Enough of the Debates....

As debates resume, CBCP says RH bill not a solution

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday reiterated its opposition to the reproductive health (RH) bill after several lawmakers described the pending measure as the answer to the social and economic contradictions highlighted this week by the birth of the world’s seven billionth human being.

In a statement signed by CBCP president and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, the prelates said they believed the RH bill would not solve the inequalities of life in the Philippines, currently the 12th most populous nation.

“The RH bill is in no way a measure or solution to this unjust reality. In fact, the RH bill could worsen the situation as billions will be allotted for contraceptive pills, gadgets and services. We strongly maintain our preaching that the RH bill should be rejected,” the statement said.

Equal access

On Wednesday, Representatives Edcel Lagman, Janet Garin, Nur-Ana Sahidulla and Angelo Palmones called for the passage of the RH bill which, they said, would be the key to ensuring that every Filipino would have equal access to basic goods and services.

Even United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon pointed to a global population crisis, saying that “the world today is one of terrible contradictions,” as shown by an abundance of food supplies but having one billion people going hungry.

The UN Population Fund also urged governments to ensure that in areas of the world where populations are growing fast, “we raise the status of women and young girls to be able to access education and make choices for themselves.”

The Catholic Church in the country, however, has linked the inequalities in Philippine society to perennial problems such as graft and corruption, abuse of power and greed, and other acts of dishonesty in government.

“We should take a more conscientious look at these issues in the midst of the endless reportage on cases of graft and corruption, theft, unpaid taxes and the like… Public opinion and various forums have repeatedly referred to the reality of poverty and poor people in denouncing those acts of dishonesty, abuse of power and greed—personal and corporate,” Odchimar said.

‘Dramatic allegations’

The bishops said the Aquino administration should focus on good governance and addressing poverty instead of listening to “dramatic allegations” that are being used to hype up the issue of maternal deaths.

“We remind the government that, through its agencies, it attend sincerely to its desire to weed out the social factors of evils that continue to impoverish our poor and deprive them of the services due them,” said Odchimar.

President Benigno Aquino III had earlier declared the RH bill one of his administration’s priority measures. It would give couples information on birth control and the means to practice it at government expense.

The CBCP’s strong opposition to the bill stems from the Roman Catholic Church’s prolife stance and objection to the use of artificial contraceptives.

   The Reproductive Health bill is one of the trending issues in the Philippines. It had undergone a lot of debates and processes and yet the issue remains unresolved. Reproductive Health Bill or simply known as RH bill is a bill proposed by Congressman Edcel Lagman et,al.  The bill aims to give access to methods and information of contraception, fertility, control, sexual, and maternal care. The Pro’s says that this bill could aid in controlling the population growth of the Philippines, it could help the couples in their family planning, provide sexual education to the youth and a lot more. But the church says that the bill is not needed and it will only make things worse.

RH bill has been debated for years and I wonder when it would end. CBCP says RH bill is not the solution to the unjust reality, but what is the solution? They say that the Aquino administration should focus on how to address poverty, but do they not realize that this bill could aid in resolving that issue? I mean, yes, there are a lot of things to do to address poverty, like giving more budget to education, providing more jobs and etc. But let us also consider that our country’s population has doubled over the past years, and a more populated country means more mouths to feed. There are a lot of couples who don’t know how to plan, lack education on what sex is, and don’t have access in the use contraceptives.  But when the bill is passed all of these things would be available especially for those in the marginalized sector. Couples who are used to having sex as their past time because they’ve got no jobs would have access to condoms, fertility control, maternal care and etc.  The RH bill would basically help people in the marginalized sector.

RH bill has its own disadvantages and advantages, but I think the advantages weighs a thousand more than the disadvantages. Basically, RH bill protect the health and lives of the mother and more importantly RH bill does not legalized abortion, instead it is highlighted that abortion is highly punishable. So why delay the RH bill? I think it is already time for the CBCP to wake up and accept the reality that the country is need of laws that will lift up the Philippine from its status of poverty. The Congressmen who will vote for the passing of the bill would have to be rational decision makers and in this issue I think the marginal benefit of RH bill exceeds the marginal cost. Years of debates of this issue should stop. CBCP should stop from criticizing and the Congress should start passing the bill.