It's been a year since Sen. Pia Cayetano gave a speech on the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which she co-authored, in front of the Senate on June 7, 2011. Now, RH bill proponents are ready to move forward and make amendments after the Senate officially stopped the interpellation period on the act. An interpellation is a prodecure in which officials--in this case, Sen. Cayetano and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago--are demanded to explain a policy.

"I'm happy and relieved that after almost a year of defending the RH Bill, we have finally terminated the period of interpellation," Sen. Cayetano is quoted as saying on Interaksyon.com. "I'm now looking forward to starting the period of amendments."

"There have been a lot of points raised by my colleagues that we will be able to use to improve the bill, and I would like to thank them for sharing their inputs and concerns with me. I certainly hope that in that whole year that we've spent debating the bill, my co-sponsor (Sen. Defensor-Santiago) and I have also been able to enlighten some of them on their questions and concerns," she added.

The period of interpellation ended after Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a vocal critic of the RH Bill, chose not to continue his interpellation when the other senators had finished with their own questions.


(Photo by piacayetano media via Wikimedia Commons)