INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Close to 1,000 people gathered in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City Monday night to pray for a Supreme Court ruling against the enforcement of the reproductive health (RH) law, Fr. Narcisco dela Cruz said.
Dela Cruz led the prayer vigil that was attended by priests, nuns, students and members of various church groups ahead of the oral arguments on the RH Law before the Supreme Court en banc that started on Tuesday afternoon.
“Although the SC’s ruling against the RH Law may appear unlikely, nothing is impossible with God,” Dela Cruz said.
The Diocese of Bacolod has consistently opposed the reproductive health law from the time it was being deliberated as a bill in Congress until it was approved.
Before the May elections, the diocese drew public attention with its Team Patay (Death), Team Buhay (Life) tarpaulins in front of the San Sebastian Cathedral that bore the names of senatorial candidates who voted for and against the RH law.
The diocese was urging the Catholic faithful to vote against those who voted in favor of the RH Law and to support those who opposed it.
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10354), informally known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Bill, is a law that guarantees universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care.
Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra had repeatedly underscored the need to repeal the RH Law. Navarra, in an earlier statement, said that the “Diocese of Bacolod has been consistent in its defense of the sanctity of human life in the face of the evil of the Reproductive Health policy that some of our government leaders have been staunchly advocating.”