The Catholic Church of the Philippines is calling on the faithful
to fast and pray for life. It is also calling on the Filipino Congress and President
Aquino to continue discussing the Reproductive Health Bill. The new law would impose fines on people who have two or more children and proposes the widespread use of contraceptives.
The statement follows an announcement by the president yesterday, urging Members of the House of Representatives from his coalition to speed up procedures to approve the law.
Today, Card Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, and 15 other prelates have called on Members of Congress "to follow their conscience and give discussions time, especially on an issue that touches the future of each Filipino family."
According to the president, the debate over the controversial bill could end by next week.
Yesterday, the bishops called on all Catholics to pray and fast to make Aquino step back.
If adopted, the law will give the green light to the use of abortion pills and will make sex education mandatory in all of the country's school, including Catholic schools, without the right to opt out on grounds of conscience.
Senate Speaker Juan Ponce-Enrile said however that the president's pressures will not produce any effect. Under current rules, the law must be examined three times in the upper house before a vote can be taken.
On behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Mgr Gabriel Reyes, archbishop of Antipolo and chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, urged the government to conduct more consultations on such a delicate topic.
"Let us demand from our congressmen, especially leaders of Congress, that the voting be nominal, whenever a vote on a part or on the whole of the substitute bill on the House Bill 4244 is taken," Reyes said. "We call on all Catholic Members of Congress to put pressure for a vote by name before a general vote," Reyes added. "This way representatives and senators will be forced to motivate their vote, thus increasing chances of further changes to the law. It is the right of the people to know how their respective congressmen voted on this important bill," the bishop explained."
Experts believe that Aquino's move is an electoral expedient to boost his popularity in the wake of the historic accord in October between the government the Moro Islamic Front (MILF).
Dialogue with the rebels and the Reproductive Health bill top the president's agenda, and the main points of his election campaign.
The debate over the Reproductive Health bill has lasted for four years. The bill rejects abortion, but promotes planning family, urging couples not to have more than two children, sanctions conscientious objection and favours voluntary sterilisation.
The Church and Catholic associations back instead the Natural Family Programme (NFP), which aims at spreading a culture of responsibility and love based on natural values.
The bill is promoted instead by big international organisations, like the United Nations and UNICEF, which link high birth rates to poverty.
Countries that do not adhere to these practices lose their right to humanitarian aid.