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13th Rafael M. Salas Golf Cup changes format due to Covid-19 pandemic The Salas Golf Cup changes its event format for this year due to the pandemic. With the theme “Complete Healing from Covid-19”, this year’s staging will be 100% virtual with the support of the event’s annual partners and sponsors. “The pandemic will not stop us from organizing the Salas Cup which we have been successfully mounting every year since 2008,” said Forum President Benjamin De Leon. “While we cannot do it the way we used to, we are still gathering our supportive golfing friends virtually for a few hours of fun talks and raffle. This is our way of saying thanks to our supporters and at the same time helping them stay safe during this critical period,” he added. The Forum for Family Planning and Development is the lead organizer of The Salas Golf Cup endorsed and supported by Former President Fidel V. Ramos, an avid golfer himself who describes the event as a “worthy cause.” Salas Cup makes it possible for The Forum to sustain its year-round advocacy operations in relation to population and development, reproductive health, family planning, gender equality and the like. It is safe to say that without the Salas Cup, it will be impossible for The Forum to operate. While this year’s fund-raising activity will be quite a challenge considering that there will be no media exposure during a golf tournament, we trust that our annual sponsors and donors will understand the present situation and the limitations of the event, thus, will still continue to support the event’s cause. The companies who have committed their support for this year’s 13th Rafael M. Salas Golf Cup that will happen on November 13 include DKT Philippines, San Miguel Corporation, PAGCOR, Filinvest Development Corporation, Ayala Corporation, Marubeni Philippines, Team Energy, Lopez Group, Asia United Bank, Alpha One, SGV, San Roque Power Corporation, Land Bank, Meralco, among others.

As we continue to rebuild our communities from the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we pause with deep gratitude to honor the unsung heroes who stood firm when the world was forced to pause: our health workers, community volunteers, and advocates for sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In 2020, when cities shut down and fear gripped the nation, these brave souls chose courage over comfort. They stepped outside their homes to ensure others could stay safe in theirs. Amid travel restrictions, dwindling resources, and the constant threat of infection, they chose service. In the far-flung barangays of Albay, health workers navigated through checkpoints and volcanic ash, not to flee—but to deliver prenatal care and family planning commodities. In Palawan, a province known for its beauty but also its isolation, community volunteers crossed seas and mountains to bring dignity kits, contraceptives, and critical information to women and young people. Cebu, then a hotspot of COVID-19, became a beacon of resilience. Nurses and barangay health workers braved overcrowded health centers to ensure that SRH services did not become collateral damage of the pandemic. In Ifugao and Benguet, our indigenous communities found allies in midwives and youth advocates who translated IEC materials into local dialects and patiently conducted house-to-house outreach with masks on and hearts open. These places were not just locations on a map; they were battlegrounds of care. In them, our partners proved that essential services—including reproductive health—do not stop during a crisis; they become even more vital. We thank the community health workers who treated every client with compassion, the volunteers who gave their time without asking for anything in return, and the SRH champions who fought for every woman's right to choose and every young person's right to know. You reminded us that public health is not just about surviving a virus—it’s about protecting rights, dignity, and futures. To our partners in Albay, Palawan, Cebu, Ifugao, and Benguet, your stories are etched in the legacy of our collective advocacy. You brought hope to where it was fading and care to where it was desperately needed. On this day of thanksgiving, and every day forward, we honor you. Mabuhay kayo. Maraming salamat po.

Former President Fidel Ramos was chosen as the Lifetime Contributor awardee by the Board of Judges of Asia CEO Awards 2019 Fidel Valdez Ramos was the 12th President of the Philippines and is widely regarded as one of the most effective leaders of the nation’s history.  His term of government was characterized by rapid economic progress and political stability despite dealing with communist insurgencies, Islamic separatists and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. FVR was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and at the University of Illinois. He joined the Philippine army and served in Korea and Vietnam. He was appointed chief of the Philippine Constabulary in 1972 by President Marcos and responsible for enforcing martial law when it was imposed later that same year. After the 1986 elections, Marcos claimed victory despite allegations of wide-spread fraud.  Ramos and defense minister Enrile supported Marcos’ opponent, Corazon Aquino. Their defection sparked the “People Power” movement that forced Marcos into exile. During Aquino’s presidency Ramos served as military chief of staff (1986–88) and secretary of national defense (1988–91).  He suppressed several military coup attempts against the government. FVR was elected to succeed Aquino in 1992. He purged the national police force of corrupt officers and reached peace agreements with long-active guerrilla insurgencies. He liberalized the Philippines’ protected economy to spur fast prosperity growth enabling the country to weather the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis that crippled other economies across the region. original post: https://www.asia-ceo-awards.org/President-Fidel-Ramos

Nov 9, 2019 12:35 PM PHT Frank Cimatu (Rappler) BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Rafael M. Salas has often been known as "The Best President the Philippines Never Had." As a senior at Negros Occidental High School in 1947, he wrote in their yearbook that his ambition is "to become the president of the Philippines." The weird thing is that he never stepped into the political arena, even if he was indeed a kingmaker. He was what his University of the Philippines (UP) classmate, Juan Ponce Enrile, described as "a complete politician, a skilled political strategist and tactician, and a brilliant and well-read classical scholar." Yet a new book, A Millennial Man for Others: The Life and Times of Rafael M. Salas by Jose Dalisay and Carmen Sarmiento, tells us not only what our country gained in having him but also what the world profited from when Salas decided to get out of the Philippines. What did we lose when Salas died in 1987 at the age of 59? The country is leaning towards authoritarianism. The country's population is in a mess, with the teenage pregnancy rate reeling out of control. The rice industry is on the verge of collapse. Salas is the son of a country doctor and a strong-willed woman whose leadership style he would later emulate. He belonged to the ilustrados of Negros: the Montinolas, Aranetas, Yulos, and Benedictos. But as Salas told Nick Joaquin: "My parents are never of that kidney. We had a strong work ethic and a broader view of life that didn't see it as just a satisfying of the senses." He studied in public schools until he studied at Harvard for a master's in public administration at the Littauer School. Born in Bago, Negros Occidental, on August 7, 1928, he graduated with high honors from UP in 1950, completing his BA (magna cum laude) and LLB (cum laude) in 1953. He returned to teach in UP until 1966. His first foray into politics was when he campaigned for Governor Rafael Lacson when he was a high school student council president. But he shifted politics when Lacson became a local despot. When Salas became president of the UP Student Council as well as president of the Student Council Associations of the Philippines, he supported Ramon Magsaysay when the latter was ousted by then-president Elpidio Quirino and became one of Magsaysay's campaign strategists when he ran and won as president of the Philippines in 1953. In 1964, Ferdinand Marcos approached Salas to head his campaign for the presidency and the rest is history. Salas would become executive secretary and his untarnished record in the regime would ultimately save the country in the decades to come. The book chronicled what is now termed the "Salas Boys." "Instead of drawing his staff from among the usual political appointees for bright, idealistic young men who could be infected with his own spirit of public service," Eric Caruncho wrote in 1987. There are 200 of these Salas boys listed in the appendix; most of them would retain the idealism, honesty, and integrity that Salas is known for. Some of them would also be infected with Salas' scholarship and love of books. Despite suffering from the Japanese atrocity during World War II, Salas was fascinated with the Japanese warrior spirit and became a prolific haiku poet. He has collected almost 11,000 books, most of them now at the Negros Occidental Museum. If Facebook were alive then, Salas would compose haikus for his daily posts. The book is scattered with his insightful haikus like autumn leaves falling on a lake of words. "Salas was the antithesis of the power-tripping politician," the book said. "It was not in his nature to show off how superior he was by putting himself above others. As a Negrense, he had grown up hearing the Hiligaynon pre-war equivalent of epal which was poderoso, someone in power or nasa poder who throws his weight around. Over the decades, this has morphed into waslik poder, Hiligaynon slang for 'power-tripping.' Just as he never lost the Visayan lilt to his speech, he has never lost his sense of who he truly was, and remained firmly grounded." In 1967, Salas was made the action officer of the Rice Sufficiency Program. During his three-year tenure, he made the Philippines rice-sufficient, after 82 years of importing rice. The rice sufficiency program was so successful that it helped propel Marcos to his second term and the program was expanded to what is now known as the National Food Authority, which has returned to its corrupt ways in the decades that followed. After rice, Salas would take on a legacy that would make him an international byword. "After attending the UN General Assembly in 1968, Salas requested the Director of the Philippines Population Institute to form a multidisciplinary study group composed of heads of relevant government agencies to recommend to President Marcos to initiate a family planning program," wrote National Scientist Dr Mercedes Concepcion. This group would evolve into the Commission on Population. Salas began a population management program that did not even mention sex, contraception, and abortion, but provided a broad perspective of people and development, and urged countries to adopt a population policy that centers on people and quality of life regardless of faith and beliefs, noted journalist Diana Mendoza. It was also Salas' willowy way of exiting from the Marcos government which he thought was getting too corrupt for him. He became in charge of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. He turned the small office with 5 staff members and a budget of $2.5 million into the world’s largest multilateral provider of population assistance with a budget of P142 million when he was still at its helm. "The question of poverty, its eradication, and the allied questions of development and population are in the end questions of morality. We should not become so closely involved in consideration of the morality of specific means of family planning that we lose sight of the wider issue, which is not less that the physical, mental and moral well-being of two-thirds of mankind. The totality of the relationship between population and development is a concern I believe all Catholics and Christians can share," Salas said. He married late. He died on March 4, 1987, in Washington, DC, from an apparent heart attack. Only a few mention his name now. Forum for Family Planning and Development president Ben de Leon, one of the Salas Boys, together with another Salas classmate, former president Fidel V. Ramos, held the 12th Rafael Salas Golf Cup on Friday, November 8, in his honor. This book would be a great introduction to a great man for millennials. With the huge problems in teenage pregnancy, rice supply, and populist authoritarianism, this could be the manual for operations that they need. – Rappler.com . Read more  HERE

The world’s first-ever population program was created by a Filipino. While the debate over Reproductive Health and family planning over the years have taken on different slants, narrowed down into sex, contraception, and abortion, many Filipinos today are unaware that a fellow Filipino started it all in the international arena. Rafael M. Salas began a population management program that did not even mention sex, contraception, or abortion, but provided a broad perspective of people and development, and urged countries to adopt a population policy that centers on people and quality of life regardless of faiths and beliefs. He continuously called for urgent government action among countries. “A population policy is a long-range strategic weapon,” he said in one of his messages in 1980. ”Its effects are felt not immediately but a generation hence. To be effective, it must be launched now.” Salas headed the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), now known as the UN Population Fund with the same acronym, as its executive director from the time he established the organization in 1969 until his death on March 4, 1987 at age 59, when he was already a UN Undersecretary-General. He was best remembered for his trailblazing work, earning him the title “Mr. Population” from the international community. Today’s leading experts on population management profess to Salas’ judiciousness, but express sadness over the polarization of the once encompassing program that he created and defined more than 40 years ago. Cecile Joaquin-Yasay, former executive director of the Commission on Population (POPCOM) who worked with Salas in the UNFPA, said Salas defined the holistic program for the whole world that was accepted in all countries that profess to Christianity and Islam; even the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and “it was never only about family planning, abortion or contraception from the very beginning.” “It was bigger than that because it encompassed health, gender equity, sexuality, and education -- concepts that are needed by every country in the world,” she said. “He created the program and nobody told him what to do. It was never dictated to him – not even the so-called West or the First World.” Stirling Scruggs, an American colleague of Salas who served as UNFPA country director in the Philippines and was a Peace Corps volunteer, said “women get pregnant but don’t know how not to.” In his years as a volunteer in Isabela province, one image he could not forget was those of women who came in droves to beg visiting medical workers to have intra-uterine devices inserted into them to prevent more pregnancies. National Scientist Dr. Mercedes Concepcion, the internationally known Filipino demographer and a noted expert who pioneered research on Philippines and Southeast Asian demography, said that scenes of poverty, lack of options, and misinformation are played over and over as the years passed, but the population program espoused by Rafael Salas was nowhere in sight. Salas has said that the population question is the mother of all development questions that engage aspects of gender relations, ecological management, demographic patterns, cultural systems, political organization, religious beliefs, and economic performance. He said, “The question of poverty, its eradication, and the allied questions of development and population are in the end questions of morality. We should not become so closely involved in consideration of the morality of specific means of family planning that we lose sight of the wider issue, which is not less than the physical, mental and moral well-being of two-thirds of mankind. The totality of the relationship between population and development is a concern I believe all Catholics and Christians can share.” He asked countries to go beyond numbers. “Interest in population is not a concern with the figures on a chart or the curves of a graph alone, however important they may be, but is essentially an involvement with the future of humanity itself.” Salas developed the UNFPA office in Manhattan, New York, from a small staff of five people and a budget of 2.5 million US dollars into one of the most stable UN agencies and the world’s largest multilateral provider of population assistance, reaching a budget of 142 million US dollars in 1985, long-term commitments of 1.4 billion US dollars, and funding for 4,800 projects in 149 countries and territories. Born in Bago, Negros Occidental on August 7, 1928, Rafael Montinola Salas graduated with high honors from the University of the Philippines in 1950, completing his B.A. (magna cum laude) and LL.B (cum laude) in 1953. He obtained his Master in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1955. Upon graduation, he returned to UP where he occupied a variety of academic positions until 1966. He was married to Carmelita Rodriguez of Cebu City, who was Philippines Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, with whom he has two sons, Ernest and Raffy. His exposure to the nuances of Philippines politics started as a youth campaign strategist for former President Ramon Magsaysay. He then went on to serve other Philippines President like Ferdinand Marcos. During his tenure as executive secretary to Marcos, Salas was able to solve the country’s annual rice production problem as action officer of the National Rice Sufficiency Program that in 1968, for the first time in its history, the Philippines had a rice surplus. Assisting him were talented young people whom he inspired and recruited for public service and in the United Nations. They were known collectively as The Salas Boys: Leo Quisumbing, Jerry Flores, Victor Ramos, Fulgencio Factoran, Bibit Duavit, Horacio Morales, Frankie Llaguno, Ed Soliman, Jun Aguirre, Mat Defensor, Boni Alentajan, Joe Molano, Doming Cepeda, Jimmy Yambao, Hiro Ando, Lino Ilyera, Benjamin de Leon and Violeta Drilon. In the words of former President Fidel V. Ramos, one of the foremost advocate of the RH, population and development, and fellow UP high school classmate, “the Salas Boys were the best and the brightest”. From 1962 to 1969, Salas was a member of various Philippines delegations to international conferences and the UN General Assembly. He headed the Philippines delegation to and was Vice-President of the International Conference on Human Rights, held in Teheran in April-May 1968 where he said, "Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children." Salas died on March 4, 1987 in Washington, DC from an apparent heart attack. In his honor, the UNFPA has established the Rafael M. Salas Memorial Lecture series held annually at the UN Headquarters in New York that provides a forum to discuss population and development. Speakers have included the former World Bank president Robert McNamara; former prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway; Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; ecologist-filmaker Jacques Cousteau, and Philippines President Fidel V. Ramos. The Commission on Population also established the biennial Rafael M. Salas Foundation in 1990, and the Rafael M. Salas Population and Development Award that honors individuals, institutions and local government units for their outstanding contributions to population and development.

posted June 24, 2019 at 10:30 pm by Macon Ramos-Araneta (Manila Standard) Beyond recognizing the June celebration of Pride Month and the fun parades in various parts of the country,  an advocacy organization said it was time to beef up the welfare of LGBTs who have unique reproductive and health needs. “They must be equal before our laws and must be able to access opportunities and services among others just like any and all Filipinos,” said  The Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), the advocacy organization that works in communities to advance reproductive and sexual rights, lauded the local government initiatives in making conditions better for LGBTs. Chi Laigo-Vallido, director for programs and advocacy of The Forum, said the efforts of local governments to implement ordinances that prevent and prohibit abuse, exploitation, bullying and acts that limit employment, education and other opportunities for LGBTs had set precedents for more political leaders to formulate similar laws. Apart from LGBT police help desks, Vallido said there was also an anti-bullying law that Congress passed in 2013 that included protection for LGBTs and child protection policies covering LGBT children and youth. She said the Philippines was also a signatory to various international covenants promoting human rights under the United Nations. She noted that recently the World Health Organization had removed transgender in its classification of mental disorders and calls it a legitimate sexual orientation. “The good efforts towards LGBTs have yet to ascend into a national commitment,” says Vallido, as she took to task President Rodrigo Duterte to lead this commitment. “For a leader who once headed a city [Davao] who has a gender and development code since 1997 and started pioneering strategies in integrating gender and development in various LGU programs, I am saddened that President Duterte is himself the one who does not support the country’s growing maturity towards sexual diversity,” she said. Vallido notes that Duterte has faltered in his statements for LGBTs and same-sex unions, and most recently, has again invoked homosexuality to insult and imply weakness on his political rivals and critics, including communist rebels and Catholic priests. He also said being “gay” could be cured. The Philippines is praised for being one of the most gay-friendly nations, ranking 10th in a 2014 Pew Research Center survey of 39 countries, that are accepting of sexual orientations and gender minorities. But Vallido said there are still areas that stigmatize and disadvantage LGBTs. She called attention to the situation of many LGBTs living with HIV who face discrimination when accessing health services, public places and facilities or wanting to go to school or wishing to work. “What I know is that all Filipino citizens are entitled to enjoy the rights that are guaranteed under our Constitution. It makes no distinctions. We in The Forum will continue our work in communities that advocate for inclusivity and understanding to gender diversity,” Vallido said. Vallido also cited the pending SOGIE (sexual orientation and gender identity and expression) equality bill or the anti-discrimination bill that Congress has yet to pass. The SOGIE measure intends to prevent acts of discrimination based on people’s sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. At present, Vallido said more  than 20 local government units (LGUs) have anti-discrimination ordinances that offer protection and encourage respect for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations in the Philippines. In Luzon, these LGUs are Cavite province and the cities of Angeles, Antipolo, Baguio, Batangas, Candon, Dagupan, Mandaluyong, Puerto Princesa, Quezon and Vigan. In the Visayas region, ordinances are being implemented in Iloilo province and the cities of Bacolod and Cebu. In Mindanao, the same is done in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Dinagat Island as well as the cities of Butuan and Davao. A few more towns and barangays across the country have their own ordinances that seek to uphold the rights of LGBTs. Original Story:  http://manilastandard.net/mobile/article/298138?fbclid=IwAR1iq4beVzyFpAp81f6-Jdn0uhv6-TKIx1jn6W_ISvtb1JXn_pthkyiEHno

Jun 5, 2019 10:48 PM PHT Ana P. Santos (Rappler) PROTEST. Youth delegates protest the government's move to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility outside the Vancouver Convention Center. Photo from Y-PEER Pilipinas VANCOUVER, Canada – Four heads of state and advocates for youth, climate change, and health equity all shared the stage to kick off the Women Deliver 2019 Conference, the largest global conference on women's sexual health rights, gender equality, and cross-cutting issues like climate change and economic empowerment. The focus of this year's Women Deliver conference is the need to redefine power structures to enact policy changes and fund investments that will sustain long-term gains on gender equality. But Philippine delegates lamented that no representative from the country's health department was present at the conference. Global health conferences like Women Deliver gather high-level health officials and policymakers with nongovernment agencies and civil society organizations, giving the latter opportunities to hold consultations, dialogues, and talks with government officials to push for policy and budget commitments needed to support reproductive health and family planning initiatives at the grassroots level. Ben de Leon, president of the Forum for Family Planning, remembers attending the 2007 Women Deliver Conference in London. "The [Department of Health] secretary was there and we were secured a commitment for a family planning budget even if the reproductive health law was not yet passed," he said. Other former health secretaries who attended Women Deliver conferences in the past include Esperanza Cabral (Women Deliver 2010 in Washington, D.C.) and Enrique Ona (Women Deliver 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Chi Laigo Vallido, director for programs and advocacy at the Forum for Family Planning, said the absence of Philippine health officials at this event is a missed opportunity for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to hold these officials accountable. "Our health budget has been cut. How does the government intend to fulfill its family planning commitments given this?" Although lawmakers restored the funds that the budget department initially clipped from the health department's proposed 2019 budget, the Department of Health's (DOH) budget still decreased by P1.03 billion, from P99.60 billion in 2018 to P98.57 billion in 2019. Ami Evangelista Swanepoel, executive director of Roots of Health – a reproductive health NGO based in Palawan – said that it is only at global gatherings that organizations like hers can have informal talks with DOH officials to discuss the reproductive health needs of women in remote areas outside of Manila. Both Swanepoel and Vallido lamented that the absence of Philippine health officials at Women Deliver signifies that "this administration really doesn't care about women's rights." A DOH official who asked that his identity be kept confidential because he is not authorized to speak on the issue said that travel to global health conferences like Women Deliver does not fall under authorized travel to be funded by the DOH. However, foreign travel to global conferences tied to international health agreements entered into by the Philippines is authorized to be funded by the DOH. Rappler reached out to the DOH to ask why there was no representative from the department at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference. There was no reply from the DOH as of this writing. Philippine youth delegates present at the conference were also hoping to hold side dialogues with government officials to express their opposition to the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which was approved by the House of Representatives last January. "Youth leaders from the Philippines are uniting here at Women Deliver 2019 in calling the attention of our Senate to stop the passage of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 9 or 12 years old. We believe that government should listen to the voices of young people,” said Ralph Ivan Samson, president of Y-PEER Pilipinas. 'Gender equality is under attack' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau headed the panel that included Sahle Work-Zewde, the first female president of Ethiopia, Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ghana President Nana Addo Dankwa, environmental activist Farwiza Farhan, youth advocate Natasha Mwansa, and UN High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth Alaa Murabit. Trudeau justified his claim of being a feminist by forming Canada's first gender-balanced cabinet in 2015 and continuing to push for feminist and gender equal government policies. "Gender equality is hard because we have a world…that lays barriers for women. It requires real, consistent commitment to change," Trudeau said. The conference comes at a time when women's reproductive health rights are coming under attack – from regressive abortion policies in the United States, to brazen sexism and misogyny displayed by heads of state. "Progress can backslide. We're seeing it happen. Gender equality is under attack. I can only imagine how hard it is to be a feminist on the frontlines," Trudeau said. "Individuals and interest groups are trying to roll back women's rights, and politicians are giving into the pressure, shamefully campaigning to undo women's hard won victories." The four-day summit brings together thought leaders, heads of state, and global public health champions to galvanize political and financial investments in gender equality and the sexual reproductive health rights of women and girls. The last Women Deliver Conference was held in 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark. – Rappler.com Ana P. Santos is covering the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, Canada, with support from Women Deliver. Original Story:  https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/us-canada/232386-trudeau-landmark-investments-women-sexual-health-rights

by Rich Reduble (Palawan Daily) April 22, 2019 Teenage pregnancy in Palawan is highest in the region according to POPCOM. (Contributed photo) The teenage pregnancy in Palawan for 2018 is the highest among the five provinces in MIMAROPA region, the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) said. Regional Director Angelito Obcena of POPCOM said that the region has a total of 7,546 cases of teenage pregnancy with Palawan having 3,510 cases, and Puerto Princesa 1,051. “For the whole Palawan, Puerto Princesa is number one in our list. The others are Taytay and also Brookes Point nasa top ten din. Actually marami sa munisipyo natin dito sa Palawan ay nakasama sa may mataas na adolescent pregnancy,” said Director Obcena. The issue was discussed during the meeting of Palawan Provincial Family Health Advocacy Council held last week. Present during the meeting were the different offices of the provincial government such as Provincial Health Office (PHO), Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and Provincial Information Office (PIO). Also present were representatives from non-government organizations, Roots of Health and The Forum for Family Planning and Development. Aside from the high teenage pregnancy cases, there were also 19 cases of maternal deaths in 2018 and a majority of which are teenage pregnant women said Jenevil Tombaga, Maternal Health Program Manager of the provincial government. Presently, an 11-year-old girl who got pregnant is monitored by their office until such time that she will give birth. Chi Vallido, Director for Programs and Advocacy of The Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc., said that the recent maternal death is lower compared that in the previous years. “I think nasa right track ang Palawan dahil when we came in, talagang mataas ang maternal mortality rate. So ngayon nakikita namin bumababa narin ang cases nito kahit papaano, although marami rin tayong mga dapat i-consider especially ang location ng Palawan, so ibig sabihin gumaganda ang mga programa ninyo. And ‘yong council (PFHAC) sobrang sipag like similar to other provinces that I have seen, pero ang challenges talaga for Palawan is marami, like geographic challenges, financial challenges, but one of the hardest working local government ay nakita namin dito sa Palawan,” said Vallido. To address the increasing teenage pregnancy in Palawan, the council agreed that they will form a team to implement interventions such as teenage pregnancy symposium, HIV and STI testing and counseling. NGOs likewise committed to undertake separate activities to intensify its efforts towards adolescent health. Original Story:  https://palawandailynews.com/regional-news/teenage-pregnancy-in-palawan-highest-in-the-region/?fbclid=IwAR28zVKlYLypoRQWyWuq67kzJinfA93m6zvlQqqQyiNQGQu_qVXVIfcLMKE

By Mike Dela Rama (Philippine News Agency) LEGAZPI CITY -- Five years ago today, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 or the RPRH Law in a decision that ended more than 15 years of fighting for its passage and defeating the pressure put up by the Catholic Church, its staunchest opposition. Chi Laigo Vallido, director for programs and advocacy of the Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), one of the advocacy organizations at the forefront of the RH movement, recalled on Monday the day the measure was certified as a law. “I will never forget the words ‘not unconstitutional’ as then Supreme Court (SC) spokesperson Atty. Teodore Te read the decision,” Vallido said. Like Vallido, Los Angeles based actor-producer Giselle Toengi-Walters was with about 200 other RH advocates outside the SC compound in Baguio City that day. “It’s been five years but I remember with pride how I was part of something greater that I could have imagined.” The High Court ruled that the RPRH Law is lawful after it first stopped its implementation four months as soon as it took effect on March 18, 2013. The Court issued a status quo ante order after Pro-Life Philippines Foundation Inc. and some Catholic Church groups questioned what they claimed was the law's violation of the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the right to life. But barely a year since the SC decision, the High Court responded to yet another petition of church groups, led by  Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines, Inc. (ALFI), resulting in a two-year SC temporary restraining order (TRO) on implants and contraceptives from June 2015 to November 2017. However, pro-RH organizations like The Forum, which works with local community networks in promoting reproductive health and rights, continued their advocacy. "We need to move forward and implement the law because lives are at risk and because we are seeing slight improvements in our RH situation,” Vallido said. One proof of this is the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS)'s finding of a significant decline in the fertility of Filipino women to a statistical average of 2.7 children, down from 3.0 in 2013. This decline was associated with an increase in the use of modern family planning methods by over 40 percent of currently married women, or roughly 2 million women. But Vallido said there are still many things that need to be done because the other indicators do not look good, such as in 2017, according to Philippine Statistics Authority, there were 1.7 million registered live births or three babies born per minute. “But far too many babies are also dying. Neonatal deaths based on the 2017 NDHS is 14 per 1,000 live births and 21 for infant mortality. This means that every year, more than 30,000 babies die without reaching their first birthday,” she said. Teen pregnancy cases, on the other hand, are high. The NDHS said 9 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 have begun childbearing. Maternal mortality is also still high. Every day, there are 11 women who die from pregnancy and childbirth complications. Of the estimated 107 million population the poorest 40 percent of Filipinos are the ones who have the highest unmet need for family planning, or those who want to practice family planning but are unable to do so due to factors such as lack of knowledge, resources and access to reproductive health services. Toengi-Walters said, “Being on the ground, advocating for the RH Law transformed my views on motherhood as I acknowledge how fortunate I am to be able to choose what is right for my family. A lot of Pinays unfortunately do not have the access to carry out their reproductive rights.” “Filipinos must start making the RH Law work for them. Improving our health situation would take more than just the RH Law but implementing it well with adequate budget is a step in the right direction,” Vallido said. (PNA). Original Story:  http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066719?fbclid=IwAR1-Clp6DwmC5bOcqkduAgpuM92f49UrkcQHc-gFMjt5tge2jnY4kDfGigU

By Frank Cimatu (Rappler) BAGUIO, Philippines – From having the highest rate of teenage pregnancy 5 years ago, Cordillera is now among those with the lowest. The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) reported a significant decline in teenage pregnancies in the Cordillera – from 18.7% in 2013 to only 3.4% in 2017. Former Popcom-Cordillera Administrative Region director Rose Fortaleza said recently that mobilizing concerned government agencies and local governments to intensify their information and education campaign was the key. Non-governmental organizations were also instrumental in the region’s teenage pregnancy decline ever since the Forum for Family Planning and Development joined forces with Benguet and Ifugao provinces for the campaign. Last week, for example, advocates Chi Laigo Vallido and Kevin de Vera, in coordination with Benguet Board Member Jim Botiwey, talked to the students of 3 high schools in Benguet with the highest teenage pregnancy incidents. They shared with them strategies on how to avoid early pregnancies. On February 19, they went to Benguet National High School in Wangal and later in Puguis. The next day, they talked to Grade 10 and 11 pupils of the Tublay School of Home Industries, where they currently have 10 pregnant students. On February 21, the two went to Nangalisan in Tuba, which has 11 cases of teenage pregnancies (up from 10 in 2018) and talked to Grade 10 students of Tuba National High School there. The sessions took almost 4 hours. Vallido talked about the national situation and the concepts of the reproductive health (RH) and reproductive rights. She talked about how the law can help the students and the concepts of reproductive health. De Vera, a nurse and teacher, talked about the physiological and mental changes within the bodies of adolescents, especially in the RH aspect. He gave them strategies on how to assert themselves and get real information about sex and contraception. De Vera told them about the misconceptions about sex and how to be on top of situations concerning their bodies. Earlier, the Forum also gave a workshop to teachers in Benguet on how to deal with students regarding RH. A new component in these sessions is the talk about HIV-AIDS, especially now that the Philippines is in a fast-and-furious pace in HIV infection. – Rappler.com . Original Story:  https://www.rappler.com/nation/224550-number-teenage-mothers-decreasing-cordillera

By H. MARCOS C. MORDENO (MindaNews) - JANUARY 29, 2019 3:00 PM DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 29 January) – The number of Filipinos living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may reach over 250,000 by 2030 if no drastic measures are done, with majority of new infections likely teens and young adults aged 15 to 24 based on current trends, the Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc. (The Forum) said Sunday. The Forum cited the November 2018 latest update of the Department of Health’s HIV and AIDS Registry, which noted that “the proportion of HIV cases in the 15-24 year age group nearly tripled from 13% in 1999-2008 to 29% in 2009-2018.” For November 2018, there were 945 new cases (900 males and 45 females), with 71 already in the advanced stages of infection, six of whom are pregnant women, according to the registry. Fifty-six newly-diagnosed adolescents 10-19 years old were all infected through sexual contact. Five engaged in male-female sex, 41 male-male sex, and 10 had sex with both males and females. Mother-to-child transmission of the disease infected six newly diagnosed children who were less than 10 years old. In the same month, there were 37 reported deaths, seven cases of which were aged 15-24. “From January 1984 (when the first case in the Philippines was reported) to November 2018, out of the 61,152 total number of cases, 4% (2,532) were 19 years old and younger at the time of diagnosis. Out of the 2,532, there were 160 children less than 10 years old, 157 were infected through mother-to-child transmission; one through blood transfusion; and two without data,” the registry said. HIV is transmitted when body fluids, most commonly blood, semen and pre-seminal fluid, enters another person’s body, either through sexual contact, sharing of contaminated needles, transfusion of HIV-infected blood and through an infected pregnant mother to her child. HIV causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which destroys the human body’s natural ability to fight off all kinds of infections. The condition still does not have any known cure nor a vaccine. The Forum president Benjamin de Leon the enactment of the HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018 (RA 11166) may stop the rapid virus transmission among children and youth who had to seek parental and guardian consent prior to getting tested. RA 11166, which updates the AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, no longer requires minors between 15 and 18 to get parental consent prior to getting an HIV test. “The infection can spread unchecked if we continue to deny children and youth the necessary and urgent medical attention that they can get,” he said, adding that, “it is also urgent to address their lack of information, which is one of the major reasons why infection rates in the country are rising alarmingly.” The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS said the Philippines recorded the fastest growing HIV epidemic in Asia Pacific from 2010 to 2016 with a 141-percent increase, which means 32 new cases reported daily. It is one of the very few countries in the world where HIV is on the rise. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews). Original Story:  https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2019/01/pinoys-with-hiv-may-reach-250000-in-2030/

The 11th Rafael M. Salas Cup, hosted by The Forum for Family Planning and Development, was held on November 7, 2018, at Camp Aguinaldo with the inspiring theme, “Equality, Empowering, Delivering for Women.” This annual charity golf tournament brought together advocates, partners, and supporters in a united effort to raise funds for programs benefiting women and girls. More than just a sporting event, the Salas Cup served as a powerful platform to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, honoring the legacy of Rafael M. Salas, a global champion of population and development. Proceeds from the event supported initiatives aimed at improving the health, rights, and well-being of women and young girls across the Philippines.