Civil disobedience threat over RH issue uncalled for, senators say

At least three senators said on Monday the Catholic Church's threat of civil disobedience should the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill be passed into law was "uncalled for." "Civil disobedience is uncalled for. Threats and intimidation have no place in a national debate on a critical issue," Senator Franklin Drilon said in an interview with reporters on Monday. He likewise said that everybody has the interest of the country at heart but that such threats have no place in the RH debate. "Let us be rational about this debate," he said. Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III added that such threats are "too harsh." "Excommunication and civil disobedience are too harsh, maybe we can solve it with a dialogue," he said in a separate interview on Monday. Sotto noted, however, that he is with the Church in its stand against the RH bill. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, for his part, said the Catholic Church has the prerogative to make such statements. However, he said issues concerning life must be debated and discussed openly, publicly, and broadly so that everybody will understand it. "It's better to handle every issue in a very prudent, cautious manner so that we will arrive at a finished product in the form of a law that is wisely considered and well-deliberated," he said. Enrile, however, said he has yet to decide which side to support. "I'll have to study very, very carefully (because) it involves my faith, it involves my concept of morality (and) it involves my notion of what the society ought to be," he said. On Monday, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said civil disobedience is a moral option that the Church is considering should the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill be passed into law. CBCP Secretary General Msgr. Juanito Figura said “The Catholic Church in the Philippines can do that if it decides to do that because for one thing, civil disobedience is a moral option, one of the moral options." In an article posted on the CBCP website, Figura said civil allegiance is the respect given by the people to the state and the laws of the state. However, if a law is against Christian teachings, Catholics are not bound to obey that particular law, he explained. Earlier, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said that efforts are under way for a dialogue with the Church on the RH issue. Aquino said he hoped the dialogue will result in some consensus. - VVP, GMANews.TV