SENATE floor debates on the contentious reproductive-health (RH) bill is not likely to begin until August after Congress reconvenes sessions following a six-week recess, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said on Monday.

Santiago, one of the main co-authors of the controversial RH bill, pointed out that Congress only has two weeks of session left before their scheduled adjournment next month.

“Even if we deliver the sponsorship speeches, we still have to adjourn sine die by June 9,” she said. “In all probability, the debates will begin when session resumes after the State-of-the-Nation address by President Aquino at the end of July.”

Santiago added she was also not objecting to the plan of the Senate health committee, chaired by Sen. Pilar Cayetano, to hold another public hearing to tackle the “unborn child” bill filed by anti-RH senators, led by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“We should proceed with all deliberate speed, because if we do not grant the oppositors a public hearing, they might resort to procedural technicalities which would delay the plenary debate,” she explained.

Noting that the Palace-backed RH bill is expected to sail through in the administration-dominated House of Representatives, Santiago predicted that “the political momentum will be carried over to the Senate.”

“The senators will realize that the surveys are correct, and that the majority of the public support RH [bill] as part of every individual’s freedom of conscience,” she said. But if the bill is defeated in the House, “then it would be pointless to debate it in the Senate,” she added

In a separate interview, Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto revealed a high-powered pro-RH bill lobby allegedly funded by international pharmaceutical companies backing “planned parenthood” advocates.

“Obvious ba? Lahat nang nagla-lobby in favor; nandoon ang gastusan sa in favor. Bakit kamo? Kailangan nila ng promo. Nanggagaling ’yan doon sa grupo ng international pharmaceuticals, sa International Planned Parenthood Federation na nakadikit ang pharma, na nadikit ang World Health Organization ng United Nations at pharmaceutical companies. ’Yang mga ’yan ang nasa likod n’yan at wala nang iba,” Sotto told reporters,

Unfortunately, he added, not all RH bill advocates are in on the lobby to get the bill passed in the Senate and the House of Representatives. “Alam mo ang iba d’yan, kunwari hindi nila alam [iyong lobby] pero meron namang iba na talagang hindi nila alam. Mga private citizens na papel nang papel, bukol lahat sila.”