By Evelyn Macairan
The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star
Thousands attend an anti-Reproductive Health Bill rally in the rain at the EDSA Shrine in Ortigas yesterday. BOY SANTOS
MANILA, Philippines – In what could be its final push to block the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill in Congress, the Catholic Church led a rally yesterday where it reminded the faithful of the measure’s link to birth control and warned them that “contraception is corruption.”
The Catholic clergy delivered their message in a “prayer rally” at the EDSA shrine where more than 10,000 faithful, including some politicians, braved bad weather to show their solidarity with the Church’s stand.
“Corruption is the cancer of the Philippines that prevents us from growing. My dear youth, contraception is corruption. The use of government money, taxpayers’ money, to give out contraceptive pills is corruption,” Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a message read by former Ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa.
The rally was organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL).
Villegas said the reason why the Catholic Church is standing up against contraception and abortion is that it cares for the future of the youth of the country.
“This quarrel is not for us, it is for you. I am standing to defend you. We are fighting error because you might be misled. We are battling against corruption because we know it can harm your soul. Believe me, contraception harms your soul,” Villegas said.
He recalled that when President Aquino ran for president, he used the slogan “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (there are no poor where there are no corrupt).”
He added that the promotion of contraceptive pills imparts to the mind of the people that indiscriminate sex is all right and that babies are to blame for the country’s poverty.
He also hit back at Aquino, who mentioned in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that to address the problem on the backlog of classrooms, there should be responsible parenthood.
“If more babies are the cause of poverty, are we now saying kung walang anak walang mahirap? It does not rhyme because it is not correct. We can have more classrooms, more food, more jobs if we would be less corrupt. Send out the corrupt official and not the baby,” Villegas said.
“My dear youth, your birth was not a mistake. Your birth was God’s gift to us and to our leaders. You are not the problem, you are our blessing. The problem is the corruption of elders,” he added.
“When contraception fails a birth control generation will give birth to an abortion generation,” he added.
He also said that if the contraceptive pill is considered an essential medicine, it may appear that it is intended to cure the “disease” of pregnancy.
“There is a wisdom that only age and experience can give. We are old but God made us old so we can be reminders for us not to forget our Filipino values, the commandments of God and the rules of good character,” Villegas said.
He also pointed out that the reason why there is no Tagalog word for “contraception” is that it is not only “ungodly” but “un-Filipino” as well. “Fight contraception or we perish as a Godly nation,” he said.
Among the politicians present were Senate President Juan Juan Ponce Enrile, Majority leader Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Gregorio Honasan.
Honasan said that the anti-RH rally “is part of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. We should not politicize the RH bill, the effects of this would be felt for generations from now so we should be prudent and cautious.”
Among the bishops present were Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David, Military Ordinariate Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak, San Jose Nueva Ecija Bishop Roberto Mallari, and Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes.
More than 7,000 rallyists also converged at the Peneranda Park in Legazpi City.
Conscience
CBCP-ECFL chairman Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said lawmakers should base their decision on the measure on their conscience and not on the rally turnout. Rally organizers had earlier predicted a “massive” turnout.
He said he does not believe that the rally should be treated as a “make or break” by congressmen in making their decision on Aug. 7.
“It is not the size of the crowd. Our congressmen are also thinking about their vote, on what would be good for the people. They should vote on what is right. During the time of Jesus Christ, there were people who shouted that Christ should be crucified. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the ‘voice of the people’. During the time of Jesus Chirst, the ‘voice of the people’ was for Christ to be crucified, but that was wrong. It is not always the case that the more people who agree on a position are always right,” Reyes said.
He also said that the Catholic Church will not punish lawmakers who will vote for the measure. However, “we would remember who they are.”
“The RH bill, primarily, is against the laws of God. Whatever is against the laws of God, that is not good for the people because it is God who made Man and he knows what is good and bad for us,” he added.
El Shaddai spiritual leader Bro. Mike Velarde, for his part, said the late father of President Aquino, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., had said, “The Filipinos are worth dying for. He did not say ‘The Filipinos are worth killing for.”’
“That is the truth. He offered his life for the Filipinos. Life is precious, now they want to kill life,” said Velarde
The El Shaddai leader also asked the people to pray so that legislators would not make a mistake of voting for the RH bill. “Those for life will live and their political life will succeed.”
“Those who would vote for the RH bill…R.I.P. (Rest In Peace),” he added.
“The proponents of the RH bill said that it is not abortion, that is not true, that is deception. This is preemptive abortion because these medications would stop the formation of life in the womb. That is pre-emptive abortion, premeditative killing,” Velarde added. “If you will kill the people, who would you lead over?”
“We are not mandated to kill life from beginning to end. We are mandated to honor and preserve life from beginning to end,” Velarde added. With Cet Dematera, Eva Visperas
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RELATED STORY:
Aquino makes final push for RH bill
By Joyce Pangco Panares
Manila Standard Today
Manila Standard Today
Solons troop to Palace for marching order
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has invited lawmakers to the Palace today for a final push to win support for the reproductive health bill ahead of a crucial vote on Tuesday.
“The President wants to convey his thoughts on responsible parenthood. The President has been very clear and consistent on where he stands on the matter,” said Transport Secretary Manuel Roxas II, president of Mr. Aquino’s Liberal Party.
“The multi-party meeting has been scheduled to ensure that the President is not misinterpreted and his words are not misappropriated. We expect a very good turnout of about 200 lawmakers.”
Congress is set to decide on Tuesday if it will end the debates on the bill that have lasted for more than a year to move it closer to a final vote. The lawmakers who oppose the bill have sought to delay its passage by dragging out the debates, a tactic that succeeded in the previous Congresses.
The United Nations on Sunday called on Congress to pass the bill, noting that the time spent debating the proposal was measured by the lives of 15 women lost to maternal death daily.
Presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas accused Catholic bishops of bullying lawmakers into voting against the RH bill and saying contraception was a form of corruption.
“It’s unfair but not unexpected. From the start the anti-RH campaign has been characterized by false claims and misinformation,” Llamas said.
In its statement Sunday, the UN dismissed the concerns raised by the Catholic Church.
“The United Nations believes that apprehensions such as exposure of people to risks of contraceptive use, encouragement of sexual promiscuity and legalization of abortion have no basis,” the UN said.
“Instituting a reproductive health policy is consistent with the government’s duty under the Constitution to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.
“Reproductive health is not about population numbers. It is about ensuring a life of health and dignity…Time spent discussing these issues repeatedly is measured by the lives of the 15 women we lose to maternal deaths every day.”
The UN said lawmakers must not squander the opportunity given to them to finally pass the bill. The consolidated measure, repackaged as the responsible parenthood bill, was submitted to Congress in August, incorporating the views of the Catholics Bishop Conference in a series of talks with the Palace. The Church later pulled out of the talks but the original bill was watered down as a result of those sessions.
The final bill no longer identifies the ideal number of children per family and increases the age at which children will take sex education in schools.
The Palace also moved to amend a provision requiring all hospitals to carry a full-range of modern artificial family planning methods.
On Thursday, Mr. Aquino expressed hope that Congress would finally end the period of debates on Aug. 7.
“Perhaps the debates should end and Congress can decide, once and for all, on the responsible parenthood bill,” the President said.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said Sunday some 150 lawmakers had already confirmed attendance at today’s 11:30 a.m. Luncheon meeting with the President at the Palace.
“All members of the House, majority and minority, were invited by the President to the Palace at 11:30 a.m. The President just wants to share his thoughts on the RH bill,” Gonzales said over dzBB radio.
Lawmakers were under pressure from the groups supporting and opposing the bill, with the Catholic Church mounting a prayer rally Saturday that drew 10,000 anti-RH advocates to the Edsa Shrine.
At 6 p.m. on Monday, women’s groups said they would hold candle lighting rallies simultaneously nationwide to dramatize their intention to enlighten the conscience of the lawmakers to vote for the long-delayed RH bill.
Gonzales brushed aside insinuations that the President wanted to counter the efforts made by the Catholic Church.
“The President only wants to share his thoughts with us. It is up to the members to accept it or not,” Gonzales said.
“I don’t expect the President will tell us how to vote.”
Gonzales ruled out any further compromise on the RH bill.
“That is a religious dogma. The Church cannot surrender that,” he said.
He said the House leadership would ask the members to make their votes known through nominal voting or by raising of the hands to record their vote on Tuesday.
“There will be nominal voting. I will push for it so it would be clear who voted and we would know where the Church’s pressure and intimidation were directed. We will respect each member’s decision but as far as we, or those who support the RH bill, are concerned, our position was very clear.”
On Sunday, National Anti-Poverty Commission Undersecretary Florencia Cassanova-Dorotan said the lack of a reproductive health law were victimizing mostly the poor women and their families.
She said maternal deaths and teenage pregnancies were happening because women, young and old, had no access to the right information about family planning and responsible parenthood. They also did not have the freedom to choose the most appropriate method of family planning.
Some lay leaders urged the Catholic Church to listen to the voice of the majority who had long waited for the bill to be enacted into law.
“Be a listening Church,” said Mary Racelis, a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, a Catholic school.
Racelis, who spent years working with non-government organizations and community groups, appealed to the bishops to “listen to the laity who understand what the families and the women from the grassroots are going through.”
She cited the Family Health Survey that showed that the maternal deaths rose from 162 per 100,000 live births in 2006 to 221 per 100,000 live births in 2011.
Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, director of the University of the Philippines’ Center for Women’s Studies, said the candlelight vigil aimed to “counteract the deplorable campaign of misinformation around the RH bill.”
Senator Pia Cayetano, the author of the RH bill in the Senate, said she remained hopeful that her colleagues who were opposed to the bill would have a change of heart.
She said she was saddened, however, that the Senate did not have the same political will to support the RH bill because its two top leaders, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, both opposed it.
She also questioned the propriety of Enrile’s plan to extend the debates on the bill in the Senate.
“This seems wrong… I’ve endured the questions which have been repeatedly asked,” she said.
Even her brother, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, has not maintained a strong position on the bill, citing the need to see it in its final form.
But Senator Panfilo Lacson said he would not backtrack in his support for the bill and that he hoped his colleagues would enact it into law over the objections of Enrile and Sotto.
He described the two senators as obstacles and expressed sympathy for Cayetano.
“I really pity her. It’s been such a long time. I think she has answered enough questions and issues pertaining to this bill, “ Lacson said.
In the Senate, only Cayetano, Lacson and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago have openly supported the RH bill. Christine F. Herrera and Macon Ramos-Araneta
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