Prelate: Arroyo under pressure to support condom program

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may be under intense pressure from some sectors to support the government program to distribute free condoms, a senior Catholic archbishop has said. Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles made the claim after Malacañang reaffirmed its support on condom distribution despite an earlier statement that upheld natural family planning. "Mukhang under pressure si PGMA [President Arroyo's initials]. May mga dahilan yan at ngayon ay lumalabas na ang tunay nilang kulay. Very clear at makikita ng tao na may double dealing sila kasi dati hindi open si PGMA dyan but now open na," said Archbishop Arguelles, vice chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL), in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. (Mrs. Arroyo is under pressure. People are beginning to see why she is now open to condom distribution when she was against it before.) Excerpts of the interview were posted on the CBCP news site. Arguelles, however, did not specify the supposed source of the "pressure." Natural family planning methods Reacting to the archbishop’s claims, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar on Friday said Malacañang has never blinked on its position favoring natural family planning methods. In an email message to GMANews.TV, Olivar said: "There has been no change in the Palace’s position. This reflects the President's deeply held beliefs as a devout Catholic, which she continues to uphold despite growing evidence that a plurality of our countrymen believe otherwise." He lamented that President Arroyo’s critics among the bishops have never given her credit for that. "But of course, it is their prerogative to be uncharitable on this matter." The Church and the government have had a word war over the distribution of condoms since Valentine's Day, when health authorities distributed condoms to prevent the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV-AIDS). Church officials had dared Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to a debate on the matter. Cabral agreed to the debate. Earlier this week, pro-life groups in Cebu burned condoms in front of the DOH office there, but Cabral said their condom distribution to "risk" groups will continue. On the other hand, Arguelles said: "Most of the time monetary consideration is the cause why our leaders follow the immoral dictate of the foreign people. They are serving foreign oppressor not to help the people but killing the poor people. They have denied that there were no foreign funds and yet this issue has come out." Free condom program But Olivar defended the DOH's free condom program, saying the move is solely to avert the further spread of HIV-AIDS. "The DOH program on condoms solely involves concerns about AIDS and public health — an integral part of the department's mandate — and it does not violate any of our laws or ordinances. Were it otherwise, the President would of course step in. Because the program is funded by third parties abroad, neither does it use up the money of our taxpayers, including those who might privately object to it," Olivar said. According him, "None of these points have been answered by Archbishop Arguelles. We hope that he will present evidence to support his statements that will otherwise be nothing but mere speculation. — with Nikka Corsino/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV