Quimbo told not to be ‘more popish than the pope’

MANILA, Philippines - United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) secretary- general and campaign manager Toby Tiangco yesterday advised Liberal Party (LP) spokesman Miro Quimbo not to be “more popish than the pope.”

Tiangco made the statement in reaction to reports that Quimbo purportedly ordered the Catholic clergy to stop campaigning against lawmakers who voted in favor of the Reproductive Health (RH) act.

He said Quimbo went overboard and crossed the line by disrespecting the position of the Church.

“Who does he think he is being more popish than the pope?” Tiangco asked.

“This only shows the agenda of the Liberal Party is to quell contrary opinion, in the same way local execs are threatened if they host UNA rallies,” he added.

Tiangco said the issue of reproductive health reemerged during an LP sortie in Bacolod City where the local diocese posted streamers with the names of senatorial candidates who voted for (Team Patay) and against (Team Buhay) the RH bill.

“There are also UNA candidates in the Church’s list but we respect their right to express their opinion because we are in a democracy,” he said.

The UNA official said Quimbo’s irresponsible statement only reflected LP’s dictatorial undertones.

“What LP wants is to control everything and no one is allowed to make any dissenting opinion,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cagayan Rep. Juan “Jack” Ponce Enrile Jr. took pride in voting for the controversial RH bill, which is now a law.

“I stand by my vote and I am proud of it. It was a vote of my conscience,” he said.

Enrile made the statement in the wake of continued criticisms of certain Catholic Church leaders against those who voted for the bill.

While he supported the measure, his father, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, voted against it.

“If I earned the ire of the Catholic Church for voting ‘yes’ to a bill that will now give women the right to decide for themselves, then so be it. I stand by my vote,” he said.

“The Reproductive Health Bill does not kill, hunger does. There are 20 million Filipinos who are hungry every day. There is a looming world food crisis and in times of crisis, women and children are the most vulnerable,” he added.– With Jess Diaz