HLI Documentary versus the RH Bill now online

Human Life International's documentary on the fight against the RH bill in the Philippines can now be viewed on the following page:

The Philippines: Preserving a Culture of Life

The Youth, the RH Bill and Humanae Vitae

If RH bill is for "choice", then why does it endanger freedom of religion?

From CBCP for Life:

RH bill denies freedom of religion, choice – lawyer

MANILA, April 19, 2012—As pro-lifers in the United States gear up for another nationwide rally for religious freedom in June to protest the birth control mandate, numerous Filipinos still need to open their eyes to the fact that one of the Philippine government’s proposed measures violates the freedom of religion.

Atty. Ma. Concepcion Noche, president of the Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines Inc. (ALFI) said that the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, which has divided the nation due to contradictory viewpoints and insufficient understanding of its implications, tramples on the people’s religious freedom, a freedom protected by the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Based on the bill, healthcare workers and medical professionals are forced to provide RH supplies and services or participate in practices that go against their religious convictions — referring patients to others who would provide the services concerned is participation nonetheless. Employers also must either provide RH services to their employees or suffer the consequences as specified by the legislative measure.

“Dangling a criminal penalty of imprisonment and/or fine, believers will find themselves torn between fidelity to God and loyalty to their country. This unjustly limits the right to conscientious objection on the part of health care workers and medical professionals,” Noche explained.

“For the exercise of religious freedom to be truly meaningful, individuals should be allowed to profess and practice their faith by freely seeking and serving God in their hearts, in their lives and in their relationship with others, without fear of persecution or punishment. Only in this way can this right be truly guaranteed,” Noche pointed out.

The current set-up already allows respect for the religious beliefs of everyone, the lawyer said.

“But once a national policy on contraception is legislated, that changes the landscape altogether. Making it a matter of national policy or institutionalizing contraception via RH Bill and allocating billions of our scarce resources, will deprive us of our choice because the government will effectively have made that choice already for the Filipino families,” she explained.

What ‘separation of Church and State’ means

Much as separation of Church and State has been invoked by those who insist that the practice of one’s moral convictions has no place in the public square, this principle has often been misunderstood.

“Under our Constitution, the command against the violation of the separation of the Church and State is directed to the State — not to the Church — which is mandated to steer clear of the religious realm and give utmost respect to the exercise of religion. So, with the RH Bill, is the State poised to breach this wall of separation?” Noche remarked.

“The State exists for persons, as a guarantor and defender of their rights,” she continued. “In the face of ever-changing social conditions that confront us as individuals and as a people, the central question is: What are the requirements that government may reasonably impose upon its citizens and how far should they extend?”

Religious convictions have no place in the political process, some RH bill advocates have said. Noche, on the other hand, disagreed with this notion.

On the contrary, “As demonstrated by St. Thomas More when he defied the sovereign of which he was a “good servant” and chose to serve God first, religion has an important place in the political process. For indeed, it has been proven time and again that for democracy to be stable, it needs a foundation of moral principles based upon faith and religion.” (CBCP for Life)

Even without an RH Bill, the Philippines' population growth rate is still declining

Phl population on a decline w/o an RH Bill

SHOOTING STRAIGHT

Valeriano Avila 

The BusinessWorld’s Monday edition headline entitled “Population Count at P92.34M” is something that we’ve already known and written intensely. Allow me to quote the opening statement of that article, “The country’s population ballooned to 92.34 million in 2010 even as the pace of growth has slowed, latest official estimates show.” This is what we’ve been harping about in the last two years under the Aquino Regime that continues to insist that we need a Reproductive Health (RH) Bill to cull our purportedly “runaway” population growth.

This was the report that came from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing by the National Statistics Office (NSO) which proves that our annual population growth rate is only 1.9% when it should be at least 2.1%. This means our population is now declining, to think we don’t even have an RH Bill yet, as it is still being debated in the Congress floor. We have already more than emphasized that when populations go on a decline, it will take at least 3 or 4 generations before the decline can be arrested.

Our best example to date is Japan, whose population peaked after World War II, but then because of the remarkable economic growth that Japan experienced after the war, her population started to decline in the last 60 years. Today, so many kindergarten schools have shut down. Middle or high school campuses are almost empty and there are more old people walking the streets than young people.

By the time the Japanese government realized their serious mistake, it was already too late for them. Just a couple of years ago, at least two major Japanese multinational companies urged their employees to go home early and make babies. I don’t know if that program had an effect on Japan’s economic growth. Another country is Singapore, which, due to their being a small country, had no choice but to build high rise tenement housing for their people. Thus, with limited room, they could ill-afford to have more children because of their cramp spaces.

Now, Singapore is trying to attract an expat population so they could hire the best and the brightest from other nations. Without this, Singapore’s economy would ground to a halt. We are so blessed here in the Philippines because we have a robust population growth. Look at all the nations experiencing a robust economic growth in these times… China, India. I rest my case.

Without a doubt, the Philippines does not need an RH Bill. If there is anything that we direly need, it is to stop the imbalance in our money or wealth distribution. The rich continues to thrive, while the poor remains in that vicious cycle of poverty with no prospect of getting out of it. If the lot of the poor in our society can be elevated to become the middle class, it would mean a balanced distribution of wealth.

There’s a book entitled “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty” written by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, which syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman wrote about recently. I already ordered this book in FullyBook as I don’t want to get it in e-books. Anyway, the present system of governance in this country, where the ruling political and business elite have all but excluded the poor from our nation’s development, only tells you what we’ve been saying all along… we need a total overhaul of our current centralized system. If we don’t, someday Myanmar will overtake us and this is a reality we could face in the future.

Meanwhile, there’s that phenomenon whereby so many people living in the rural areas are migrating to live in urban centers. This is something that the Philippine government ought to look into. Manila based commentators insist that we are overpopulated because, like what the last Census has shown, the CALABARZON area is now the most populous with 12.61 million people living in the outskirts of Metro Manila, which is has become the second placer with 11.86 million people. Cebu with 2.62 million is not bad.

Once more we appeal to our readers, especially those Catholics whose hearts are close to our Lord Jesus Christ to come out in the open and help expose this despicable crime that would fall upon our nation under the guise of being a health program to protect women, when the reality is, the RH Bill is merely aimed to legalize the killing of the unborn.

Incidentally, I was at the drugstore the other day getting my prescription medicines and saw condoms, which you could buy over the counter in all drugstores. So if condoms are freely available (not only in drugstores but even in convenience stores), why is there a need to legislate this? Clearly the aim is to let corporations pay for the condoms or other contraceptive needs of its employees… something that unfortunately even the Cebu Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (CCCI) are totally unaware of.

Who's scared of 92.3 M Filipinos?

The following was published on the website of Business Mirror on April 17, 2012:

Debunking the population bogey  

Mercedes B. Suleik 

“92.3 MILLION AND GROWING!” screamed the headline of one broadsheet. This was followed by the sub-headline “100 million Filipinos by 2015” which would simply scare the heebie-jeebies out of anyone. And of course, seized upon by the proponents of the RH Bill, as a great way of pushing their agenda forward—how are all those mouths going to be fed?

Once again one of oldest myths of economic literature which continue to belabour the consequences of population on the pace and process of economic growth is being rehashed. The Malthusian proposition of 1798 has become some kind of dogma to population junkies. Proponents of this doctrine have sanitized it to look like an innocuous, reasonable proposal to promote economic development. Poor countries, let’s be honest and say, the Philippines, has been the target of this campaign to “manage population” as a national policy.

Expanded elaborations of the Malthusian theme raised the bogey of difficulties of feeding expanding populations and of pressures on capital formation – assessments we might say were mostly concerned with short-run, direct impacts and downplayed indirect and longer-run effects that would likely occur due to price responses, institutional changes, and certainly technological innovations that poor old Malthus never imagined would ever come to pass. As a matter of fact, well-known economist Simon Kuznets, basing his conclusion on longer-run assessments, found that based on simple correlations, a net negative impact of population growth on per capita output was not obvious in the data. Indeed, a number of findings highlighting both the productivity of human capital and the importance of technical change put into question the highly pessimistic Malthusian underpinnings of the population bomb theories.

Now comes an even more positive window of opportunity in the development of society and a nation—studies that show a demographic dividend that countries such as our may exploit, by laying down appropriate policies that would make possible faster rates of economic growth and human development as fertility rates decline.

In the case of the Philippines, its population has increased at the average rate of 1.9 percent annually for the period 2000-2010 (in contrast to the lie that has been fed to our legislators and RH advocates – 1.9 percent versus the touted 2.3 percent, happily endorsed by USAID and UN-MDG people who have dangled the carrot of development with the stick of birth control—even non-statisticians can see the huge difference!

What is this demographic dividend? Simply stated, the demographic dividend occurs when a falling birth rate changes the age distribution so that fewer investments are needed to meet the needs of the youngest age groups and resources are released for investment in economic development and family welfare. A falling birth rate makes for a smaller population at young, dependent ages and for relatively more people in the adult age groups – who comprise the productive labor force. It improves the ratio of productive workers to child dependents in the population, allowing for faster economic growth and fewer burdens on families.

It may be mentioned that the effect of this drop in fertility rates is not immediate. There is a lag that produces a generational population bulge that for a time exerts a burden on society and increases the dependency ratio. Eventually this dependent group will reach the productive labor force, and the dependency ratio will decline dramatically, leading to the so-called demographic dividend. This is the time when effective policies can facilitate more rapid economic growth, putting less strain on families. During the course of the demographic dividend, four mechanisms that will benefit society may be delivered through increased labor supply; increase in savings; human capital; and increased domestic demand.

Indeed, no less than BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. stated that the country’s large population of young workers with purchasing power provides the economy with the demographic dividends that are good for consumption and investments. This period in an economy’s history where more people or a prominent portion of the population is of working age results in greater purchasing power which can drive consumption, savings, and investment. He said that our average age is 22.2 years, with nearly half a million graduates entering the labor force each year, providing companies with a large pool of manpower to fill their requirements. By 2015, Tetangco said, we will reach that demographic sweet spot.

Our country should take advantage of the opportunity to enhance the key features of the economic life cycle. The productivity of young people depends not just on the availability of jobs but on their capacity to take up employment opportunities, i.e., education. As an aside, it has also been mentioned that there is a “second demographic dividend” which relates to a large proportion of older working age people who face longer periods of retirement, accumulate assets, and contribute to the economy’s consumption, savings, and investment. May I appeal to the one-track minded anti-life advocates to sit up straight and think through the benefits of the demographic dividend that we have been blessed with – and by the way, this dividend period, according to Wikipedia, is neither automatic or permanent and would last approximately five decades. So we better not muff it!

On the courage of pro-life youths in the face of RH propaganda

RH BILL SUPPORTERS DO NOT INTIMIDATE PRO-LIFE YOUTH

In reply to: RH bill foes face the wrath of student groups

The youth, as everyone knows, is a major stakeholder in this RH Bill, and this is the very reason why I find it very important to speak up about it. As a youth and as a concerned citizen of our beloved country, I want my voice to be heard as well by our government officials as I want the best for our nation.

After studying the RH bill’s contents, I fully believe that this should have no place in our country. Its “reproductive health” terminology is a mere disguise for it’s real purpose of indoctrination of the youth and population control. Moreover, the promotion of contraceptives included in this bill actually contradicts its terminology of “health” when studies show countless harmful side effects of these contraceptives. This bill transcends religion, race, and socio-economic status. Those who really study the bill and read between the lines know that this is very divisive and harmful to our country, and we must be extra careful not to be affected by the multi-million dollar monetary pressure from international organizations lobbying for its passage.

Politics have always been very powerful in our Filipino culture. Before elections, we see big improvements and we notice project after project of our leaders. This, apparently, is the same approach used by the author of the article. They are very much free to present their views, but I want to firmly say that they do not represent even close to the majority of those in the youth sector. There are also a lot of youth who are against the passage of the RH bill. It really struck me to see the word “wrath” in the article, as if they’re furious about it not being voted upon. While the pro-RH camp may choose to go with “wrath”, the anti-RH camp will choose the peaceful but strong assertiveness to convince our legislators to take a stand against this divisive bill, and support the pro-life legislators in the next election. The pro-RH individuals noted in the article may be university leaders, but they do not intimidate us, even a little bit. The fight to preserve our nation’s pro-life, pro-family, pro-God culture will continue and will dare not stop until this RH bill is finally trashed.

John Walter Brown Juat

3rd Year Education

University of the Philippines, Diliman

Easter Greetings

A Blessed and Joyous Easter to All!

(UPDATED) Are the youth really pro-RH? A UP student's response to the pro-RH "youth leaders" vowing to mobilize the youth to vote against pro-life congressmen

UPDATE 4/3/12: This note has now been published on the website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: Diño speaking youth’s voice?

Originally published on this blog on March 26, 2012:

A note from Kiboy Sagrado Tabada (PSHS alumnus and currently a student in UP Diliman) in response to the PDI article "RH bill foes face the wrath of student groups.":

Heart Diño’s seat in the USC was favored by a mere 17.02% of UP’s student population. Heart was voted into the council by 3,290 students out of roughly 19,300. Tell me, does Heart Diño speak the voice of UP’s studentry? Ideally, yes. But in reality, no.

Heart was reported to have said that lawmakers “should not belittle the youth vote,” that “they should listen to what the youth are actually saying.” Listen to the youth? Or listen to you? I am part of the youth and I oppose the RH Bill. I believe that a lawmaker’s vote for the RH Bill is a vote against the real welfare of the youth, against the future of the youth. And I speak for the youth who stand against it and for the rest of my generation who do not know that it’s their future that’s at stake. On this matter, Heart Diño does not speak my voice. By what strong mandate can Heart speak the youth’s voice?

TO PRO-LIFE LEGISLATORS, STAND YOUR GROUND. The youth are with you. The youth know that you have our best interests in mind in your opposition to the RH Bill. There is no honor in instilling fear to get you to vote for the measure. There is no honor in ruining someone else’s credibility to forward our own. We from UPD ought to know this. We remain ready to speak for and defend our position by its merits. And we will stand with and campaign for you by your merits as real representatives of the youth’s welfare. There is no reason for you to fear.

I have great respect for Heart Diño and JC Tejano as student leaders, as representatives of the youth. But allow me to remind you that they ought to hear my voice, too; that they ought to speak my voice, too. You may claim that I speak for a mere minority. Don’t they?

Central Bank Governor: "Population would be a source of economic growth"

Not directly about the RH Bill, but truly relevant to the debates about it:

From Manila Standard:

Tetangco says population will bolster growth

28 March, 2012 

A large pool of young workers will support economic growth in the next few years, Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said Wednesday.

Tetangco said in a speech before the Philippine Investment Forum the country’s large population of young workers with purchasing power provides the economy with the so-called demographic dividends that are good for consumption and investments.

He said the Philippines would enter the demographic sweet spot by 2015. “Population would be a source of economic growth,” he said, adding that the concept of demographic dividends has been proven historically.

“That concept, the demographic window, is that period in an economy’s history where more people or a prominent portion of the population is of working age. That means these people have the purchasing power, purchasing capacity, which can drive consumption, investment and therefore faster economy,” said Tetangco.

“Our average age is 22.2 years. So by 2015, we’ll reach that window. We’ve seen the experience of other countries — Thailand and Indonesia—in the region that have benefited from these demographic dividends,” said Tetangco.

He said the Philippines would be the last major economy in Asia to enter the so-called demographic sweet spot. “If you’re an investor and you’re looking at the potential of an economy in terms of the size of the market, they will consider these demographic window that the Philippines is about to enter,” said Tetangco.

Tetangco noted that nearly half a million graduates enter the labor force each year, providing companies with a big pool of manpower to fill their requirements.

“If the economy is growing, underlying that growth would be the increase of employment as well. So as you grow, you can generate more employment and therefore you can have more people employed who are able to spend and help fuel growth in the economy,” said Tetangco.

Dr. Ligaya Acosta on the RH bill as a bringer of moral and spiritual poverty

In addition to the Knights of Columbus' Walk for Life in Manila, other Walks for Life were held in different parts of the Philippines on March 25, 2012. In one of those walks (the one held by the Diocese of San Pablo), Dr. Ligaya Acosta gave the following remarks:

Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Human Life International (HLI) regional coordinator for Asia and Oceania, was a guest speaker at the Walk held in the Diocese of San Pablo in the province of Laguna, two hours outside of Manila. 

“I think this event gives a strong signal to our president and legislators that the overwhelming majority of Filipinos will not allow them to pass the RH Bill, which threatens life and family, and that we will never stop fighting to protect the right to life given to us by the Lord, even if it means giving up our own lives for the cause,” said Dr. Acosta. “The Culture of Death is alien to the Filipino way of life, and we will not allow it to destroy our children and our future. The Philippines is very strongly pro-God, pro-life and pro-family.”

“As I have said many times in my speeches, there is a poverty worse than material poverty, and this is moral and spiritual poverty, which is what the Reproductive Health Bill brings,” Dr. Acosta said. 

Pro-life Filipinos hope that the simultaneous rallies will help pressure legislators to table the bill in both houses of congress. Congress went into recess last week, again pushing off a vote on the RH Bill. The congressional session will resume on May 7. 

“2013 is election year for the Philippines, and hopefully these rallies will give another strong signal to our elected officials that this time Filipinos know better, and will never again vote for those supporting the RH Bill and similar bills,” Dr. Acosta said. “Even with our victory last week, we will continue with massive public educational and activist efforts as we brace ourselves for another more challenging battle when congress re-opens May 7.” 

Source: Walks for Life Draw Tens of Thousands in the Philippines

More Filipino youth leaders speak out versus the RH Bill

From CBCP for Life:

Notion of youth majority as pro-RH ‘wishful thinking’; student group doesn’t speak for youth sector

MANILA, March 26, 2012—After a group of university student leaders declared its intention to campaign against lawmakers opposed to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, several youth organizations representing an even bigger number of young people blasted the mistaken notion that majority of the youth are easily swayed by pro-RH propaganda.

Noisy minority

As for the statement made by the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) national spokesperson JC Tejano that “we are ready to launch the full force of the youth against anti-RH legislators,” Youth Pinoy! President Eileen Esteban remarked, “To me the statement is irresponsible and very assuming. It’s a hollow threat, propaganda to make them seemingly look huge but the truth is they are just a noisy minority.”

“SCAP is in no position to make wholesale statements about the voice of the youth on the RH issue. They are not even a quarter of the majority of the voting youth that they claimed to be, even if we talk of the numbers game,” she continued.

“You want to talk about the voice of the youth that reckons real numbers? Talk to millions of Catholic youth based in our 86 dioceses, the Catholic schools and the trans-parochial organizations with millions of members that extend globally — then we could talk of a threatening number.”

“In my opinion, the youth are the most intelligent sector in the voting population,” Esteban said, adding that she was at the PPCRV Command Center during the 2010 election, mobilizing millions of young people who wanted to take part in the historic first automated election.

“And their power to move on causes they truly believe in is just so spectacular that it’s almost miraculous. They are the vigilant and idealistic slice of the pie that inquires, critically studies and acts on a sound judgment. What made SCAP think that the youth will just give away their precious votes just because the candidate voted against the bill?! That’s wishful thinking.”

RH bill benefits only a few

“We the members of Federation of National Youth Organization are really standing up against the RH bill because we know that it will only destroy our family, our values, our morality, lalo na ng mga kabataan,” said Federation of National Youth Organizations (FNYO) Council Member Maria Lea Dasigan.

“Kung ‘di pag-aaralan, hindi natin maiintindihan na ang RH bill ay para lamang sa kapakanan ng mga iilan at hindi talaga para sa kapakanan ng mga kabataan.”

“Personally,” she added, “I don’t believe na marami [silang mga pro-RH] na parang nananakot na majority of the voting population are young and for the RH bill. I really don’t think so.”

The FNYO has organizations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and its members have recently come up with a signature campaign, the result of which they intend to send to Congress.

Part of the group’s preparations for the 2013 elections is educating its various organizations on electoral candidates who are true to pro-life legislation.

‘I am part of the youth and I oppose the RH bill’

Even students of the University of the Philippines pointed out that newly elected University Student Council (USC) chair Heart Diño, who expressed support for the RH bill at the SCAP press conference, does not reflect their convictions.

“Heart Diño’s seat in the USC was favored by a mere 17.02% of UP’s student population. Heart was voted into the council by 3,290 students out of roughly 19,300. Tell me, does Heart Diño speak the voice of UP’s studentry? Ideally, yes. But in reality, no,” stated Kiboy Tabada, convenor of UP Against the RH Bill.

“Heart was reported to have said that lawmakers ‘should not belittle the youth vote,’ that ‘they should listen to what the youth are actually saying.’ Listen to the youth? Or listen to you? I am part of the youth and I oppose the RH Bill. I believe that a lawmaker’s vote for the RH Bill is a vote against the real welfare of the youth, against the future of the youth. And I speak for the youth who stand against it and for the rest of my generation who do not know that it’s their future that’s at stake. On this matter, Heart Diño does not speak my voice. By what strong mandate can Heart speak the youth’s voice?”

Pro-life legislators can bank on youth support

The engineering student also reiterated his group’s all-out support for legislators who act on a genuine, life-affirming concern for the youth and for the future of the country.

“To pro-life legislators, stand your ground. The youth are with you. The youth know that you have our best interests in mind in your opposition to the RH Bill. There is no honor in instilling fear to get you to vote for the measure. There is no honor in ruining someone else’s credibility to forward our own. We from UP Diliman ought to know this. We remain ready to speak for and defend our position by its merits. And we will stand with and campaign for you by your merits as real representatives of the youth’s welfare,” Tabada declared.

John Walter Juat, also of UP Against the RH Bill, said that though the pro-RH student group was free to present its views, “I want to firmly say that they do not represent even close to the majority of those in the youth sector.”

‘Peaceful but strong assertiveness’ marks anti-RH campaign

“While the pro-RH camp may choose to go with ‘wrath,’” he continued (referring to the news item’s title ‘RH bill foes face the wrath of student groups’), “the anti-RH camp will choose the peaceful but strong assertiveness to convince our legislators to take a stand against this divisive bill, and support the pro-life legislators in the next election. The pro-RH individuals noted in the article may be university leaders, but they do not intimidate us, even a little bit. The fight to preserve our nation’s pro-life, pro-family, pro-God culture will continue and will not stop until this RH bill is finally trashed.”

World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific (WYAAP) regional director Renelyn Tan blasts the misleading assertion that the RH bill will empower women as well as provide a solution to poverty.

Youth know RH bill is not the answer

“Working with young people in World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific allows me to see the great concern they have on issues relating to women and children. Our members clearly do not want women dying during childbirth or children missing out on opportunities but unfortunately, the current RH bill version does not provide a holistic way of addressing the fundamental causes of poverty and challenges to true women empowerment,” Tan said.

In an earlier statement, Tan explained that she and other young people find it unfortunate that the media often portrays young people as “callous, who don’t know when to stop. But this is not true,” she asserted.

“Kaming mga kabataan, we are all made for excellence and we really hope that our government, our institutions, our leaders and civil society will be able to provide [the necessary conditions] because our lives should be seen as an expression of our intrinsic and inviolable dignity. We would like to reiterate that young people are not only sexual beings.”

“Much has been said about the RH bill, but it cannot be an issue totally conclusive of a young person’s future,” Esteban of Youth Pinoy! added.

“Education comprises the biggest chunk, though we’re not talking about sex education here but good quality education that leads to an individual’s progress.” (CBCP for Life)

Human Cross versus the RH Bill

For the background to this event, see this article: Taytay’s BECs stage 2nd Lenten human Cross against RH Bill

A show of force on the Day of the Unborn

This article is noteworthy for explicitly identifying Mayor Alfredo Lim as being anti-RH, and for extensively quoting Cong. Mitos Magsaysay's speech versus the bill:

From CBCP for Life:

Tens of thousands join K of C’s Walk for Life, reiterate RH bill rejection 

MANILA, March 25, 2012–An estimated 30,000-50,000 members of the Knights of Columbus and their families trekked from Intramuros to the Rajah Sulayman park on Roxas Blvd. yesterday to carry out the annual Walk for Life to manifest the group’s pro-life stand and demonstrate its strong opposition to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. 

Dubbed with the theme “We Value Life” this year, the activity started with a 6:00 a.m. Eucharistic celebration at San Agustin Church, Intramuros, with Luzon State Chaplain and Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco as main celebrant. 

After the mass, participants from different Knights of Columbus Councils and other organizations assembled in front of the church then walked to Roxas Blvd., carrying streamers and placards identifying their group, and bearing life-affirming messages as well as expressions of anti-RH bill sentiments. 

“Give us a chance to breathe because life is a wonderful gift,”” No to RH bill, We value life,” “Defend life,” “We fight for the Culture of Life, Against the Culture of Death,” “Ang buhay na isang regalo huwag sayangin, pahalagahan ito” and “Take my hand, not my life” read some of the placards that dotted the kilometric line of participants of varied ages, from a handful of preschool children and numerous elementary school and high school kids, to adults and quite a few seniors who were upbeat during most of the way to Rajah Sulayman where a program was held. 

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim commended the supposed concern of the RH bill’s proponents for caring for the women’s health issues but pointed out that the measure’s name can be deceiving.  

“Ang hindi ko ho maintindihan, ang title ng proposed bill na ito, ‘reproductive health bill’. Ang sinasabi ng mga proponents nito, ay pinangangalagaan daw nila ‘yung kalusugan ng mga ina na manganganak dahil maaari daw mamatay sa panganganak at meron silang mga statistics na nagsasabi kung ilan ang namamatay sa panganganak,” Lim said. “Sa biglang pandinig, napakagandang pakinggan — inaalagaan ang kalusugan ng mga ina natin.” 

He segued into a personal testimony of living a welcoming attitude toward life and being contraceptives-free with his first wife of 44 years before she died and with whom he has eight children, and with his second wife with whom he has four children. 

Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, known for her firm opposition to the RH bill as well as her prowess in discussing it in plenary debates, explained what makes the measure unnecessary and thereby unworthy of support. 

Some 80 percent of the provisions in the RH bill, she said, are contained in the Magna Carta of Women which was signed into law in 2009. 

“Nakalagay po sa proposed RH bill that we should provide pre-natal and post-natal care sa lahat ng mga babae dito sa Pilipinas. Iyang provision na ‘yan nasa Magna Carta na eh. Kapag sinabi niyo pong ‘access to all kinds of family planning methods,’ nasa Magna Carta na rin ‘yan. Kapag sinabi mong ‘the right to space your children,’ nasa Magna Carta ‘yan.” 

“Kapag sinabi mong dapat mag-provide ng birthing facilities ang mga health centers nationwide, nasa Magna Carta na rin ‘yan. At ‘pag sinabi mong dapat magkaroon ng midwife, nurse at duktor ang mga health centers nationwide, nasa Magna Carta na rin ‘yan,” Magsaysay continued. 

“So bakit pa natin kailangang ipasa ang RH bill? Eh dapat ngayon pinapatupad na po namin sa pamahalaan ‘yung provisions ng Magna Carta.” 

The congresswoman also delved on the concept of essential medicines and how she regards the attempt to categorize birth control drugs and devices as “essential medicines” as senseless. 

“Anong sakit ba ang ginagamot ng contraceptives? Ang pagbubuntis ba ay isang sakit?” she recalled asking RH bill sponsors in plenary debates, to which the latter replied in the negative. 

“Ang alam ko sa ‘essential medicine,’ ‘yan ay iniinom ng isang tao sapagkat siya ay may sakit, at kung sakaling inumin niya yung gamot, gagaling siya. Kung hindi naman pala sakit ang pregnancy, ibig sabihin walang sakit, so hindi mo pwedeng i-consider na ‘essential medicine’ ang condoms at contraceptives,” the solon explained. 

The bigger picture that could explain the bill’s proponents’ motivation was revealed by Magsaysay. 

“Ang sabi kasi nila, sa DoH, mas mabilis ang priority sa pagbili ng gamot kapag ‘essential medicine’ ang classification. Kaya gusto nilang lokohin tayong lahat at sabihin ang contraceptives ay dapat gawing ‘essential medicine,’ she said. 

The Zambales congresswoman also mentioned that she would rather that students were taught values formation rather than sex education, as the youth need to learn to know and value their self-worth, understand principles such as integrity and focus on character building in general. 

Allen Paolo Guballa, State Chief Squire, also spoke as part of the program, which ended with the release of white balloons as the song “Habang May Buhay” was played. 

The Walk for Life took place a day before the Day of the Unborn, a special day officially designated in several countries including the Philippines for celebrating the sacredness of the lives of babies before birth. Besides the Philippines, March 25 is marked with a pro-life theme in El Salvador, Argentina, Guatemala, Chile, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Slovakia, Cuba, Austria and Romania. (CBCP for Life)

Filipinos for Life response to Rep. Kimi Cojuangco

From the official website of Filipinos for Life:

Official Statement: Setting the record straight 

March 21, 2012  

During interpellations Monday on the privilege speech given by Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, who is among the sponsors of House Bill 4244 which seeks to establish a taxpayer-funded contraceptive welfare program and mandatory sex education, the congresswoman went into a diatribe on the Catholic Church. Cojuangco was within her rights to try to convince her colleagues to vote for the measure. But the attack, which contained utter falsehoods, was uncalled for. 

Cojuangco needs a fact-checker. First of all, no massive rally has been called for March 25 to mark the “Day of the Unborn,” an international celebration promoting the dignity of human life. Rather, it was suggested by Pro-Life Philippines that pro-life groups hold “candle-lighting activities for the unborn; prayer meetings to spread the message of life and love; poster-designing contests revolving around the pro-life theme; seminars and exhibits related to pro-life issues; printing and distribution of leaflets and other information materials to encourage awareness of culture of life issues; and rallies or small public meetings to propagate the pro-life message.” 

Cojuangco accuses Catholic bishops of being a stumbling block, claiming the Philippines was still in the “dark ages.” But the bill is 80% redundant, as many provisions are already found in the 2009 Magna Carta for Women and other regulations. We do not need this bill. 

The congresswoman herself appears to be in the dark about the ill effects of artificial contraceptives which she wants to distribute to women at the expense of taxpayers. Oral contraceptive pills are classified by a WHO research unit as Group 1 carcinogens along with asbestos, arsenic, formaldehyde, and plutonium. 

Cojuangco should get her facts straight and carefully study the Church’s position on the RH bill, instead of engaging in juvenile attacks unbecoming of a legislator. 

The Church is opposed to chemical pills because these can lead to very early abortions. Medical literature have documented that aside from suppressing ovulation and thickening the cervical mucus to prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg, chemical agents in the pill have a third mechanism – terminating life by making the endometrial lining of the ovary hostile to a newly formed human being in cases where the first two mechanisms fail. 

It’s irresponsible for a lawmaker to recommend chemical contraception without disclosing its dangerous side effects and without considering the ethical and moral implications. Women deserve to know the truth about the pill. 

Cojuangco makes the erroneous and misleading claim that the family planning method accepted by the Church does not work, “Period.” 

German researcher Dr. Petra Frank-Herrmann found in 2007 that the Symptothermal Method’s effectiveness is “comparable to the effectiveness of modern contraceptive methods such as oral contraceptives, and is an effective and acceptable method of family planning. The Symptothermal Method involves monitoring fertility signs such as body temperature and cervical mucus secretions. It is a modern method of natural family planning endorsed by the Church, along with the Billings Ovulation Method and the Basal Body Temperature Method. 

On the contrary, artificial contraceptives, which are so widespread in countries like the US, have not reduced abortion because of significant failure rates. Cojuangco should be informed that in the US, half of women who had abortions used contraceptives in the month when they became pregnant. 

For Rep. Kimi Cojuangco to accuse the Church of meddling in state affairs is deceptive. The RH bill will trample upon individual and religious rights by forcing Catholic hospitals and doctors to provide contraceptives and sterilization services and mandating Catholic schools to teach contraception to students. Worse, Catholic taxpayers will foot the bill. 

The proponents of the bill are in fact the ones seeking to impose their own views, using taxpayers’ money, and with the coercive force of law. We call for more legislative debates on the bill, so Cojuangco and her allies would see the light.

CBCP for Life has published a report on this statement: Rep. Cojuangco told: ‘Get your facts straight’

For the record: Anthony Perez on the Overpopulation Myth

Anthony Perez is one of the founders and leading officers of Filipinos for Life. He penned the following essay for the "Definitely Filipino" website more than a year ago, but I've neglected to post it on this blog until now. Mea culpa. CAP.

From Definitely Filipino:

The RH Bill and the Overpopulation Myth

Anthony Perez

Yesterday I watched with dismay a video of politicians and known personalities being very vocal about their support for the RH bill. That quote made famous by Professor Charles Xavier came into my mind: “Man fears what he does not understand.”

Amidst this demagogue and clamor for the passage of this bill lies the silent truth: that everything in this bill is based on lies. I intend to shed some light on one particular lie – that the world is overpopulated.

To help us understand better what is at stake here, let us look at the facts.

The origin of the RH bill isn’t even local; it comes from foreign agencies that want to push their own agenda on developing countries like ours. In April of 1974, Henry Kissinger released the NSSM 200 or National Security Study Memo 200 which says that the population growth in the least developed countries or LDCs (the Philippines included) is a threat to the United States’ security and interests. Thus the study promoted population control measures like contraception and education towards the ‘contraceptive’ mentality. This ‘education’ also meant that everyone should be made to believe that the planet is getting more and more crowded and the resources are running out. I shall comment on this later on.

Overpopulation is a concoction of contraceptive pushers and abortion pushers who have banded together in a conglomerate called International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). These are owners of multinational corporations which manufacture infant formulas, contraceptives, condoms, IUDs, sterilization and abortion gadgets like suction machines. They are the same people who control international money lending institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Frankfurt-based Development Loan Corporation and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

NSSM 200 says that the population of the world has increased dramatically from 1950′s onwards, an increase never before seen in human history. This is true, but it was not the result of too many babies… it was the result of better healthcare. More children live beyond their fifth birthdays and fewer women die in childbirth. Sadly, the population scaremongers made it look like the world’s population was expanding simply due to the number of children being born.

But is there enough food and resources to go around? The answer is yes. Food production has been on the rise despite the growing population, and this rise can be attributed to technology. We now have the technology to produce food enough to feed everyone. But why is there still hunger? Attribute that to graft and corruption. Attribute that to lack of opportunities and arable land in some places of the world. The rich countries, on the other hand, have more than enough food to spare. Better yet, they own the technology that enables them to produce food to sustain them.

It is easy to believe that as we grow in numbers, there wouldn’t be enough space and food to go around, and it sounds logical right? Along those lines is the belief that population growth is the primary reason for poverty.

The culprit behind this thinking was Robert Malthus, who said that as the population grows geometrically, production grows arithmetically, therefore resulting in poverty. However, almost 200 years later, Professor Simon Kuznets proved that Malthus was wrong, and said that economic growth is fastest during the time that the population growth was highest. This was validated in Europe during the 100 years industrialization of the European continent. For his efforts in disproving the fallacy, Kuznets was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1971.

And yet our lawmakers (read: lawbreakers) continue the education (read: idiotcation) and brainwashing of the masses that they with their 8 or 9 children are the reason behind the poverty of our country. They disregard facts and still cling to the fallacious Malthusian principle.

If we are so many, then why are we still poor?

The natural and expected result in the equation however did not happen in the Philippines, because purchasing power was removed from the population that grew. People could not buy because they had no money; and they had no money because they had no jobs or income earnings. The earnings that could easily have gone on to the people through industry were siphoned off by payments to a ballooning international and domestic debt, by tremendous tax cuts and tax holidays being given to foreign investments prejudicial to the internal economic growth of the country and most of all by the shameful and rampant corruption in the government. Instead of the people earning, it is the government official and a select few who were making all the money – and can afford to have a $20,000 dinner while the country is hungry.

Is the earth getting more and more crowded? According to basic calculations by area, all six billion people on the earth today would fit within the state of Texas, with each family having a house with a little yard. So, it is not a question of area. The problem is the growing concentration of large numbers of people in certain cities, caused by the deterioration and lack of opportunities in the rural areas.

Today, the world faces a demographic winter with an ageing population (which means the median age of a country is rising). Population control has its good and bad effects – on the good side, it will create a temporary economic bonanza. This is happening to Europe, Japan and Singapore. On the other hand, they have to face the music after that economic boom: with an ageing population that has bred so few children, the burden of having to pay for social security lies on the few, and there is also the question of manpower availability. Fact is that many of these European and Asian countries are now giving incentives to those who can bear 3 or more children. They have realized their folly a little too late.

Does this RH bill support abortion? Not directly. Of course if it blatantly said that the bill does support abortion, it would be shot down faster than you can say “women’s rights”. But it is an open secret that to offer reproductive health care in the name of women’s rights and more importantly, population control, means that abortion is a necessary option as well. Not convinced? Let’s take it directly from NSSM 200:

“No country has reduced its population growth without resorting to abortion.” (http://www.population-security.org/28-APP2B.html#IV-B-1-a)

I can go on with this until this note reaches part nth. I will do whatever it takes to stop this bill from being passed and to honor life from conception. But I guess i would have to end it here, as I really do not want to bore you any further.

I was thinking of a particular quote to end this trilogy with a bang, but can’t think of any. In the end, I thought of quoting from the very first book of the bible, when God told man when He first created him, to “be fruitful and multiply.” It’s strange, but if overpopulation were true, God would have been been a very poor engineer not having the foresight that the world will become overpopulated one day. God gave us this command in order to RESPONSIBLY bear children that will be our joy and comfort when we grow old. Let us embrace life, my friends. It is good to be alive – let us share this with our children and our family.

P.S.

If the rest of the world is growing old, and with our migratory ways and low median age at 23, it isn’t far-fetched that the Filipinos will truly fill the earth and be great as a nation. This is our chance for greatness my friends!

A Summary of the Filipinos for Life talk in Greenbelt Chapel

From the website of Greenbelt Chapel (Sto. Nino de Paz Community):

Going for the RH Bill? Read this...

(This article is based on the talks given by Mr. Anthony Perez and Ms. Anna Cosio on February 15, 2012, on the Reproductive Health Bill. Their talks were part of the 3rd Wednesday series of Talks at the Greenbelt Chapel. The Reproductive Health Bill was chosen as the topic since February was declared as Pro-Life Month.)

With all the news about earthquakes, strong typhoons, and the Corona impeachment, the discussion on House Bill 4244, otherwise known as the Reproductive Health or RH bill, has somewhat waned. It shouldn’t, though. If you think you already know everything that you need to know about the RH bill, please think again. A couple of lay speakers, Bro. Anthony of Filipinos for Life and Sis. Anna Cosio, RN, of Pro-Life Manila, talked about some myths surrounding the RH bill. Below are just a few of these:

If you think the Philippines needs an RH Bill to rally the public to be aware of population control, think again. Sis. Anna stated that the RH Bill is “80% redundant.” In other words, a big part of the RH Bill has already been covered in an existing law, Republic Act 9710, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Women.

If you think oral contraceptives do not have any critical side effects, think again. Sis. Anna showed studies that the more popular oral contraceptives have been linked to an increased incidence of breast cancer among women.

If you think that the RH Bill does not espouse abortion, since the word “abortion” is not found in the proposed legislation, think again. Bro. Anthony cited organizations, like the Planned Parenthood (which is the largest abortion services provider) as backing the said bill.

If you think there is nothing wrong with children as young as Grade 5 being informed about their “reproductive rights,” think again. Bro. Anthony cited a provision which gives children the right to avail of reproductive health services (i.e., contraceptives) without even consulting or asking permission from their parents since this right is supposed to be protected by the state.

Bro. Anthony cited provisions in the RH Bill to demonstrate to the audience that the well-meaning intentions of the bill may lead to negative consequences. One of these, is an increase in the incidence of abortion. He cited a study that showed many women having resorted to abortion because other forms of contraceptives have failed. With the provisions he cited, Bro. Anthony has declared that the RH Bill is “the pathway for the legalization of abortion.”

Bro. Anthony also mentioned that the RH bill goes against the natural law on marriage. Marriage, he said, has two functions: unitive, which is to bring couples together in love; and, procreative, which is to engage in the sex act so as to procreate. The RH bill goes against these two functions.

Sis. Anna also cited the medical aspects of the RH bill, particularly the side effects of oral contraceptives. She referred to studies which linked oral contraceptives to an increased incidence in cancer. As an alternative, Sis. Anna mentioned the use of the Billings Ovulation Method, which is a natural method for family planning.

The talk on the RH Bill was a very timely wake-up call for the Greenbelt Community to ponder on. To really be pro-life, we must see children as joy and blessing – and not as burden.

Who should pay for cheap contraceptives?

Dr. Abraham Daniel Campo Cruz posted the following on a Facebook discussion page on pro-life matters. I am sharing this with his permission, with some minor editing: 

Supporters of the RH Bill say that we should lower the price of contraceptives for better access of the poor. However, we already have RA 9025, also known as the Cheaper Medicines Act: 

SEC. 23. List of Drugs and Medicines that are Subject to Price Regulation. - The list of drugs and medicines that are subject to price regulation shall include, inter alia: 

(c) Drugs and medicines indicated for prevention of pregnancy, e.g., oral contraceptives; 

The difference is that under RA 9025, it is the retailer/pharmacy or pharmaceutical company that will have to shoulder the expenses, so that the meds will be sold at the recommended retail price. 

However, under the RH Bill, it is the ultimately the Filipino people in general, through taxes as part of the National Budget or Phillhealth contributions, who will shoulder the expenses. In short, Filipino taxpayers will have to pay for contraceptive drugs and devices. These are things that observant Filipino Catholics  -- who certainly form a significant portion of Filipino taxpayers -- consider as morally objectionable.  

This angle makes the RH Bill an issue of poor implementation of RA 9025, increasing the tax burden of the Filipino people, and a violation of conscience of practicing Filipino Catholics who are thus forced to pay for something they consider morally objectionable.

Tagbilaranons in Metro Manila against the RH Bill

Tagbilaran Association in Metro Manila against RH bill 
By Ben Cal
March 11, 2012

MANILA, March 11 (PNA) – The Tagbilaran Association in Metro Manila (TAMM) has thrown its full support to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in the campaign against the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

Dr. Judith Reisman versus the "fascist", "draconian" RH Bill

"If I am to call myself 'pro-life,' then I should be willing to give at least a few hours of my time to the 'fight for life.'"

A testimony by the Catholic blogger Tina Santiago-Rodriguez

Save the babies in their mommies' tummies!

An edited version on the website of the Philippines Star can be read here.