The 3rd Option: Let The Poor Decide (RH)

The 3rd Option: Let The Poor Decide (RH)
By Dennis Yu (dennisjyu@gmail.com)

In my previous article, I said that since the anti-RH and the pro-RH agree in helping the poor (sincerity is another question, of course), why don’t we give just the P13 billion in cold cash directly to the poor? Let’s leave it up to them to decide on how they’ll spend it. If some wants contraceptives, that’s their choice. If the others want a sack of rice, instead, nobody should stop them. I’m sure 99% of them will buy rice.

At the end of the day, it’s money that talks. If there’s no fund to implement the RH, it’s useless. Well, RH is in itself harmful, so I’d say that it’s better if there are no funds to implement it. It will be a law without a teeth, or perhaps, even without a mouth.

I find P13 billion too high a price to be spent on something where the nation is not exactly happy about. Those who are against the RH are too many to ignore. Besides, their number grows as they become more aware of the real motives behind the RH.

Everybody agrees on livelihood training, on constructing roads and bridges, on providing water irrigation to improve rice harvest. I’d rather spend P13 billion on these projects. But since the pro-RH people insist that the fund be spent on contraceptions, I’d rather have the P13 billion given directly to the poor. The pro-RH say they want to help the poor (some of them are sincere but mistaken, others are completely malicious), they can do so by giving the poor even “more freedom” by letting them decide whether they’ll buy contraceptives or not.

As for the “distribution sites”, let that be a problem of the contraceptive pharmaceuticals. Let them work a bit. We can’t give P13 billion to them without sweating for it. We’re too generous in giving cold cash to them rather than to the poor. There are many ways to help the poor, and giving them a choice to buy or not to buy contraceptives is another way, a better way.

I’ll explain why this is better. In the present configuration of the RH Bill, the poor people who will not avail the “reproductive services” are discriminated. If P100 is budgeted for contraception for 5 poor persons, and only 3 avail of it, the other 2 who did not lost P40. It’s unfair to them. Whereas, if all 5 are given P20 each, those 3 will spend their P60 (or maybe just a part of it) to buy condoms. The other 2 will be happy with their P40 (to buy rice, perhaps?). Everybody’s happy, right? No one is discriminated. The pharmaceuticals are happy as well. Or are they? Perhaps they’d be less happy. Why? Because, in the present configuration of the RH Bill, the government would have bought contraceptives for 5 persons, and not for 3. Less sales for them. As you can see, pera pera lang talaga. I’m a grandson of Chinese immigrants. I know it when money is involved.

I know the disadvantages of dole outs. But if I were to choose between condom and dole out, I will choose dole out.

Let the P13 billion be given directly to the poor. Let them decide how to spend it. (13-VIII-2012)