Mulat Pinoy’s “We are Right Here. We are RH.” video contest now has its ten finalists.
This amateur video competition sought to focus on young people and their take on responsible parenthood, reproductive health, and population and development. All the video entries were screened and judged by representatives from the film industry, pro- and anti- RH bill camps, population institutes and religious groups. Videos are judged based on their creativity, visual impact, clarity of message, and social relevance.
Videos which made it to the top 10 are:
Ang Nasa Isip Ko
Baon
Diploma
Kristal
Landas
Mulat Kabataan
Pangarap
RH Bill: Kahirapan o Kaunlaran?
The Game
Tingog
Entries from as far as Cavite, Davao, Iloilo, Quirino, Quezon City and Makati City made it to the top list, and the finalists used a variety of styles: infographic video, animation, drama, experimental.
Most video entries centered on subjects like premarital sex, condoms, teenage pregnancy and overpopulation, showing us the issues in which the youth are most interested or concerned.
Watch the ten finalist videos by logging on to http://www.mulatpinoy.ph/wearerh. To vote for your favorite video, simply click Online Voting on the website.
You can also vote via text. Simply text RH VOTE to 2256, where you will be asked to register with RH VOTE <entry number>/<your name>/<age>/<email add>. You can vote everyday. Each text costs Php 2.50.
The voting period is from November 4 to November 26, 2011.
Don’t forget to watch the “We Are Right Here. We Are RH.” TV special on November 20, 2:00 PM on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).
Aside from fame and nationwide reach, winners shall also get cash prizes, cool and sleek video cameras and trophies.
Special awards shall also be given by the United Nations Population Fund and the Knowledge Channel.
Only the SMS and the online votes can determine the winners, so vote now!
Taken from a press release provided by Mulat Pinoy
We are pleased to announce the winners of the SAS ART-H Mandala Making Contest! The scores were based on the judges’ evaluation, Likes on the SAS Facebook page and attendance during the ART-H Primer. The respective taglines and statements were also taken into consideration.
And now, the works and statements of the winners:
3rd Place – UP Samahan sa Agham Pampulitika
Beyond pills and condoms: EQUALITY and UNDERSTANDING”
Understanding, awareness and women empowerment: these are the three essential factors needed to realize the passing of the Reproductive Health Bill, which this mandala promotes.
The lotus at the core, made from the male and female insignia, signifies the need for UNDERSTANDING, which is essential to the success of the RH Bill.
The outward pointing motif calls to mind the need to spread AWARENESS in the issue of RH.
And finally, the numerous faces of women in the mandala calls us to recognize WOMEN EMPOWERMENT.
These 3 elements combine to create a powerful visual message that calls us to pass the RH Bill and address the RH issue now
2nd Place – UP Artists’ Circle Sorority
“Give life without losing yours.”
This mandala as a whole represents significance fo women in their responsibility and capability to give continuation to the circle of life, in which they behold their beauty as a provider and nurturer.
The inverted triangle symbolizes the female genitalia and the three spirals symbolize women’s omnipotent power. These are surrounded by blossoming flowers that represent the blossoming of women and their potentials.
The maple leaves connote the sweetness that new life brings and at the same time, the openness to sexual pleasure through responsible and safe actions.
The condoms used to beautify the mandalas signify that men and women complement each other in order to create beauty in life.
1st Place – UP Visual Communication students, College of Fine Arts
“Safety in diversity.”
At the very center of our mandala is a triskel. These three circles connected to each other is a common element of the traditional mandala. For this specific piece, it symbolizes the three kinds of gender preferences. Straight males are symbolized by a ♂, straight females are symbolized by a ♀ and other sexual preferences combine the two symbols.
Around the triskel are “feathers.” Feathers constitute wings and wings are symbols of freedom. The central and supporting elements combined deliver the advocacy for freedom of choice in sexual preference.
At the middle of the triskel are random dots, with one red dot at the middle. This red dot symbolizes the chance of getting sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the freedom, there is still a risk. To prevent these risks from emerging, the red dot is surrounded with several contraceptives.
Our mandala recognizes the different sexual preferences of people but still reminds them of always being SAFE.
The prize for the best tagline also goes to the UP Vis Com group: “Safety in Diversity.”
===
The groups will be awarded when classes resume on the second week of November.
We would like to thank our judges: Dr. Eloi Hernandez of the UP College of Arts and Letters, Ms. Beth Angsioco of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, Mr. Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers and Mr. Carlos Celdran of Celdran Tours.
We would also like to thank our sponsor, DKT-Reproductive Health (Frenzy Condoms and Filipinay birth control pills), and our UP-based partner, RH AGENDA.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions, we had to move the contest proper to Monday, October 3. The UP students were such troopers. They arrived armed with sketches, additional research, extra adhesives and lots of ideas. Their designs were inspired from what they learned at the ART-H Primer, where Sex and Sensibilities gave a sexual health workshop and Prof. John Paul “Lakan” Olivares delivered a mandala making workshop.
The UP students created their final designs using condoms and pills based on what they learned from the primer and explain the relationship between their designs and related issues on informed choice, reproductive health, gender equality, etc.
After three hours of cutting, gluing and working together, they came up with the following products:
UP Samahan sa Agham Pampulitika
UP Artists’ Circle Sorority
UP Circle of Industrial Engineering Majors
College of Fine Arts Visual Communication students
UP Association of Political Science Majors
UP Social Science and Philosophy Student Council
You may read the groups’ respective explanations AND vote for your favorite mandala by clicking “Like” in this album. Make sure you “Like” the Sex and Sensibilities page first! Behind the scenes pictures here.
Many thanks to our sponsor, DKT Reproductive Health and our UP-based partner RH AGENDA for making this possible!
By Janina Santos, Sex and Sensibilities.com Youth Correspondent
The problem is, whenever somebody says the word “vagina”, Filipinos tend to faint, if not simply drop dead.
Picture this: a kid running around with an inflated condom, a teenage girl knowing perfectly well how the birth control pill works. Their parents would probably have a heart attack. Sex is taboo in the Philippines. People do not like talking about it, and when they do, they speak of it in hushed voices, behind a cupped hand.
Kun Mechai's "dick stick"
In contrast, when Thailand’s former senator and 1994 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Mechai Viravaidya says “vagina”, he opens his mouth and enunciates every single syllable. When Kun Mechai talks about sex, it is in a funny, in-your-face way that would make you take him seriously and think yourself stupid for branding something as biologically natural as fornication taboo. He is the kind of guy who would happily give out inflated condoms to pre-schoolers and to sex workers, coupled with his no-nonsense words of wisdom: “don’t leave home without it”. He advocated for the education of ordinary citizens like floating market vendors and taxi drivers on the know-hows of contraception. He even got Buddhist monks in the game by asking them to bless family planning devices before giving them out (imagine that happening here; the CBCP will probably curse us all with fire and brimstone). In fact, it is this attitude toward the idea sex and contraception that earned Kun Mechai the title “Condom King”.
Photo from http://suchith.myaiesec.net
Kun Mechai almost single-handedly curbed the population growth by actively promoting, educating, and empowering men and women to have control over their bodies and their futures. He saw to it that contraception devices were available even in Thailand’s version of the sari-sari store. He organized vasectomy festivals and motivated the men to be more involved in family planning. Thailand’s population explosion was halted in its tracks, and from 41 million in the 1970s, Thailand’s population rose to only about 61.5 million in the 2000’s. To fight AIDS and the discrimination of persons iving with HIV (PLHIV), he personally handed out rubbers in the Thai’s red light districts with his companions wearing condom-embellished miniskirts and baseball caps. These efforts were complemented with programs for PLHIVs to attain economic stability. There were an estimated 7 million Thais saved from HIV because of these out of the box ideas.
During the Condom King’s recent talk at Mulat Pinoy’s “Beyond Condoms: Nation Building and the Youth” at the University of the Philippine’s College of Engineering Auditorium, he gave out a memory stick with an unmistakable resemblance to a penis to a girl who openly claimed that she was mortified by condoms. Talk about a hands-on approach to the problem of embarrassment.
Handing out what is fondly called the “dick stick” is just one of the many humorous– serious ways of how Kun Mechai makes his point. It is obviously effective in Thailand. But just how relevant are his methods in a sex phobic society such as the Philippines?
Some say it won’t be possible by a long shot, because many people here, particularly those who belong to the institutions hell-bent on keeping mum about sex and sexual health, go into convulsions if we even suggest talking to high school kids about safe sex.
Foaming at the mouth, twitching violently, the works. But as Mr. Condom says, these people only rent the country, we own it. He himself had to go up against the conservative thinking of Thai society to push through with his ideas. If Thailand can do it, why not the Philippines?
It starts with the young, Kun Mechai said. Make the youth realize that sex is not something bad, but is an innate interest of every human being. This kills the stigma attached to sex, and opens the kids’ minds to it.
The kids would be easy, but what about the adults, though?
I have a proposition: Why don’t we all start by opening our mouths and saying this word slowly, relishing each syllable, really wrapping and rolling it in our tongues.
DKT Reproductive Health and Filipinay in partnership with Sex and Sensibilities would like to invite all UP-Diliman students to join the contest and win up to PhP15,000 in cash!
This is supported by the UP RH AGENDA (Reproductive Health and Gender Advocates Movement).
MECHANICS:
1. All enrolled UP students will be eligible to join the contest. They
must form a group of 4-10 students to create a mandala using pills and
condoms. Materials will be provided. Please register by emailing
sas.art.h@gmail.com, or contacting +63917-851-0209 or +63917-836-0345
from September 1-22, 2011.
2. Groups must indicate which time slot they prefer for the ART-H
Primer on Monday, September 26, 2011 at PH 400: a) 10AM to 12PM or b)
12PM-2PM.
The ART-H Primer consists of a sexual health and mandala art workshop.
Registered groups MUST attend the ART-H Primer.
3. Groups will be divided into two for the contest proper: Batch 1
(Groups 1-5) will create mandalas on Tuesday, September 27, and Batch
2 (Groups 6-10) will decorate it on Wednesday, September 28 at the
Palma Hall Lobby from 11:30AM to 1:00PM).
Based on their learning from the ART-H Primer, student groups will
relate their mandala designs to issues on sexual health rights,
women’s health, and informed choice.
4. Mandalas will be displayed in front of the CSSP Student Council
Office for a week and will be evaluated by a panel of judges. An
online component will also be done where designs will be uploaded on
the Sex and Sensibilities Facebook page
(www.facebook.com/pages/SexandSensibilitiescom) and generate
the most number of “likes” by Wednesday, October 5.*
Criteria:
30%
Number of participants per group who attend the
ART-H Primer on Monday, September 26
35%
Number of “Likes” in the entry as posted on
Sex and Sensibilities FB page
35%
Judges’ Evaluation
PRIZES:
First Prize:
P15,000
Second Prize:
P12,000
Third Prize:
P10,000
*All artwork produced by contestants will remain the property of SexandSensibilities.com and DKT Reproductive Health.
More than two hundred reproductive health leaders, celebrity supporters and community advocates trooped to Senate to witness Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s sponsorship speech for the highly clamored reproductive health bill yesterday.
Seen at the gallery were actress Heart Evangelista, Gemma Cruz-Araneta, Former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Risa Hontiveros, and Bishop Rodrigo Tano, among others.
According to Ramon San Pascual, Executive Director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), the drove of community leaders, public officials, showbiz personalities and civil society activists indicate momentum of RH bill progressing towards passage in the Senate.
“We are positive that yesterday’s sponsorship speech, will pave the way for the swift movement of the RH bill in the Senate,” San Pascual said. “The show of support not only from the non-government and civil society organizations but more from the leaders of the country as well as from concerned celebrities is a welcome development.”
San Pascual further said that the show of support in the galleries of the Senate from various walks of life confirms the broad support of Filipinos for the passage of the RH bill.
“The RH bill is long overdue and should be passed in the earliest possible time,” San Pascual stressed
The Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) is dismayed that President Aquino did not mention the RH Bill in his SONA. He had spoken strongly on the measure twice, at UP Diliman’s commencement exercises in March and the Philippine Medical Association’s annual meeting in Davao in May. The RH Bill is also an integral part of the legislative agenda in the president’s Philippine Development Plan. Was the omission a Freudian or political slip? Ironically, he singularly and generously mentioned Catholic hierarchy officials, the same ones, who make governance difficult for him—who question his integrity and threaten him with damnation and civil disobedience.
PNoy, we hope that your special mention of cardinals and bishops does not mean you will allow them to dictate health and population policies, like they did during Arroyo’s time. We hope it will not mean turning your back on the RH policy and funding that poor families need so direly.
Obstinate and dogma-based obstruction to the RH Bill for the past nine or so years has caused irreparable damage to the lives and wellbeing of poor women and their families. On that one day of the SONA alone, 11 pregnant women and 21 infants died because of inadequate and out-of-reach RH services. Five thousand unplanned pregnancies took place, many to poorest women and couples. Some 2,800 of those pregnancies will become children who will suffer hunger, deprivation, and possibly neglect because their parents are not ready for them. Some 1,600 of those pregnancies will be ended by mothers after much agony, through desperate and unsafe procedures.
All of the loss of life and suffering are preventable; through the RH program and health system improvements provided in the RH Bill.
PNoy, it is not right, not matuwid na daan, to allow a fundamentalist faction of the Catholic Church to hold hostage Congressional hearings on the Bill.
Many of our people—your boss—have already taken a stand in favor of the RH Bill. Religious leaders, lawyers and human rights advocates have stated that the bill conforms to contemporary moral and legal standards, whether religious teachings, human rights instruments, medical ethics, and Philippine laws. Scientists and science practitioners have stated that RH Bill strategies are in accord with current scientific evidence in the fields of economics, medicine, demography, sociology and ecology. Moreover, majority of respondents to respected national polls, such as the Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia, have repeatedly backed RH policies, programs and funding; even those residents in “purported Catholic bailiwicks” like Manila, Paranaque, Bohol and Cebu.
Now is the time for Congress to vote on this measure.
PNoy, we hope that even if the opportunity at SONA has passed, you will still make sure that the voice of the people on this measure will not be thwarted again, but will be heard and counted in this Congress, this year.
Contact persons: Junice Demeterio-Melgar 0949-4432628; Joy Salgado 0915-4079894
Reference: Ramon San Pascual, PLCPD Executive Director
12 June 2011
The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) expresses gratitude to the leadership and members of Congress for swiftly moving forward the Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the first year of the 15th Congress. PLCPD also congratulates President Aquino for standing firm on his responsible parenthood principle that further encouraged House of Reps and Senate to debate the RH bill at the plenary level.
PLCPD, a non-government organization of lawmakers, leading proponent of House Bill 4244 or the “Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2011,” and its Senate counterpart commends RH champions and authors who, despite the heightened misinformation and name-calling campaign thrown at them by some bishops and Catholic church’ leaders, stood firm on their support for the bill.
Being among the core of the legislative advocacy campaign for the passage of the bill, PLCPD has been a witness on how pro-RH lawmakers remained strong and tireless in sponsoring and defending the bill during Congress sessions, public and media forums. PLCPD admits that battle for the passage of the bill is never easy.
In retrospect, the RH bill has reached the most positive momentum in the 1st Regular Session in the 15th Congress. It is in this Congress that the RH bill has gained the most number of supporters coming from all sectors – business, academe, youth, women, labor, development agencies, non-government organizations, civil society groups, government agencies, local government units, media organizations and individual persons – living some leaders of the Catholic Church in isolation.
It is also during this Congress, where the debate on the measure has become part of the public discourse, thus RH became part of the daily conversation among ordinary citizens. PLCPD is thankful to the media, especially those who have organized debates in various forms, which made the public understand that in truth and in reality, RH bill is more pro-life, more pro-family, as opposed to the claim of the anti-RH group.
PLCPD and other RH advocates are also thankful to President Noynoy Aquino for standing pat on his support for RH, despite the threats coming from certain Catholic bishops. Making his pro-RH stand public inspired Congress to put the bill in the realm of public debate.
With the broad public clamor, sustained media backing and the support coming from Congress leadership and from the President himself, the indications are clear that the time to pass the RH bill has come, and that time is in the 2nd Regular Session of the 15th Congress. XXX
For interviews and clarifications, please contact Ms. Vigie Benosa-Llorin, PLCPD Media Advocacy Officer, Mobile No. 0918-2936786.
AS I watched Christ’s faithful gather symbolically in the Upper Room on Holy Thursday, around Calvary’s cross on Good Friday, and at the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, a wave of joy flowed over me. Swept up like a chip of wood on the surface of a boiling wave by the power of the community singing, I recalled the unity in faith and hope of the millions who gathered 25 years ago at Edsa. But still there was an undercurrent of sadness, sadness due to the realization that the official Church no longer stands with a united people but with one part of a nation divided; and that the struggle is carried on, no longer in the respectful manner of the crowds at Edsa, but in an atmosphere of personal animosity and demonizing.
The sadness is made deeper by the sense that in the debate over the RH bill, the Church seems to have backed itself into a no-win situation. If the bill passes over the total opposition of the hierarchy, there will be gloating in some quarters and a sense of “Who’s afraid of the big bad Church?” If it is defeated by the opposition of the Church, I fear a powerful backlash at the Church’s “interference in politics” and “reliance on political power rather than moral suasion”—the beginnings of an anticlericalism such as has overwhelmed formerly Catholic bastions such as Spain and Ireland.
With all due respect for the position of the Philippine bishops, I do not see that total opposition to the bill necessary, once one gets past the polemics. First of all, the bill does not legalize contraceptives; they are already legal and may be purchased in any drugstore. What the bill proposes to do—rightly or wrongly—is to subsidize the cost of contraception as well as natural family planning to the poor. Neither does the bill legalize abortion; on the contrary it reaffirms the constitutional prohibition. It is highly probable in fact that if contraceptives become more available to the poor, the scandalous number of illegal abortions performed annually will be dramatically reduced.
On the tricky scientific question whether the IUD and some contraceptive pills may prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum in the mother’s womb and so destroy a human life, the current draft of the bill passes the responsibility to the Food and Drug Administration, which should ban any such “contraceptives” from drugstores throughout the country.
On the matter of sex education in the schools, the same draft allows parents to “opt out” for their children, i.e. to have them exempted from such classes. This is an improvement, although it would seem better to allow religious schools to develop their own programs. It may be still possible to negotiate for this. There is a graded set of modules on sex and population education already available, prepared by teachers of Catholic schools under the leadership of the Office of Population Studies Foundation of the University of San Carlos, and bearing the imprimatur of Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
Other improvements may still be possible. One might be to strengthen the “conscience clauses” protecting health workers and teachers whose religious values conflict with certain aspects of the bill. Another could be representation of religious bodies on an oversight committee to make sure that freedom of conscience is fully respected in the field.
A sticking point for many is that the bill would subsidize the distribution of contraceptives to the poor. The Catholic Church, while recognizing the fundamental moral difference between contraception and abortion, still insists that the former is wrong. It debases the most sacred act which a husband and wife can perform: cooperation with the Creator in bringing into existence a new human person destined for eternity with God. Here it would seem more consistent for the Church to initiate a vigorous program of family life and natural family planning education for its people, helping them to form their consciences and make responsible decisions on this matter, rather than trying by political means to keep them away from “temptation.”
Which brings up what to me seems to be the most important issue here, namely, the family and family values. The charge is made that the RH bill will destroy the Filipino family. On the basis of more than 25 years of pastoral and social work in Payatas, and some seven years sponsoring natural family planning programs, I can say that the family is already at great risk—and not because of contraceptives.
While the dedication of many young people—our scholars and former scholars—to helping their families, and the sacrifices that they are willing to make, are sometimes overwhelming, these are often one-parent families abandoned by the fathers who have gone on to father second and even third families. Or no-parent families abandoned by both father and mother and being raised by grandparents. Moreover, one main reason why only some 20 percent of the women who take our seminars on natural family planning actually practice it is precisely the unwillingness of the husbands to cooperate.
Our family-life seminars seem to be much appreciated. If only the effort and resources being now invested in opposition to the RH bill were being used for serious family-life education and family support services, there might be little reason to oppose the bill. And our Holy Week services might be true celebrations of unity, mutual respect and love.
Just a few years ago, say “RH” in ordinary talks and you’ll get blank looks. Now, most Filipinos know that RH is reproductive health. It has entered presidential debates, topped the news, been surveyed to death. Moreover, majority have plainly said their piece: “We support RH.” Why? Loads of reasons—from the practical “We need help” to the proud “It’s my choice!” But 10 good ones should be enough to convince rational people and thoughtful policy-makers. So here are our top picks.
1. RH will: Protect the health & lives of mothers
The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that complications arise in 15% of pregnancies, bad enough to hospitalize or kill women. From the 2 million plus live births alone, some 300,000 maternal complications occur yearly. This is 7 times the DOH’s annual count for TB, 19 times for heart diseases and 20 times for malaria in women. As a result, more than 11 women die needlessly each day.
Proper birth spacing reduces infant deaths. The WHO says at least 2 yearsshould pass between a birth and the next pregnancy. In our country, the infant mortality rate of those with less than 2 years birth interval is twice those with 3. The more effective and user-friendly the FP method, the greater the chances of the next child to survive.
3. Respond to the majority who want smaller families
Times have changed and people want smaller families. When surveyed about their ideal number of children, women in their 40s want slightly more than 3, while those in their teens and early 20s want just slightly more than 2.
Moreover, couples end up with families larger than what they planned. On average, Filipino women want close to 2 children but end up with 3. This gap is unequal, but shows up in all social classes and regions. RH education and services will help couples fulfill their hopes for their families.
4. Promote equity for poor families
RH indicators show severe inequities between the rich and poor. For example, 94% of women in the richest quintile have a skilled attendant at birth, while only 26% of the poorest can do so. The richest have 3 times higher tubal ligation rates. This partly explains why the wealthy hardly exceed their planned number of children, while the poorest get an extra 2. Infant deaths among the poorest are almost 3 times that of the richest, which in a way explains why the poor plan for more children. An RH law will help in attaining equity in health through stronger public health services.
5. Prevent induced abortions
Unintended pregnancies precede almost all induced abortions. Of all unintended pregnancies, 68% occur in women without any FP method, and 24% happen to those using traditional FP like withdrawal or calendar-abstinence.
6. Support and deploy more public midwives, nurses and doctors
RH health services are needed wherever people are establishing their families. For example, a report by the MDG Task Force points out the need for 1 fulltime midwife to attend to every 100 to 200 annual live births. Other health staff are needed for the millions who need prenatal and postpartum care, infant care and family planning. Investing in these core public health staff will serve the basic needs of many communities.
7. Guarantee funding for & equal access to health facilities
RH will need and therefore support many levels of health facilities. These range from health stations that can do basic prenatal, infant and FP care; health centers for safe birthing, more difficult FP services like IUD insertions, and management of sexually transmitted infections; and hospitals for emergency obstetric and newborn care and surgical contraception. Strong RH facilities can be the backbone of a strong and fairly distributed public health facility system.
8. Give accurate & positive sexuality education to young people
Currently, most young people enter relationships and even married life without the benefit of systematic inputs by any of our social institutions. We insist on young voters’ education for events that occur once every few years, but do nothing guiding the young in new relationships they face daily. The RH bill mandates the education and health departments to fill this serious gap.
10. Save money that can be used for even more social spending
Ensuring modern FP for all who need it would increase spending from P1.9 B to P4.0 B, but the medical costs for unintended pregnancies would fall from P3.5 B to P0.6 B, resulting in a net savings of P0.8 B. There is evidence that families with fewer children do spend more for health and education.
You may want to copy this (or expand the list) and send to family, friends and acquaintances until it reaches our legislators. We need the support of everyone we can reach and convince.
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