RH bill solons urge Aquino: Be steadfast

Filed Under: Family planning, Legislation, Benigno Aquino III, Churches (organisations), Politics, Government


MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III should be “steadfast” in his position on giving couples the choice to use contraceptives in the face of strong Church opposition, members of the House of Representatives said Wednesday.

“It’s hard to give the President unsolicited advice. He knows what to do in dealing with the Church. I’d like to think that the President would be steadfast in his position on voluntary family planning, birth spacing and contraceptive use,” House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman told reporters at a briefing.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan agreed. “If he’s going to conduct a dialogue with Church representatives, he should be firm in his stand. He should not buckle down. The purpose of these groups would be to pressure him into taking the point of view of the Catholic Church,” she said.

Lagman and Ilagan are among the lawmakers who have filed bills on reproductive health (RH).

House Bill No. 5043, the RH bill filed in the previous Congress, called for sex education in all schools starting from Grade 5 and the promotion of contraceptives, among other things.

Church protests

After Mr. Aquino indicated that his administration would support couples who wanted to limit the number of their children by using contraceptives, Catholic lay groups said they would mobilize their forces for protest actions.

The Catholic clergy, including bishops, will back these actions, according to Fr. Melvin Castro, executive director of the Catholic bishops’ Episcopal Commission on Family and Life.

Mr. Aquino has indicated he was open to a dialogue with the Church.

No change

Malacañang officials said there was no change in the stand of Mr. Aquino on birth control as they called for sobriety and awaited his dialog with the bishops.

The President’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, went on radio to explain that the Chief Executive was for responsible parenthood and that the administration wanted to give couples an informed choice on family planning methods.

Lacierda said on dzMM radio that the President “did not blink” when it was announced that he was open to talks with the Church, apparently in reference to the Inquirer banner.

“He did not change his position because what we are after is responsible parenthood,” he said.

Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communication Development and Strategic Planning Office said the family planning policy of the Aquino administration was “one notch different” from that of the Arroyo administration, which did not promote at all artificial contraception.

People for RH bill

Lagman posed no objections to plans by lay groups to stage protest actions, but said the Church should leave the state to pursue a reproductive health policy.

“The Church can always protest. That’s the right of the Church. The people have already spoken in two decades of surveys that they’re in favor of the enactment of RH bill.

“Let the Church take care of saving our souls. But let the state pursue an unhampered policy of saving lives ... That’s the secular realm in which the Church should not unduly interfere,” Lagman said.

With the President’s pronouncement, Malacañang and Congress could cooperate to get this measure approved and enacted into law against Church opposition, he said.

The congressman said he was optimistic the executive and legislative departments would surmount the opposition from the Church.

“At no time in congressional history is the reproductive health bill having a good prospect of enactment than this time,” Lagman added.

Certify bill

But first, Mr. Aquino has to match his pronouncement with an endorsement and certification of the RH bill as a priority measure, the minority leader said.

“We’re waiting for that,” Ilagan said in an interview.

Ilagan, who filed a reproductive health bill with party-list colleague Rep. Emmie de Jesus Wednesday, said that such a pronouncement was a “good first step” but should be matched by services.

“Of what use are the condoms if these are not available to the poor?” she said in an interview, stressing that women should have informed choices to decide which fertility management is “safe, appropriate and affordable.”

Ilagan said the government should provide health centers in barangays with information materials and supplies, and train the personnel who can provide guidance on the women.

“This should go together with the reproductive health bill,” she said. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño


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