On Facebook, endless comment threads on RH

For the most divisive issues in modern history, public debate was mostly limited to traditional venues such as halls of Congress, letters to the editor and talk shows, where participants were few and everyone else was a bystander. That was then, this is now: Everyone's a potential pundit via social media, and public discussions can involve thousands. In the current Philippine political arena, perhaps no other issue has become as polarizing as the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, the social divides mirrored many times over on Facebook and Twitter. One of these Facebook threads has grown an unusually long life of its own. In early May, the GMA News Facebook account started to run a promotional plug for GMA News TV's "The Grand Debate," which aired on May 22. "It's time to weigh in on one of the hottest issues being discussed in the country today. Are you for or against the Reproductive Health Bill?" the Facebook post asked. Rabid Facebook users, however, didn't want to wait for the airing of the debate to give people a piece of their minds. Within a few days after the Facebook post, the thread managed to rack up more than 5,000 responses from pro- and anti-RH Bill netizens. What's more interesting, however, is what happened after the airing of the debate. A full four months later, the long discussion thread is still very much alive, at the same time as plenary debates in Congress continue to rage on. As of posting time, the thread already has 7,376 comments with more than 400 likes from the GMA News fans on Facebook, with the latest comment added on Sunday. It is the longest comment thread on the GMA News account, which is the most popular news media Facebook account in the Philippines with over 287,000 Likes. Debating where life begins Much like the debates in Congress, online commenters sought to answer fundamental questions related to the controversial measure. For example, one of the most contentious issues raised by debaters is about the beginning of life, which would determine whether the RH bill is a measure that promotes either maternal health or abortion. For user Michelle Lorraine Tan, who disapproves of the bill, it begins upon fertilization. "These contraceptives prevent egg and sperm from meeting, thus it prevent (sic) life. Hindi lang naman mga kaparian ang nagooppose ng bill, may mga doctor rin atbp.," she stressed. But user Aurello Agustin Ninobla thinks otherwise. "Hindi naman abortifacient (sic) ang contraceptives. They either prevent implantation or ovulation. So there is no fertilization yet." Maggie Gallardo-Ninobla, meanwhile, argued that where life begins is irrelevant when it comes to the RH bill. "If we debate on the scientific basis of when does life begin... we will never see the day when the Grand Debate will end," she pointed out. "The RH Bill is a rights-based provision. At the end of the day however, I will believe in the Supreme Being for my faith and the World Health Organization for my health," she added.

Democratic venues for discussion With the freewheeling nature of the web, Filipinos who would otherwise not have the chance to debate on TV or in Congress are given the chance to make their stand known and defend it. With such threads as the one on GMA News' Facebook account, people meet others who have the same stand on the issue, thereby giving life to communities where free and principled debates flourish without judgment. In the same manner, GMA News' comments threads particularly in RH Bill-related stories have recently become a potent platform of debate and have drawn a wide-ranging mix of opinions from Filipinos online. One fairly recent story, about Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago's appeal to the Church to stop its opposition to the RH bill, now has 325 comments, and discussions have careened into whether or not contraceptives are abortifacients. "The World Health Organization says pills are NOT abortifacents," one user said. "If you have any questions, talk to your doctor or pharmacist, it is your right to know." To which another user responded: "Yes, if you have questions talk to Dra. Liza Manalo, and a lot of pro-life doctors will tell you that pills & IUDs are harmful to your health & that RH bill is a farce!" Another RH bill-related story, this time about Senator Vicente Sott III asking the Senate to scrap the bill because it is redundant, now has over 190 comments, with many participants debating how taxpayers' money will be used to fund the implementation of the controversial measure. Meawhile, GMA News Online's copy of the consolidated RH Bill filed in the 15th Congress has also gathered quite a number of comments, now numbering more than 180 posts. As deliberations on the bill continue in both chambers of Congress, debates online rage on, with social media replacing barbershops and tongits sessions as venues for amateur punditry and free-wheeling philosophizing. - HS, GMA News