Congressional cheating to pass the RH bill?

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the holidays of obligation in the Catholic Church. That the Blessed Virgin Mary was born spotless without the stain of original sin is a dogma that Christians believed when Christianity was embraced as the official religion by the Roman Empire. Even the Muslims adopted this belief of the Blessed Virgin Mary as it is also found and written in the Quran.

Later in 1854, the Catholic Church through Pope Pius IX defined the Immaculate Conception as a dogma. Four years later, in 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a small village called Lourdes in Southern France to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous and told her “I am the Immaculate Conception” a title that she did not know as it was a time when mass communication was in its infancy and Lourdes was so far away from Rome.

Today the town of Lourdes is visited by at least six million pilgrims annually… proof that Pope Pius IX did the right thing in making the Immaculate Conception a dogma of the Catholic Church. St. Bernadette later became a nun and moved to the town of Nevers and when she died 30 years later her body was exhumed and it was intact and fresh as the day she died. Her body can be viewed in a glass coffin in Nevers. What more proof do we need? That the Virgin Mary always returns to earth to intervene and warn us of the coming chastisement when we reject God and his precepts.

Talking about rejecting God, this is exactly what is happening in this country today when pro-life groups were visibly alarmed when only a total of 139 lawmakers were counted against the minimum number of 144 members in Congress required to be present to deliberate the RH bill.

My good friend, Linda Valenzona who was with the pro-life groups in Congress texted me this report last Wednesday evening, “We started the day with hopes that more pro-life congressmen will show up to lessen the 7-vote margin of the other side. We soon learned that ‘suspending the session’ meant no journals and no written records of how the voting went. The antediluvian thumbs up or down for ayes and nayes are very difficult to track and record. Amendments regarding non-violation of religious tenets and on the beginning of life were nominally voted upon which anti-life congressmen used as a forum to insult the Church.

“Slowly we saw the pro-life base eroded. The voting on beginning of life was the last straw. The count for the quorum was the minimum 146 required but when the count showed 57 ayes and 81 nayes, Rep. Magsaysay stood up to question the quorum. Then Rep. Garin as majority floor leader suspended the session and at the same time Rep. Socrates moved for adjournment. Deputy Speaker Tanada was so confused he could not make a ruling and eventually left the podium.

“Some 400 strong pro-lifers under the leadership of Bishop Gabby Reyes did not want to leave for fear that the Deputy Speaker with his minions could just come back and resume the session and approve the bill. It was a standoff! We didn’t go until Rep. Rufus Rodriquez verified that the Deputy Speaker had gone home. Congress is cheating and we are all witnesses to this.”

Cheating in Congress? That’s a huge accusation. But then, Linda Valenzona is no ordinary person. Aside from being general manager of the Ayala Multi-Purpose Cooperative and director of the Ayala Foundation, Inc. she is also consultant for the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission for the Family and consultant, Pontifical Council for the Family. Above all, she has credibility and I believe she is telling the truth!

At this point, we have fought tooth and nail to stop the RH bill from becoming a law. This fight is money vs our prayers. But we live in a democracy and will accept it if Congress approves it. However, the process must be fair and honest. Is this too much to ask from our Congressmen? So we ask our pro-life friends to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception who loves our people and country so much.

Just as I was writing this piece, my dear friend, I got a text from Archbishop of Lipa, Msgr. Ramon Arguelles who sent this message, “On December 12, 2012, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Protectress of the martyred Unborn, the Congress people will vote on the RH bill. Let us celebrate Mass at St. Peter Church, Commonwealth Avenue at 12:00H. Procession with Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Mediatrix of All Graces from St. Peter Church to the Batasan. Please invite a multitude to the praying of the Rosary! HR vs RH!!! Rosary versus Reproductive Health bill.” If indeed it was true as Malacañang announced that P-Noy would allow a conscience vote… why then does Congress have to vote via “Ayes or Nays?” The RH bill is one of the most controversial bills that Congress has ever tackled. It has divided our people and everyone is watching the events as they unfurl. So no cheating please!

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