Rosales optimistic Catholic Church can block passage of RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales expressed optimism yesterday the Catholic Church would succeed in blocking the passage of the consolidated Reproductive Health (RH) bill in Congress.                                                    

The House of Representatives has scheduled for the coming week the plenary debates on the RH bill.

“Believe me, whatever they do, there is no chance that the Catholic Church would lose (on the RH bill issue) because Jesus Christ always wins,” the 78-year-old Rosales said.    

The Catholic Church earlier pulled out of discussions on the family planning bill with Malacañang and the Senate and declared it would lobby hard against the measure at the House of Representatives.                                                                          

The Church also said it would organize street demonstrations against the bill.                                                                            

The House set the debates for Tuesday after the House Committee on Appropriations approved the funding provisions of the bill.   

The House Committee on Family Population and Relations also recently approved the contents of the consolidated RH bill.

The Senate version of the bill is pending in the Committee on Health and Demography chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano.