Chiz: The child in mother’s womb is country’s future

 

SAN FERNANDO CITY -Leading vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged pregnant women to ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, saying the children inside their womb are the future of the Philippines.

TOUR. Vice Presidential candidate Chiz Escudero (center) in a huddle with village chiefs of San Fernando City, La Union at the Thunderbird Resort last Wednesday. He was in the city for his listening tour with various sectors in the northern Luzon city. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

“Nasa sinapupunan ninyo ang kinabukasan ng ating bansa. Ang mga anak ninyo ang susunod na magiging mga lider ng ating lipunan at ng ating bansa,” Escudero said during the Sikugor Buntis Congress in La Union Wednesday.

Escudero told mothers that their children are fortunate because they will know their parents at birth, which is not the case for his presidential running mate, Sen. Grace Poe, who was found abandoned in a church in Jaro, Iloilo.

Poe, who is the top pick for president based on pre-election surveys, was later adopted by movie royalty Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces. She is the first foundling in the Philippines to seek the highest post in the land.

“Pero ngayon maaring sya ang maging susunod na pangulo ng bansa. Kung sa isang pulot na bata pwedeng maganap iyon, ano pa kaya sa mga anak ninyo na simula pa lamang may nagmamahal agad na mga magulang?” said Escudero.

The veteran lawmaker also emphasized the importance of prenatal care or preventive healthcare for expectant mothers to avoid possible health problems during and after pregnancy.

Escudero, however, said this is only possible if the Department of Health (DOH) will make healthcare for pregnant women more affordable and accessible, especially for those residing in rural areas.

“Ang preventive healthcare ay napakahalaga, mas mura at mas nakakatiyak tayo para masiguro ang kaligtasan at pagiging malusog ng kinabukasan ng ating bansa, ang ating mga kabataan. Dapat gawin ito sa bawat sulok ng bansa at dapat pondohan din ito ng PhilHealth kung hindi kakayanin ng lokal na pamahalaan para matiyak ang kalusugan ng ating mga kababayan at kabataan,” he said.

Under the 2016 National Expenditure Plan, the DOH received P122.63 billion for its program, and Escudero wanted the agency to allocate more funds for birthing centers and public hospitals.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, a significant number of Filipino women have limited access to reproductive health services. It also added that more than half of births in the country occurred at home while one-third of them were assisted by traditional birth attendants also known as hilot.

Data from the 2013 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey also showed that assistance at delivery by a medically-trained provider is much higher in urban areas, with 83 percent, than in rural areas with only 64 percent. 

The Poe-Escudero tandem and candidates of Partido Galing at Puso will be in La Union and Abra Thursday to seek the support of the provinces, after visiting Baguio City and Mountain Province—their first leg of campaign sortie in the north.

Under the “Gobyernong may Puso” platforms, Poe and Escudero are pushing for rapid and inclusive growth, poverty alleviation and global competitiveness.