , I often say “take care of yourself first. Love yourself. ”

A famous Dalai Lama quote says it all ““If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others.” I believe one cannot give what one does not have.
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Who killed Jennifer?

The invite read “You’re invited to a dinner to die for” and along with it came a magnifying glass. How nifty.

“Some know me by name. Some have eluded my deathly grip. But there are still more women out there – unsuspecting, unaware, ignorant that I am lurking at the sidelines. Eyeing them. Waiting to surprise them when they least expect it.”

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I was told to dress-to-kill in 1950’s attire but found none in my wardrobe. I ended up wearing a thick belt over my top and skirt. The theme definitely piqued my curiosity. Never mind if I was pissed off at the drama starring Speaker Nograles, Rep Romualdo and Rep Art Defensor for their show “ Kill the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI)” a few hours earlier. Nothing was going to prevent me from enjoying the night with my blogger-friends.

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It was a night for searching clues to find out who this female serial murderer on the prowl is – before it strikes to claim the next victim.”
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Pia Cayetano, a mom, a senator, a triathlete

pia-cayetano4“I can’t believe Tita Pia is now Senator Pia”, my two daughters exclaimed in awe after we told them that she had won the senatorial race in 2004. My girls knew their Tita Pia and played with her toddlers way back the time my husband and her then husband started a law office in the mid 90’s. Pia was there to hold my hand during the wake of my son who took time to talk to me, who took the trouble to order me a grief recovery book from the states. There are not many who know how to console a bereaved but like her brother Alan (who was there with me by the hospital bed with Luijoe), she truly showed compassion and sincerity.

When Pia won in 2004, I knew she was going to accomplish a lot. Even if she trailed in the surveys at the start of the campaign, I was confident she’d top it and she did. Health is her advocacy . I asked her “what motivated you to focus on Health?”

I am a lawyer as a profession . I believed no matter the training, emotions and background dictate the path. I talked about the loss of my son and my father due to severe illnesses. I was thankful we had the means to keep them happy and healthy. I was mindful of the fact of the work that my dad had done. There was much to be done. When I ran in 2004, I ran in the campaign of health. I lost my father and my son in my speech. Advisers told me to change my speech. I have nothing else to talk about. I talk about my background. I am a lawyer. I graduated with honors. That is where my competence and qualification come in. What is my passion? What do I have to offer? I want to do something with health care. I still talk that way.

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Yasmin Busran Lao on gender equality

“Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the United Nations to achieve equal rights and dignity for all… But equality for women and girls is also an economic and social imperative. Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals — peace, security, sustainable development — stand in jeopardy.”

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How appropriate is it that the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – which is observed worldwide on 8 March – is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”.

I am reminded of my interview with senatorial candidate Yasmin Busran Lao last January. The interview nearly didn’t take place. Yasmin wanted just one blogger for this interview. She wasn’t sure how bloggers did interviews. I assured her that I will be fair that I will just let her do the talking. Shy at first, she warmed up as I asked her to narrate her story, the reasons for running as a senator.

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She mused ““I have been doing it anyway. I have been advocating for women seizing the center of power and reframing politics ..and how can I go to the community of women and talk about women’s political participation when I was given the opportunity and I say ““No”? What message will she give to the women if she said ““no”? When the opportunity came, Yasmin (otherwise known as Yas) felt she needed to walk the talk.”
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Keep Cory Aquino’s spirit alive

““If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.”

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Cory would have turned 77 years old today. In a speech that Noynoy Aquino delivered at her birthday mass, he said

Perhaps if we try to keep her spirit alive in our own daily struggles, we would realize that she did not really just leave us. She is in our dreams of having a government that works, that makes justice and a decent life accessible to every citizen. She is an inspiration on so many levels.

For those who have lost loved ones, their lives continue to live on in our hearts, in our memories, through our work and advocacy. This blog is a testament to my love for my son, to my father, my mom and two brothers who have gone before my dad. By being of service, I keep their memories alive.

I looked up to Cory Aquino for having the courage to fight a dictator and restore a democracy. I am forever grateful for that.

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Sex Education & The Reproductive Health Bill 5043

“Doesn’t every woman deserve the right to have a safe pregnancy and a baby that’s born healthy? I believe this is a very basic human right.” Katya Matanovic

They say that it takes just one or two entries to bring hits to your blog. Three years ago, I wrote about Sex Education in the Philippines and to this day, I continue to receive search engine hits not from the keyword “sex education” but from the image keyword “sex”. I often wonder if Google had something to do with it, that they wanted people to read my entry first before jumping on to porn sites.

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My stand on sex education is

We need to teach them responsible parenthood in consonance with the sex education. We don’t need to teach everything but at least give them the basic facts. Along the way, the children can do some more research on their own.

Three years ago, Phillipine Catholic Bishops Oppose Sex-Ed in Schools, Say it Should be Left to Parents. Sure that is true only if parents know how to discuss sex with their children. We can’t assume parents know how to discuss sex openly. Some might be uneducated to understand the anatomy of reproduction and thus fail to grasp natural birth control methods.

The schools together with the parents can bridge the gap of sex education but there seems to be a problem when the parents also have a lack of knowledge on reproductive health.

With the yet to be approved Philippine Reproductive Health Bill 5043 , one of the provisions of the proposed law is mandatory imposition of reproductive health education

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Not a Drama Queen at 50 Something

Real women, it’s said, don’t have hot flushes. They have power surges, and so others will experience what Margaret Mead called ““postmenopausal zest,” a release of energy that propels them to take on causes, take control of their lives and embark on new challenges.

(From Drama queens at 50something by Margie David Collins

I should be having hot flushes at my age. During our high school reunion, everyone talked of hot flashes and menopause. Why am I not experiencing any of those symptoms? Maybe it is not my time yet. Perhaps in 2 years? I never really worried about menopause. It’s not easy, the body is no longer what it once but (and this is not bragging), I feel more beautiful , confident and wiser than in my youth. Sex is great! (*winks*) . The journey is made easier by using makeup, anti-aging creams, vitamin and herbal supplements and keeping fit through exercise.

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Photo Credit

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Hayden Kho and the Illness Defense

““Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” Bill Clinton

Perhaps my husband is right after all. Hubby says in his blog entry, Dr. Hayden Kho Needs Help that “it’s undeniable that Kho is sick and needs professional help from his peers.” Atty. Lorna Kapunan, Hayden’s feisty lawyer mentioned something about Hayden’s admitted “perversity” is a sickness of which he is undergoing ““therapy and spiritual counseling.”

Well, Miriam Santiago isn’t buying that. She says that to prove insanity, you have to prove that a person is so far removed from reality that he no longer has a clear grasp of reality as all the rest of the community sees it”.

I don’t think Hayden is pleading insanity. Is it personality disorder (which may not be the same as mental illness)?

American Psychiatric Association, defines a personality disorder as an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectation of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.

Based on the above definition, I encounter mild cases of personality disorders with some people every now and then. Let’s see…

Concerned over a friend who can’t seem to keep a relationship? Shrinks say it’s some kind of borderline personality disorder.

What about that stark, raving mad driver that overtook your vehicle the other gave and gave you a dirty finger? Ooh road rage! And what do you know? It’s called “Road Rage Disorder” or intermittent explosive disorder.

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a mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement in issues on family & society.
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