NEWS RELEASE
04 September 2012
Reference:
REP. LUZ ILAGAN,0920-9213221 / REP. EMMI DE JESUS, 0917-3221203
Jang Monte, 0917-4049119 / Wena Festin, 09156349308
GABRIELA SOLONS SLAM MILK CODE AMENDMENTS, CORPORATIZATION AS LETHAL ATTACKS ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S HEALTH
"In the midst of poverty and joblessness, while the women have yet to recover from floods, the House of Representatives is tackling the Milk Code amendments and corporatization of government hospitals, a dangerous tandem that if approved and passed, will surely exterminate the right to health and survival specially for the marginalized sectors."
This is according to Gabriela solons Emmi De Jesus and Luz Ilagan as the House of Representatives Committees on Health and Trade and Industry tackles proposed amendments to Executive Order 51 (EO51) or the Milk Code as well as proposed legislation to corporatize government hospitals.
"The Milk Code is a milestone policy in promoting the well-being of infants. It ensures the state's responsibility to promote breastfeeding as a vital and essential practice for the survival and development of infants. Congress will be inflicting damage to the future generations of Filipinos should the Committees on Health and Trade and Industry approve the regressive amendments to EO 51 or the Milk Code," said De Jesus.
Ilagan for her part said, "The government has abandoned its responsibility to deliver accessible health care services by slashing the health budget and pushing for privatization of government hospitals through the PPP. This inevitably results to the displacement of poor patients as the cost of health services increase. If passed, corporatization will be very detrimental to the marginalized women and children in government hospitals."
The Gabriela solons also joined women at the South Wing Gate of the House Representatives protesting the attacks on women and children's right to health and survival.
"As women and their families continue to be plagued by joblessness, low wages, and landlessness amid increases in the prices of basic goods and social services, these tandem legislations will surely push them to the pit of poverty and death," said De Jesus.
"These two legislations undoubtedly reveal that the government favors the interests of the big local and foreign private corporations more than the rights and welfare of poor Filipino families. The amended Milk Code is poised to ensure billions of profits for milk manufacturers at the expense of infants and young children while the corporatization of government hospitals will guarantee profit to big businesses who will invest in government hospitals at the expense of the poor," Ilagan noted.
"The government has totally abandoned the public health care system at the mercy of big corporations and financiers. Women and our families are now called to task to defend the right to healthcare," ended the Gabriela solons. ###
Representative EMMI DE JESUS
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