Buhay tops partylist winners, vows to repeal RH law

MANILA, May 24, 2013—Eleven days after election, the Commission on Elections National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) today announced the top 14 partylist winners of the recent mid-term polls with Buhay Hayaang Yumabong (Buhay) dominating the top spot and garnering 3 seats for the House of Representatives. 

Buhay representative Lito Atienza vowed to take steps to repeal the highly controversial Reproductive Health law or Republic Act 10354.

Atienza in an interview said, “We will work for the repeal or amendment of RH law to remove totally the condemnable provisions. If we see we have the numbers to repeal we will push for it.”

He also criticized the RH law reiterating that it is nothing but foreign imposition. “RH is a foreign culture, it is anti-Filipino.”

Aside from Atienza, the other 2 Buhay nominees who will sit as representatives are Mariano Michael M. Velarde, Jr., and third time representative William Irwin C. Tieng.

BUHAY Party-List was formed on October 20, 1999 in the City of Manila with Melquiades A. Robles, Atty. Melchor R. Monsod, Atty. Emmanuel R. Sison, Atty. Norberto D. Enriquez and Atty. Jaime P. Valencia, Jr. as party members.

Buhay was given accreditation by the Commission on Elections as a Political Party on March 9, 2001. It participated in the Party-list system of elections on May 14, 2001 placing 12th with 290,760 votes and garnered 2 seats in the House of Representatives.

Among the many bills Buhay successfully passed were Republic Act 9346 titled “An Act prohibiting the imposition of death penalty in the Philippines” and Republic Act 9775 titled “An Act defining the Crime of Child Pornography and Imposing Penalties therefore and for other purposes”. (Paul de Guzman)