CBCP: RHB is a moral time bomb

CEBU, Philippines - Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines vice president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas called the Reproductive Health (RH) bill a "moral time bomb" that is gift-wrapped in time for Christmas.

Congress yesterday approved the bill voting 133-79 with seven abstentions, while Senate voted 13-8.  Two of the senators failed to cast their vote.

However, Villegas said getting the majority vote of the lawmakers to pass the contentious measure does not mean they are right.

He added that the law will open more doors to abortion and more crimes against women.

The pastoral statement in the CBCP website titled "Let us move on!" also assured of a more intensified moral and spiritual education of the youth and children in the archdiocese of Lingayen to strengthen their moral fiber.

Villegas also urged to use all means available to safeguard the health of expectant mothers in the communities.

He said in the CBCP website that the sacrament of marriage will be made available to poor couples so that they may be guided in the right path in living out their duties as husbands and wives and as Catholic parents.

Not over

They may have lost the battle in Congress, but the war against the Reproductive Health bill is not yet over for leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.

Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said yesterday a group of Catholic lawyers was preparing to challenge the legality of the bill in the Supreme Court as soon as it is signed into law.

"We will support that petition... in the Supreme Court against the RH bill," said Reyes, head of the Episcopal Commission on Family Life of the CBCP.

"This is against the Constitution, against religious freedom… The Constitution, the government should protect the family and I think also protect marriage," he said. "The RH bill is against the goodness of family, the stability of marriage because of these contraceptives and the result in other countries is promiscuity, premarital sex, and extramarital sex."

Constitutionality

The president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City Chapter Earl Bonachita said only the Supreme Court can rule on the constitutionality of the RH Bill.

"It is the Supreme Court who has the final say as to the constitutionality issue of the RH Bill," he said.

In his personal view, Bonachita said RH Bill has advantages in terms of population.

"Of today's generation many minors engaged in pre-marital sex and they drink softdrinks to stop the fertilization which is a wrong presumption," he said.

Moreover, he said if the bill will become a law of the land then the rule of the parents will become crucial in guiding their children.

Disappointed

Filled with disappointment, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he wishes the RH Bill, now passed in the House and the Senate, will benefit the public though he believes there is a better way than promoting contraceptives.

Rama said he will still prefer and will advocate for responsible parenthood for family planning. He said he hopes that all those who vote for its passage thought about the matter thoroughly.

The mayor claims to be a pro-life advocate and one of those who opposed the RH Bill, believing it contradicts all moral values he was taught as a child.

Like many anti-RH Bill advocates, he said the RH Bill does not respect the right to life. He earlier said he would not have been born had his parents used contraceptives.  He is the ninth of 13 siblings.

Cebu City north district Rep. Rachel "Cutie" del Mar who voted during the third reading of the House Bill 4244 last Monday said the House was passing a law that is terribly wrong.

"An assembly that enacts a law that is terribly wrong will make the Lord's angels weep and the faithful legions in this country despair. Paraphrasing an American citizen who stood up to a bully of a senator 58 years ago, 'As sure as God is in heaven, He will never forget the decision we will make here today.' My vote is still No," Del Mar said when it was her turn to cast her vote.

Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña abstained as he did the last time. Osmeña earlier said he is in favor of the RH Bill but chose to abstain to accommodate the request of his allies.  -Marigold P. Lebumfacil, Mylen P. Manto and Jessica Ann R. Pareja/BRP (FREEMAN)