Pro-RH bet tells Pampanga bishop he’s vs divorce

TEAM PNoy senatorial candidate Sonny Angara kisses the hand of Archbishop Paciano Aniceto during a visit to the Pampanga prelate. E.I. REYMOND T. OREJAS/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, one of the candidates pilloried by the Church for supporting the reproductive health (RH) law, has promised Archbishop Paciano Aniceto that he would not support the passage of a divorce bill.

Angara, a Team PNoy senatorial candidate, gave the pledge in response to a request from Aniceto to “uphold the sanctity of the family.”

The lawmaker called on Aniceto recently at Mater Boni Seminary here before he made campaign stops in the province.

Aniceto is head of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, which covers also the dioceses in Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac. The 76-year-old prelate used to head the Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Angara said he agreed with the archbishop that the “family is the cornerstone of Philippine society.” He described himself as “happily married and with three children.”

The Philippines is the only country without a divorce law. The party-list group Gabriela has sponsored a divorce bill in the 13th Congress.

Aniceto did not rebuke Angara for voting for RH law, however. President Aquino signed it into law in January. They did not discuss the controversial law, whose implementation was stopped recently by the Supreme Court.

Angara topped an online survey by Cosmo magazine, which polled 300 women as to who they considered to be winnable senatorial candidates in the May 13 elections. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon