Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, January 23 shrugged off the withdrawal of support done by seven senators on the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2023 or Senate Bill No. 1979 as it is already in the advanced stage of legislation.
As far as she is concerned, Hontiveros said SB 1979 has already been reported out in the Senate plenary and is about to enter the period of interpellation and amendments.
The senator has also filed a substitute version of the bill where the phrase “guided by international standards” is removed.
This substitute bill on SB No. 1979 will be discussed in the coming days.
“So ang understanding ko ay itong substitute bill ay i-interpellate na po namin sa plenaryo (So my understanding is that we will now interpellate on this substitute bill before the plenary),” Hontiveros said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
“Dagdag po dyan (Moreover), to my knowledge…this matter is already in plenary through questions and other proposed amendments,” she said.
“Kaya gaya ng nabanggit ko, ang susunod na mangyayari ay nakadepende sa gagawin ng body sa plenary (As what I said, what will happen to the bill depends on what the body will do during plenary). Sa (At the) plenary, taking into consideration the substitute bill filed,” she added.
“Yan po ang paniniwala ko dahil ang committee report ay ika nga na-report out na nga po sa plenary, na-sponsor na po ito at iniintay na lamang na ma-interpellate at ma-propose sa mga amendments (That’s what I believe will happen because the committee report has already been reported out in the plenary, it has been sponsored and we are just waiting for the bill to be interpellated and for amendments to be proposed),” added Hontiveros.
The senator also said the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) has been given a copy of the substitute bill for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s perusal.
“Well, salamat naman sa Presidential Legislative Liaison Office o PLLO dito sa Senado, kinuha na po nila ang kopya at totoong kopya ng substitute bill ng Senate Bill 1979 mula dito sa Senado para ipadala po sa (We are thankful that the PLLO here in the Senate has obtained their own copy and true copy of the substitute bill on SB 1979 from the Senate to be submitted to the) Office of the President,” Hontiveros said.
“Kaya, salamat naman at inaasahan ko na babasahin nga po ni Presidente ang aming substitute bill (So, we are thankful and expecting that the President will read our substitute bill),” she said.