What is C4RH?
The Catholics for Reproductive Health (C4RH) is both a movement and an organization. It envisions a fellowship of Filipino Catholics living in harmony with their faith and right to RH by organizing and supporting fellow Filipino Catholics in understanding, appreciating, and promoting RH as a right.
Vision
C4RH envisions a fellowship of Filipino Catholics living in harmony with their faith and right to RH.
Mission
To organize and support fellow Filipino Catholics in understanding, appreciating, and promoting RH as a right.
Goals
- To enhance awareness and understanding on SRHR and religion and to sustain capacities of institutions and movements in defending, promoting, and protecting SRHR;
- To undertake and disseminate issue-based and strategic studies on religion and SRHR;
- To monitor compliance of existing policies and programs on SRHR, to encourage and support decision makers in institutionalizing enabling environments for SRHR, and equip movements and institutions for engaging the policy-making process on SRHR and religious concerns;
- To undertake collaborative and innovative projects showcasing the integration of SRHR, religion, and other social justice concerns.
Board Members
C4RH Board members and Executive Director are feminists and have years of experience in women and girl empowerment and promotion of SRHR and gender equality. All of Board members are previous or current academics/teachers with two still teaching in all-girls colleges. Two are medical doctors and one is a gay demographer representing the LGBT sector.
Gender equality and SRHR serve as the organizational core ideals as reflected in our policy advocacy, capacity-building workshops, and community outreach activities. C4RH networks and collaborates with government units and agencies and civil society organizations (CSOs at the international, national, and local levels.
Dr. Amaryllis Tiglao-Torres
is currently the Chairperson of the Catholics for Reproductive health. She was also the Dean of the College of Social Work and Community Development and the University of the Philippines, Diliman for 3 years where she still teaches as Professor Emeritus. She is also the Executive Director of the Philippine Social Science Council.
Dr. Aurora Javate-De Dios
is currently the Vice-Chair of of the Catholics for Reproductive Health. She is also a member of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).
Prof. Arche Ligo
is a progressive and feminist theologian and a well-respected mentor of many budding feminists and students of women’s studies. Prof. Ligo was the former Chair of the Department of Women’s Studies of the School of Arts and Sciences of St. Scholastica’s College.
Ana P. Ebo
is currently the treasurer of the Catholics for Reproductive Health. She is also the former Director of the Development Institute for Women in the Asia Pacific (DIWA), the gender office of the Philippine Women’s University, and an active member of the Women Studies Association of the Philippines (WSAP).
Dr. Rey H. delos Reyes, MD
is a board member of the Catholics for Reproductive Health. He is also the former President of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of the Philippines Inc. He specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology, with particular interest in Gynecologic Oncology, and has been practicing for more than 3 decades.
Edelina P. Dela Paz, M.D.
has been at the forefront of advocacy for the people’s health movement and health for all and was the founding president of C4RH. She is currently a board member. She is also the President of the Health Action Information Network, a non-government organization that provides research, information, and education needs of Filipinos and international agencies working in health and development.
Ladylyn Mangada, MPM
is a founding board member of the Catholics for Reproductive Health. She is also a Professor at the Political Science Department of the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College. Prof. Ladylyn Lim Mangada has 20 years of experience in local governance, community driven development and local politics..
Jeff Ysulat Fuentes
is founding board member of the Catholics for Reproductive Health. He is also the Population Officer of the City Health Office of Davao City.
Luz Francess Chua, or “Bicbic”
to friends and colleagues, currently works as the Founding Executive Director of the Catholics for Reproductive Health (C4RH), a faith-based NGO that promotes RH as human right and social justice concern.
Past Chairpersons
2011-2012: Edelina dela Paz, MD
2012-2013: Alberto Romualdez, MD
Dr. Romualdez is a former DOH Secretary who actively promotes the Universal Health Care Program in the country and passionately advocates for women’s reproductive rights. On October 18, 2013, our beloved chairman was recalled by his creator. His journey may have ended but his legacy remains. He touched many lives as he passionately championed universal health care and people’s right to reproductive health. It’s been a great honor and a privilege to have known and worked with him.
2014-2016: Ernesto Pernia, Ph.D
Dr. Pernia, a staunch advocate of Reproductive Health, is a Professor Emeritus at the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics. He specializes in Development, Demographic, and Human Resource Economics. He has held various positions both locally and internationally in the economics field as Director of Research at UP School of Economics in ’82 to ’83 and as Lead Economist at the Economics and Research Department of the ADB in 1999 to 2003, to name a few. He has also published numerous scholarly papers.