DOH defends family planning videos comics humor

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral faces yet another possible word war with the Catholic Church, this time over the issue of family planning. On Tuesday, the DOH defended its plan to promote family planning through new videos and comics, saying young Filipinos who reach puberty must be aware of the subject. In a radio interview, Cabral said her department’s new communication package is age-appropriate, to drive home the message to the youth. "Pag ang tao pumasok sa puberty, ang batang lalaki makabubuntis at [ang] batang babae mabubuntis, kaya kailangan maintindihan ito (When one reaches puberty, the male must realize he can get someone pregnant and the female must realize she can get pregnant. They must understand this reality)," Cabral told radio dzBB in an interview. She said her department is planning the communication package, which includes comic books and family planning videos, together with its partners. The word war between Cabral and the Catholic Church started last Valentine's Day, when the Health Department distributed free condoms to stop the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Last March, Cabral accepted a challenge from Catholic bishops to debate on the effectiveness of condoms against the spread of HIV, although the debate did not push through. Cabral and the Church also adopted opposing views on the Reproductive Health bill, whose passage in Congress the Church has vehemently opposed but which Cabral had supported. On Monday, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines lawyer Jo Imbong led parents in haling to court the Department of Education's sex education program. [See: DepEd sued for including sex education in schools] Meanwhile, Imbong and Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Director for Asia-Oceania of Human Life International, questioned the new family planning approach. The CBCP said the comics were reportedly funded by the DOH, United Nations Fund for Population Activities, Cooperacion Espanola, ReachOut – Reproductive Health Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Imbong and Acosta also scored the Department of Education for supposedly incorporating sex education into English and Math subjects. For his part, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias said they will continue to mobilize their faithful to be on the lookout for sex education modules being taught in government-run schools. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV