Bishop open to plebiscite on RH bill

A senior Catholic Church official is open to a plebiscite on whether or not to have the reproductive health (RH) bill passed but only if people are properly informed about it. In an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo admitted that the move “is a very tall dream" because of the resources the government will need in implementing it. “If the plebiscite would include (the dissemination) of proper information to the people, then that is good ... But if a plebiscite means there is proper information for the people for them to decide, it would be better," Pabillo said. The Catholic hierarchy has been strongly opposed to the RH bill, saying it is anti-life because it allows the use of artificial contraceptives. Church leaders noted some good qualities of the bill but said the measure in its present form is unacceptable due to its “fatal flaws" that threaten the life of infants in the womb. Letting the people decide Bukidnon Rep. Jose Ma. Zubiri III, co-author of RH Bill (HB) 96, earlier said the decision on the measure should be left to the people. “They say there are only a few of us pushing this. I throw this challenge: Let’s give this to the people," Zubiri said. “If for whatever reason it doesn’t pass here, let’s submit to a plebiscite. It affects the people, let the people decide," he added. However, Pabillo pointed out there are also groups that oppose the RH bill, aside from the Church. “We are also confident that we are not the only ones opposing it," he said. Anti-RH vigil Meanwhile, prolife groups will hold a prayer vigil in Manila on November 20 to express their opposition to the controversial RH bill in Congress. Led by the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, the vigil dubbed “Prayers and Reflections on Human Life" will be held at the Manila Cathedral from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on November 20. “As a Church, we cannot just be complacent and allow this insidious attempt to ruin the moral and spiritual fabric of our society," Laiko national president Edgardo Tirona said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site last week. RH bill 96 Several versions of the RH bill have been filed in previous congresses. In the present Congress, the RH bill is known as "Bill 96" whose main proponent is Minority Leader Edcel Lagman of Albay. The RH is based on the premise that the country's population growth impedes economic development and exacerbates poverty. The bill seeks to “guarantee to universal access to medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information." The bill also seeks a “consistent and coherent national population policy," citing studies that show that "rapid population growth exacerbates poverty while poverty spawns rapid population growth." The Catholic Church promotes only natural family planning and is opposed to the use of artificial birth control methods such as condoms and birth-control pills, saying these could lead to promiscuity and a rise in abortion cases. On the other hand, RH advocates say natural family planning methods are not as reliable as artificial means of birth control. End contraceptive mentality The Catholic Church accepts only natural family planning (NFP) methods. The NFP has two distinct forms: * Ecological breastfeeding (a form of child care that normally spaces babies about two years apart on the average), and * Systematic NFP (a system that uses a woman’s signs of fertility to determine the fertile and infertile times of her cycle). – VVP, GMANews.TV