Bishops, Palace resume dialogue on RP bill

Catholic bishops have agreed to resume negotiations with the government regarding the Responsible Parenthood bill, which Malacañang aims to submit to Congress in May. In an interview with reporters Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said it was President Benigno Aquino III who invited the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for a dialogue on the RP bill. “We don’t know yet what will be the final output of our discussions, but certainly it’s a welcome decision on the part of the bishops to come back and hold a continuing dialogue," he said. Those who heeded the President’s invitation were Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, CBCP President Archbishop Nereo Odchimar, and CBCP secretary general Monsignor Juanito Figura. Also present in the meeting, which was held at the Premier Guest House, were Lacierda, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and Presidential Management Staff head Julia Abad. Better than expected Lacierda said the meeting came out “better than expected." “We went through the draft bill and precisely asked them what their concerns were. Essentially, we recognized the differences but we focused more on the points of commonalities where we can agree on and where we can discuss further," he said. Among the things discussed during the meeting were the concerns of the bishops on the RP bill. They specifically want to raise the age bracket of the students who will be subjected to sex education. “Ilan sa mga obispo ang nagsabing kung pwedeng itaas ang age level ng sex education to puberty—that would mean around 11 to 13 years old. Meron ding isang nagsabi rin na okay naman ang sex education sa current bill, provided na it should be accompanied with an emphasis on responsibility and on values," Lacierda said. He said the two parties agreed to continue on with the discussions on the commonalities. “Hopefully there will be a meeting with the panel that was previously set up to discuss further the points of commonalities and hopefully before the resumption of Congress, we’ll be able to submit a bill towards that effect," he said. The Congress adjourned its session last March 25 and will resume on May 9. Lacierda said the parties also decided to move on from the points of disagreements. “For instance, the State advocates the artificial family planning method as one of the methods for family planning. So doon talagang nag-ayos na ‘yon, obviously we have differences there. So we moved on," he said. CBCP support? Asked if the Catholic bishops will now support the RP bill, Lacierda said they do not know yet. He, however, said Aquino admitted to the bishops that there will be parts of the bill that will not be in agreement with the teachings of the Catholic Church, like the use of condoms and artificial contraceptives. “But, again, this is the role of the State, to provide all means of family planning to the citizens especially to the disadvantaged," he said. He said they expect to hold another meeting before the Holy Week. The CBCP pulled out of the negotiations last February due to the “speed of the legislative processes" concerning the Reproductive Health bill, the precursor of the RP bill. Mr Aquino earlier said RP bill is the middle ground between the RH bill and the position of the Church as it provides access to both natural and artificial family planning methods. The RH bill promotes the use of artificial family planning method and contraceptives which the Church deemed as abortifacients. The RP bill, according to Malacañang, is primarily a poverty reduction measure because poor families will be informed about different family planning methods, including the natural methods promoted by the Catholic Church. - KBK, GMA News