SHOOTING STRAIGHT By Bobit S. Avila (The Philippine Star)
Updated December 01, 2010 12:00 AM
After the Reproductive Health (RH) bill advocates, including their media friends virtually mangled the statement of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, now the Pope has called upon all politicians and the media to show more respect for human life at its earliest stages, pointing out clearly that embryos aren’t just biological material, they are human beings. Let me add that the difference between animals and human beings is that, humans have a soul… and if you didn’t know it, only God can give a soul!
Pope Benedict made this statement at the start of Advent in the wake of the controversy that followed his interview, which many RH advocates, including Malacañang officials and the media, shouted with joy that the Pope finally changed this Catholic Doctrine… when that was farthest from the truth. Clearly, the truth in this case was mangled!
If you didn’t know, the Pope is only a human being and can say things before anyone, even during an interview with the media. But when he says things, it is not changing the doctrines of the Catholic Church. He only does this when he sits Ex-Cathedra and issues a new doctrine, which was not the case here. At this point, the Vatican already issued its clarifications and we hope that this issue is already settled, especially when his holiness said, “Condoms aren’t a real or moral solution to the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
If you don’t want to hear it from the Pope, then maybe you should hear it from our own living boxing legend and World Super Boxing hero Rep. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao who clearly pointed out that he is against the RH bill and stressed that the Catholic Church teaches us the sacredness of human life…. Hence he is against condoms.
Incidentally, I did get a lot of emailed messages supporting our advocacy to fight the RH bill, simply because some people believe that you do not need to legislate this and others say that the only reason why Congress wants this to become a law is due to the funds that would be appropriated to make this bill work and if there are funds available, you can bet that many in Congress would like their hands on the till.
Meanwhile, here is a letter that was emailed to me by Mrs. Marsha Kwiecinski, who also emailed me her thoughts on the two issues we’ve been writing here. Here’s her letter in full; “Dear Mr. Avila… We had a brief correspondence some time ago, regarding your column about the gold transported from the Philippines just before the fall of Corregidor. I currently reside in Corregidor with my husband in an agreement with the Corregidor Foundation, Inc. volunteering our support to their mission here.
I’m writing today to commend you on both of these current opinion columns, feeling like you have cut to the heart of the matter regarding both topics. You remarks about the Dept. of Tourism logo/icon as well as the ‘cover-the-behind’ backpedaling by Lim and his office are right on target. The lack of original art is one issue, the use of Tagalog for an international marketing promotion is a second, and the expense put out to replace an existing effective and attractive slogan is yet another. Keep addressing this and we’ll hope people are paying attention.
Today, your comments on the RH Bill are also very well-stated. My husband worked for EDS in the years when Ross Perot was still at the helm and through the transitional years. Mr. Perot was often heard to say, “Our employees are our greatest asset.” In the years after he sold the corporation (which still retained the EDS name) to GM, the management-thinking stated by Dick Brown (the second CEO following Mr. Perot) became, “Our employees are our greatest cost.” Both of these statements were true.
EDS was a service providing company, offering software, training, and support. It had no hardware to sell, only the services of its employees who were indeed both valuable and expensive. The Philippines truly does have a wealth of population rather than a population problem, but are those in national and local leadership with the vision and integrity to educate and direct the population, to maximize the potential?
So much easier to blame the Catholic Church (of which we are members, and which values every individual) rather than corrupted leadership at all levels, and for the ‘elite’ to make disparaging remarks about those who struggle to survive and enjoy life in spite of the poverty in their lives due to corruption. Thanks for your good work. Marcia Kwiecinski.”
I printed this letter because this was really a great letter especially about how the EDS thought of their employees as their greatest asset, then when EDS was sold and there was a new CEO, the thinking suddenly changed that their employees was their greatest cost! This gives me an idea that those who are against the RH Bill believe that the Filipino people are our greatest asset, while those who are supporting the RH Bill believe that our people are our greatest cost, which is why they want our population culled.
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For e-mail responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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