2 solons vow to block same-sex marriage

CEBU, Philippines - At least two congressmen attended a unity prayer rally led by the Archdiocese of Cebu yesterday and vowed to oppose a pending bill in the House of Representatives seeking to allow same-sex marriage in the country.

Cebu City north district Representative Raul del Mar and Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza promised to block the passage of House Bill 110 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill.

The bill, authored by Dinagat Representative Arlene Bag-ao, is believed to have hidden provision that would eventually allow same-sex marriage.

Del Mar said that Cebuano lawmakers will never allow that to happen.

“Eve was made for Adam and Adam was made for Eve. Bahala na lang na’ng ubang nasud nga nalipong na by allowing same-sex marriage. If it is wrong, then it is wrong. Just because other countries allow it, di na mahimo sa Pilipinas. Kaming mga Cebuano legislators, wa pa mi nangalipong. Di ni namo palutson sa Kongreso,” Del Mar told the crowd composed of religious leaders, organizations and students.

Atienza said lurking in the proposed measure is the provision that says, “no government license shall be denied to any member of the LGBT community...”

“Dito nakatago ang same-sex marriage. At dito pwede na silang magpakasal kasi violation na pag hindi mo sila mabigyan ng halimbawa marriage license,” said Atienza.

Atienza said that he is for the protection of LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender) rights but not to the point of allowing them to get married to the same gender.

“When you allow them to get married, the Filipino family will be sacrificed. This would be tantamount to total population control kasi hindi na nga magkaka-anak and this is against the law of God and the law of nature,” Atienza said.

Aurangzeb Ali, of the Office of the Muslim Affairs-7, said that the Muslims abhor same-sex marriage.

“We are one with you. We Muslims, abhor same-sex marriage,” said Ali.

Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, national chairman of the Council of the Laity, said that by next week, Australia will debate whether or not to allow same-sex marriage in their country.

Just this Monday, Puerto Rico became the 26th country in the world to allow same-sex marriage.

Bullecer said we should not allow the Philippines to follow suit.

Former ANAD Partylist Representative Pastor “Jun” Alcover said that behind this proposed measure are the “demons” in Congress. He said these are the same people who pushed for the passage of the RH Law and other anti-life measures.

Atienza called on the people to vote for candidates who are against the proposed measure and those who are for the repeal of the Reproductive Health Law, which the religious and other sectors of society tagged as anti-life.

During the rally, participants affixed their signatures on a huge tarpaulin that says, “As we affix our signature below, we do solemnly swear before God the Almighty to obey His laws on creation and marriage. We support the union only between a man and a woman. No to same-sex marriage”. (FREEMAN)