The new year in numbers

The new year in numbers

By Marites Dañguilan Vitug

What to anticipate in 2013? Here are some numbers that reflect big issues in politics and policy and will have an impact on our lives, our politics, and our growth as a nation.

10354: The number of the Republic Act that is the culmination of the reproductive health bill, a close to 14-year battle in this Catholic country. Titled the “Act Providing for a National Policy on Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health,” it mandates universal access to reproductive health care services, contraceptives, and information, with poor families as top priority. Not surprisingly, it faces its first legal challenge in the Supreme Court. The government needs the votes of 8 justices to win this.

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