Palma: ‘Money for RH bill’

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma voiced out his opposition to the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

“I pray that our congressmen will be enlightened to decide for the good of the people. We hope that our congressmen should think and evaluate the implications of the RH bill,” Palma told reporters.

“The President, himself, is being influenced. In a sense, he has had commitments and it’s not easy to withdraw from commitments especially to other funding institutions,” he said.

Pro-life advocates across the country are preparing for a tough week ahead as proponents of the RH Bill try to pass it before the Holy Week break.

Palma said there were dialogues between the Church and the President.

But the Church believes that Aquino wouldn’t change his stand.

Palma believed that most members of the House of Representatives are basically against the RH bill.

“Many  of our congressmen, by themselves, feel that the RH bill is not necessary for the country. However, they are working hard for the bill due to the support, the money they can get,” said Palma who is also president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

He said there are international agencies who are pushing for the passage of the RH bill.

“We get the belief and impression that most people are against it. But because of the association of the proponents of the bill, with the support that they can get from funding agencies outside, we feel that people might decide not so much because they tender the good of RH but what they can get,” Palma said.

“Our fear is while we believe that many of our people have a lot of reservations and its necessity, but because of the money involved, there are many loans, programs connected with the support of the RH Bill,” he added.

The Church continues to lobby against the RH bill, whose provisions include public access to government-funded supplies of condoms and contraceptives.

“In principle, it’s been our belief that the RH bill is very dangerous to the life of our Filipino people in the sense that there are a lot of provisions that we are afraid could destroy our families and many of our Christian values,” Palma said.

If enacted into law, Palma said the RH bill will cause a lot of concerns and problems, which include immorality.

“May we become a Church of life. We should be zealous to protect life,” he said.

The RH Bill is presently named as the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011. /Ador Vincent Mayol, Reporter