CBCP hopes Teodoro is sincere in withdrawing support for RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday expressed hope administration presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro’s withdrawal of support for the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill is sincere and not merely to get on the Church’s good side.

CBCP-Public Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said Teodoro’s decision to remove his support for the bill would be a “plus” factor since it is one of the criteria the Catholic Church is looking for in a candidate.

Teodoro’s wife Tarlac Rep. Nikki Teodoro is one of the authors of the RH bill. She withdrew support for the bill after her husband declared his candidacy.

Iñiguez said Teodoro’s decision could be his ticket to be included in the list of possible choices for Catholics.

However, he is hoping that the former defense secretary did not only change his stand on the controversial bill just to get the Church’s backing.

“He (Teodoro) could be one of those the Catholic voters can consider. But it would still be the Catholics who would have to evaluate and check the candidates’ criteria. The bishops would not be the one who would choose for them,” Bishop Iñiguez added.

Meanwhile, speaking at the “Make Health Count” forum at the University of the Philippines in Manila yesterday, Teodoro said he is mulling the idea of giving cash rewards to couples who abstain from having more kids.

“We can have a program that would give cash incentives to couples who agree not to have children, perhaps by rhythm (method) if they wish,” he said, adding that the cash awards would be an alternative to government-sponsored artificial contraception such as condoms and pills and other means.

Teodoro said his proposal could be a “win-win” solution to the contending positions of the church and government on how to manage the country’s population growth, one of the highest in Asia.

He said that even if the controversial RH bill still pending in Congress would finally pass before adjournment this year, “it would be impossible to implement it without the support of all the key parties involved.”

The church has consistently opposed the bill.

“While the state may not impose moral standards in connection with the contentious issue, the government should support any means (whether natural or artificial) which an individual has freely made,” Teodoro said.

He emphasized that the “proposed cash incentive is not a solitary solution but is intertwined with the other challenges facing the government.”

Teodoro proposed the cash incentives after former Health secretary Alberto Romualdez, who attended the forum, pointed out that rich women usually have only two children and poor women have up to six.

He said he backed down from endorsing the latest version of the RH bill because it was creating an “acrimonious situation (between the government and the Church) resulting in failed expectations.”   – With Evelyn Macairan