‘Team Patay, Team Buhay’ poster to be removed today

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – The diocese of Bacolod will take down today the controversial anti-Reproductive Health (RH) Law tarpaulin it hung two years ago on the facade of the San Sebastian Cathedral here.

Bishop Vicente Navarra said the “Team Buhay, Team Patay” poster was supposed to have been rolled down after the 10 a.m. mass yesterday, but the church ran out of personnel to do the job.

Under team “Team Patay” were the names of senatorial candidates who voted against the RH Law while the “Team Buhay” carried the names of those who opposed the law.

Navarra said they decided to remove the tarpaulin after the Supreme Court affirmed its legality last January.

The high court junked an order of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to remove the banner, which was displayed during the heat of the 2013 election campaign.

The SC declared the Comelec order unconstitutional, saying the poll body has no power to regulate the right to free expression of citizens.

Meanwhile, the four lawyers – Ralph Sarmiento, Raymundo Pandan, Romulo Macalintal and  Lyndon Cana – who defended the diocese on the “Team Patay, Team Buhay” case were conferred the St. Thomas More Diocesan award in a ceremony at the cathedral yesterday.

A fifth lawyer, Mitch Abella, who received the same award in 2012, will be given a certificate of recognition as part of the legal team who defended the case.

Navarra recognized the Citizens’ Alliance for the Protection of Human Life for campaigning against the RH Law.

Cathedral rector Fr. Felix Pasquin said Navarra wanted the tarpaulin preserved.

Pasquin said they have yet to decide on whether to keep the poster in the cathedral’s baptistery or in its museum.