CBCP official unfazed by Congress' passage of funding for RH bill

An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday downplayed Congress' approval of the funding for the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill. Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP Commission on Family and Life, said the real fight is during the plenary debates where anti-RH lawmakers will block the bill. “It’s not new because there are really many pro-RH bill (lawmakers) in the House Committee on Appropriations… So the real battle will in the plenary by next week," Castro said in an article posted on Wednesday on the CBCP news site. The Catholic Church accepts only natural methods of family planning. The Church brands the RH bill as a form of moral corruption because it allows artificial contraception. Castro said the Church is opposed to the passage of the RH bill not only because of its supposedly "immoral" provisions but also because of its proposal to use taxpayers' money for contraceptives. According to the the International Agency for Research on Cancer, artificial family planning devices such as oral contraceptive pills are carcinogens, the CBCP said. “Will our government legislate a bill that will use taxpayers’ money to further expose women to all these risks?" asked Castro. On Wednesday, in a 20-3 vote, members of the House appropriations committee agreed to the proposed initial funds for the implementation of the RH bill from the budgets of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Population (POPCOM) for this year, if the measure is enacted into law. Under Section 30 of the consolidated RH bill in the House of Representatives, the initial funds for the implementation of the measure, if signed into law, shall come from funds left of the DOH and POPCOM’s Family Health and Responsible Parenting budget. A total of P731 million was allocated to the Family Health and Responsible Parenting budget of the two government agencies in the 2011 General Appropriations Act. If the bill becomes a law, it shall be allocated funds in subsequent national budgets, according to the measure. Mass actions vs RH bill Meanwhile, Catholic Church officials in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental province are preparing to mobilize parishes and schools for a mass action against the RH bill. The mass rally, dubbed “Walk for Life" will be held on February 22 and will begin at the Bacolod Plaza. Earlier this month, Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra met with the clergy, heads of schools, parish councils, and lay groups to discuss the diocese’s actions against the RH bill. Navarra told encouraged them to study the ramifications of the proposed measures that are anti-life, according to a report on the CBCP news site. He also exhorted churches and schools to display banners that carry messages for the protection of human life. Meanwhile, Citizens’ Alliance for the Protection of Human Life (CAPHL) secretary general Fr. Greg Patiño said his group has prepared for a mass action against the RH bill. CAPHL chairman Atty. Lyndon Caña said non-Catholic groups are also supporting the mass action. Patiño encouraged “Walk for Life" participants to carry streamers, placards and banners opposing the anti-life bills. Fr. Ireneo Gordoncillo, parish priest of St. John the Baptist in Bago City, briefed the participants on the moral, legal, religious health reasons for the church's opposition to the RH bill. The church's stand were expressed in handbills circulated in English and the Hiligaynon dialect. – VVP, GMA News