Bishop warns DOH on Feb. 14 condoms

No distribution of condoms on Valentine’s Day, please.

A Catholic bishop has appealed to the Department of Health (DOH) to refrain from handing out to couples free condoms and other forms of artificial contraceptives on Feb. 14 like what it did last year.

“The Church is against the distribution of condoms [especially on Valentine’s Day] because we know how the use of contraceptives affects the morality of our people and our society in general,” said Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo over Church-run Radio Veritas on Friday.

Lagdameo, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the key to an HIV/AIDS-free society was “abstinence, fidelity to one’s spouse and obedience to God’s will.”

The prelate said he was hopeful that the DOH would not distribute free condoms to lovers tomorrow.

Last year, Health Secretary Enrique Ona suspended on Valentine’s Day the distribution of free condoms to adults as part of a campaign aimed at helping curb HIV and AIDS cases in the country.

Ona had said then that the DOH would promote abstinence and monogamy to combat the disease.

For his part, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said the reproductive health (RH) bill, if passed, would boost sex liberalization in the country, which could also lead to an increase in sex crimes.

Also over Radio Veritas, Bagaforo said the country must work to keep its culture, which includes close family ties, intact and that it must remain a model for sexual behavior.

“Let us learn from the experience of American and European nations, which are now suffering from the bad effects of the RH bill,” Bagaforo said.

The Catholic Church has been opposing the RH bill, which espouses free access to condoms and other artificial contraceptives among couples.

Instead of condom use, marital fidelity and abstinence among unmarried pairs should be promoted by the government, especially around this time of the year, Church officials said.