PINOYS, including those opposing the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, witnessed a metaphoric megalith transform when an overnight deliberation resulted to an actual outcome on December 11.
Voting 113-104 in favor of the controversial RH bill, the Philippine House of Representatives turned the tide for the passage of the long-stalled measure.
The bill has been delayed with 14 years worth of interpolating and introducing of amendments. 60 more votes have yet to be counted, when the House resumes its session next week.
Following this development, President Benigno S. Aquino III certified RH bill as an urgent measure, allowing Congress to cast its verdict on the final reading. The move will propel the Senate to vote and pass the bill, before it adjourns for Christmas break.
Aquino affirmed his unequivocal call to pass the bill, but would not compel his allies to vote on his behalf. Instead, he gave lawmakers the freedom to decide on the measure, based on their conscience.
The president’s relationship with the Catholic Church was compromised, after he showed strong support for the approval of the RH bill.
However, the Catholic Church refuses to budge. It has been adamant in opposing the measure, particularly its provisions on artificial contraception and early sex education for students.
“This vote leads us to further commit the Church, specifically the Archdiocese of Manila, to the service of the poor, of the family, of women, of infants and children,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
Tagle, who left to attend the General Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Vietnam, described the approval of the RH bill as “unfortunate and tragic.”
The prelate urged his supporters not to lose hope and not to be remiss of their moral and spiritual duties.
“We will work harder to promote the sanctity of human life and of the human person, the integral education of the youth, the access of the poor to social and medical services, the preservation of the true meaning of marriage, and stewardship of creation,” Tagle said.
So much drama has been generated by the fervent debate caused by the RH bill. Now that it has reached its climax, it is time to step back and converge on points that unite us.
Some may argue that RH bill’s implementation reminds them of eugenics — a method that controls how human beings breed and repopulate.
But the truth is, the world’s birth rate outweighs the death rate.
With a growth rate of 1.9 percent and 104 million people living in the country, the Philippines is one of the worst in Asia, when it comes to population control.
This is the result of the absence of a comprehensive reproductive health policy, aggravated by the lack of access to family planning education and services by the poor.
A ballooning population interlinks a myriad of issues. Its control simply equates a matter of survival of the human race.
Obviously, the cause of hunger, scarcity, disease, poverty and war do not rest on the number of this planet’s inhabitants alone.
Controlling the world population may not be the ultimate solution to such survival, but it renders a chance for a better future.
We are called to look beyond the pabulum caused by the RH bill ruckus. This is a test to appropriate prudence and discover why managing population is an essential formula to poverty alleviation, disease eradication, and even safeguarding the economy and national security.
It is not mandatory, only an option.
(AJPress)
