Rep. Nikki Prieto Teodoro, wife of Presidential Candidate Gilbert Teodoro, withdraws support for the Reproductive Health Bill

SAYING that it has been “defanged and is now toothless” the legislator-wife of former defense secretary Gilbert  Teodoro, the administration bet in the 2010 presidential elections, has withdrawn her support for the controversial reproductive-health bill.

In pulling out her support for House Bill 5043, Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Nikki Prieto Teodoro of Tarlac said the measure does not directly address the problem of poverty in the country, where about 5,000 Filipinos are born daily, most of them ending up poor.

…

She said that her new stand on the issue is consistent with her husband’s platform of government to fight against the “four faces of poverty: poverty of the mind, poverty of the pocket, poverty of the environment, poverty of relationships.”

“We shall protect the life of each and every citizen. Respect for life shall be from the moment of conception to the moment of death of our constituents. The protection of life is guaranteed by our constitution and on this principle there is no compromise,” former defense secretary Teodoro said in his speech during the Lakas-Kampi-CMD convention recently.

Source:  Business Mirror

Monk’s Hobbit’s Notes: This is what I have been praying for.  I was still reluctant to vote Gibo before.  Though I believe that he is the most competent among the Presidential candidates, his wife’s support  for the Reproductive Health Bill is a millstone around his neck.  Now that his wife withdraws support for the Bill, I can now pray that Gibo wins.  I hope the pro-life movement would now rally behind Teodoro’s banner.

J. C. de los Reyes is fighting a good fight.  He knows he has a very slim chance in winning the presidential race.  But he joins the race not for himself but to give the Kapatiran party a voice in the presidential elections.  The Kapatiran party is a distinctively pro-life party.  I shall vote for the Kapatiran’s senatorial slate.  I watched the ANC Presidential Elections 2010 forum last night and I heard Gibo and JC speak.  Gibo is more eloquent, but JC’s moral integrity shines: he is willing to waive the bank secrecy law and allow the public to know his bank account.  He said that he has a house in Baguio which he built himself, because he has a brick making business.  He also said that he has a lease-to-own house somewhere in Manila worth 5 million pesos; he pays P 50,000 per month.  Concerning the question of the reproductive health bill, we already know what JC will say.  But this is what I heard Gibo say: population control must not be legislated.  I had a feeling that this is a portent of things to come and indeed, Gibo’s wife now withdraws support for the Reproductive Health Bill.  If there is something good that JC had done in joining the presidential race, I think it is in making Gibo consider the moral side of the issues.

Update 12/7/2009: Gibo is still pro-choice. If he does not change his mind, I will not vote for him.