Catholic prelates ask Aquino to speak clearly on RH bill, gambling policy
MANILA, Philippines—Roman Catholic Church leaders will be closely monitoring President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address on Monday.
In an interview with reporters, Msgr. Juanito Figura, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said he would listen to Aquino’s report on the achievements of his administration.
“I still have to listen to his words and see if what he would say regarding his accomplishments is really happening or not,” Figura said.
This was also the reason why Figura refused to grade the Aquino’s performance in his first year of office.
The Catholic hierarchy will also be listening to what the President might say about the controversial Reproductive Health Bill pending in Congress, according to Figura.
Outgoing CBCP president and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar said last week in a statement that the Catholic hierarchy would renew its strong opposition to the bill, which, he warned, might further destroy the moral fiber of the society just as it did in other countries.
“The bill ignores moral and religious considerations in the name of democracy and freedom of choice in a pluralist society,” Odchimar said as he called on the Catholics to defend Christian values by rejecting the bill.
“Ignoring moral values is moral corruption; and moral corruption breeds corruption in public and private life. Its fruit is social decay and disintegration,” Odchimar added.
Aquino’s SONA coincides with the 43rd year of the “Humanae Vitae,” the landmark papal encyclical, which proscribes artificial birth control for Catholics.
The President is a known supporter of the RH bill, which would require the government to guarantee wide access to reproductive health care services, methods, devices, and supplies to the people. The bill also pushes the use of “modern” methods of family planning, including condoms, birth control pills, intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and injectibles.
Meanwhile, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he wanted to hear in the SONA what the President would say about gambling in the country.
The prelate said that if the President were “truly vested by integrity” and “truly against corruption,” then banishing gambling from the land would not be a problem for him.
“In substance and in simplicity, this humble and humbling supplication can be thus expressed in few words: Mr. President, please banish gambling from the land. They come under deceptive titles and legal niceties. But they are all forms of downright gambling reeking in blatant corruption and human decadence. It would take a big circus to say otherwise, i.e., that gambling is in accord with ethics morals,” he said in a statement.
The prelate called on the Aquino to “have mercy” on the Filipinos addicted to gambling, to those who were taught to rely on luck instead of diligence, and to the poor who have been exploited by gambling lords.
“Only fools would deny that gambling breeds corruption. Otherwise, how come the previous management of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) is accused of this and that offense?” said Cruz.
“How come both the previous and present managements of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) are undergoing long Senate inquiry ‘in aid of legislation’? How come well known and duly named gambling lords of the infamous jueteng remain free and happy?” Cruz added.
