CBCP exec to govt: Give poor Pinoys jobs, not contraceptives

The administration of President Benigno Aquino III should prioritize providing employment and education to poor Filipinos rather than giving them artificial contraceptives, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Saturday. Fr. Melvin Castro, head of the CBCP’s Commission on Family Life, said that the government should focus on giving Filipinos means of living instead of promoting a “culture of death." “Hindi tayo nambibintang. Iginagalang natin ang mga lider ng ating pamahalaan, kaya natin sila ipinagdarasal. Ngunit ang kailangan ng mga maralita ay hanapbuhay, ang oportunidad sa edukasyon, at hindi ang artificial contraceptives," Castro said in a talk before pro-life advocates in Manila on Saturday. (We are not accusing anyone. We respect the leaders of our government, that’s why we pray for them. But what the poor need are jobs and education opportunities, not artificial contraceptives.)
Castro likewise criticized the government’s “informed choice" stance on reproductive health issues, saying that the public is not being informed on what the pro-life camp views as bad effects of contraceptive use. “Hindi po tayo lumalaban sa pamahalaan. Ang nilalabanan natin ay isang kultura, isang gawi — ang kultura ng kamatayan… Informed choice ang sinasabi pero ipinapaalam po ba sa publiko ang side effects ng contraceptives na iyan?" he said. (We are not fighting the government. What we are opposed to is a culture, a lifestyle —the culture of death… They talk about informed choice, but do they inform the public about the side effects of these contraceptives?) The CBCP official maintained that artificial contraceptives, such as condoms and pills, are “abortifacients" or substances that induce abortion. “Ang sisirain ng contraceptives na ito ay ang pamilyang Pilipino at ang pananampalataya ng mga tao," he said. (What these contraceptives undermine is the Filipino family and the people’s faith.) The priest’s statements came days after President Aquino expressed support for artificial contraception, saying that Filipino couples should be given the right to choose what family planning methods they prefer to use. Castro was the same CBCP official who claimed that Aquino’s stance on contraceptives has something to do with the $434-million grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation the President received during his visit to the United States last week. (See: Bishops threaten civil disobedience over RH bill) Prayer rally Castro likewise led pro-life advocates in a prayer rally around the Quiapo Church in Manila on Saturday. Around a hundred members of Church-based organizations and students from Catholic schools marched around the church while praying the rosary and carrying placards bearing pro-life messages. The Quiapo churchyard, in past decades, has traditionally hosted the biggest assemblage of sidewalk vendors selling herbs and herbal concoctions, which included natural abortifacients. In recent years, however, the government and the Archdiocese have cracked down on the brazen sale of illegal abortifacients. (See: Quiapo church battles abortion in front yard) “Tama ‘yung ginawa nila [rallyists], lalo na dito sa Quiapo na marami ngang nagtitinda ng pampa-abort. Dapat natural na paraan lang. Hindi dapat ‘yung contraceptives," said vendor Joan Diaz, who witnessed the prayer rally. (That’s correct, what the rallyists are doing, especially here in Quiapo where so many are selling abortifacients. We should just use natural methods, and not contraceptives.) A Holy Mass, officiated by Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando, Pampanga, was held after the prayer rally. “We are also pro-choice, and we choose what is moral. We choose what is the will of God, and we choose to protect the right to life written in the Constitution," he said during the homily.—JV, GMANews.TV