Joker revisits history as Church opposes RH bill

MANILA, Philippines - As the debates on the controversial Reproductive Health RH Bill intensifies at the Senate and the House of Representatives, Sen. Joker Arroyo pointed out on Tuesday the historical perspective on the constant objection of the Catholic church on some state policies pertaining to the Catholic faith and education.

During the Commonwealth regime under ex-President Quezon, Arroyo said there was an uproar over the issue on use of religious instruction in public schools in 1938.

Another controversy between the State and the Catholic church broke out over a law that the required reading of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo in all schools in 1956.

“The RH Bill is the third fight involving the Catholic Church over measures introduced in the legislature,” Arroyo said.

“Now comes the RH bill, the third one after 56 years.  It is just as heated and acrimonious as the religious instruction and the Noli-Fili bills. But the period of debates in the RH bill is a lot, lot longer,” Arroyo added.

“It’s some wonder why the RH bill cannot be resolved amicably by the contending parties like the Noli-Fili,” the senator said.

Arroyo recalled that the first controversy arose in 1938 when the Philippines was a Commonwealth under the United States. The unicameral National Assembly, the legislature then, proposed a measure on the religious instruction in public schools.

President Manuel L. Quezon, blew his top, and vetoed the bill.

Afterwards, the heated debate between Quezon and the Church followed. The general public joined the debate zeroing in on the separation of church and state. The National Assembly did not meet to override the presidential veto. 

Eighteen years after, in 1956 during the presidency of Ramon Magsaysay, Senator Claro M. Recto, supported by Senator Jose P. Laurel, introduced a measure in the Senate for the required reading of the Noli and Fili, Rizal’s books, in all the schools.  

The Catholic Church opposed it and the controversy was heated and nationwide. The Church insisted that some passages in Rizal’s novels were derogatory of the Church and to make it required reading is unfair.

After weeks of heated debate, a compromise was reached. 

Among others, the unexpurgated version of Noli and Fili which contain critical essays against the Church will not be required reading in the elementary and secondary schools. The original text will be taught in the college level.

“Looking back at the first two controversies, it looks like the Church lost in the religious instruction bill in 1938. It was a tie on the Noli-Fili controversy,” Arroyo said.