Why pay for someone else's condom?
By "Patricio Mangubat"
Published in New Philippine Revolution on May 26, 2011
The RH bill seeks to spend close to 3 billion pesos for buying contraceptives and condoms. These condoms will be given freely to those who want it.
Question---how about those with money? Will they be entitled to a condom if they feel the urge to do it with their partner even outside of marriage? According to the bill, yes, the State is mandated to give them free condoms if they feel the urge to do the thing right that moment.
Pro-RH bill advocates say they are for responsible parenthood. Right. That's good. We all believe that the term "responsible" means being "enlightened" or "educated" in the things one must do or accomplish.
So, if I'm educated and I want to exercise my right to "procreate", is it not my personal responsibility to face the consequences of such an exercise of an inherent right? Yes, it is, right?
I am personally responsible for whatever may happen if I exercise my right to procreate, or have sex. It is not the State's. The State is nowhere there in the matrimonial bed or in some bed in Victoria Court right?
When you exercise your right to have sex, the State is actually physically not there. Ideally, the State is in the mind of those who want to exercise that right. Meaning, the person who exercises that right must have heard those family control lessons during his stay in school. He knows that when he uses that free condom, he's safe. There is no responsibility. He will do it with his partner without having that feeling of being responsible shortly thereafter.
That's the problem. When a state interferes with an inherent and inalienable right, the State lifts that responsibility from the individual and the individual now feels not responsible for the consequences of such an act, that is procreation.
What happens is that the individual perceives procreation as something ordinary, something which he feels not responsible in case of pregnancy and will do it for as many times as he feels the urge to do it, simply because there's contraceptives, it absolves him from all responsibility.
That is a most serious problem. Sex, protected or not, is supposed to have responsibilities. Every right has an inherent responsibility. You, alone, must bear it, not the State. Why is the Philippine government so desirous of bearing that responsibility?
Sex is a right, with an attendant responsibility. It is not merely procreation. When you lift that aspect of responsibility and assures the individual that you are absolved from that responsibility simply by using a contraceptive, you are giving false assurances and promoting irresponsibility.
Fact is, the State thru the RH bill, will inevitably cause more social problems. Sex will not be as special nor as sacred as what Filipinos see it to be, traditionally. Sex will just be another right among thousands.
If you do "it", you must be ready of the consequences. You must pay for your own condom, not the State. The State's duty is to ask condom makers to lessen the price of their products, not to be a party to an act which will turn into an irresponsible one just because the State will not make it a policy to tolerate irresponsible sex.
Answer---there is a price tag of 3 billion pesos. Many government officials will earn from this RH bill. This bill will not only promote corruption among Filipinos, it would surely lead to more corruption at the DOH.
Fact is, millions of pesos worth of lobby money from condom makers are going the rounds.
Really, when you read this bill, even the amended versions, you'll not support it.
I doubt those surveys saying that majority of the Filipinos support that bill. I was privy to another survey which says that 98% of Filipinos do not support the bill.
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