Inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the United States, various groups trooped to the Philippine House of Representatives in late November to demand a vote on a population-control bill that is opposed by Roman Catholic Church leadership.

Holding signs reading “keep your theology out of my biology,” demonstrators from the “Occupy for RH” (Reproductive Health) movement urged legislators on 21 November to “listen to the people and not to the bishops.”

“At Wall Street, they expressed economic dissatisfaction. Here, we’re expressing our dissatisfaction over our reproductive health policy. The lawmakers can’t keep interpolating till kingdom come. They shouldn’t kill the Reproductive Health bill through delays,” Dr. Junice Melgar, the movement’s chief coordinator, told national television on 21 November.

The proposed law promotes both natural and artificial methods of contraception. But the Catholic Church accepts only natural family planning methods and has been opposing the bill.

Supporters such as Representative Walden Bello urged President Benigno Aquino to take a firm stand on the bill and urged legislators of both houses to vote on the bill before this year ends.

Catholic leaders remain undaunted. “Managing population is not as simple as stopping babies from being conceived,” Bishop Carlito Cenzon of the Baguio diocese told ENInews on 22 November.

He warned against the adverse effects of a “contraceptive mentality.” He cited countries with aging populations such as Japan, Singapore and some parts of Europe, where married couples no longer have interest in raising bigger families even if offered economic incentives.

Monsignor Andres Cosalan, vicar-general of the Baguio diocese, also recalled that Singapore had an aggressive birth control program in the 1960s and 1970s.

“The slogan then was ‘Stop at Two!’ There were harsh measures involving the availability of housing and educational services. Singaporeans did stop at two,” Cosalan wrote in 20 November in the Baguio Midland Courier weekly newspaper. The irony, he noted, is that for the survival of Singapore, the government is now asking its people: “Please have four, if not more!” But there have been hardly any takers, he said.

Cosalan told ENInews that as more Filipinos are educated and prefer to marry later because of career pursuits, they also prefer fewer children than many couples did ten years ago. “It won’t be long before we’ll be confronted by the consequences of an aging population … With increased retirement benefits and fewer wage earners, this would be a strain on the national budget,” he said.

Not all Christians are opposed to the bill, which seeks to manage the growth of a population now at more than 94 million.

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines, which groups ten mainline Protestant churches, has supported the bill since 2009 because it promises education and reproductive health benefits to mothers.

Bishop Efraim Tendero, national director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the largest network of evangelical Christians in the Philippines, has said the bill “protects the life of both mother and the baby in her womb” and thus described the bill as “pro-quality of life.”

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An umbrella group of Christians and other faiths in the Philippines squared off recently against the powerful Catholic Church over a bill that is pending in congress which will allow government hospitals to distribute contraceptives such as birth control pill and condoms, but does not allow abortion nor abortifacients.

Bishop Rodrigo Tano, chairman of the Interfaith Partnership for Promotion of Responsible Parenthood, said in a press conference that debates in congress over the pending Reproductive Health bill are divisive and only delay its passage, ABS-CBN News said.

Tano said, “I think there is too much bad faith, too much condemnation. Hasty generalization. We are tired of that. We are tired of dilatory tactics in Congress,” ABS-CBN News reported.

Tano also assailed the Catholic Church, accusing it of spreading lies and “demonizing” advocates of the R.H. bill, by saying from the pulpit that advocates of the bill are evil, The Manila Standard said.

Tano said, “There has been too much disinformation and advocates of the reproductive health bill have been demonized and called evil from the pulpit,” The Manila Standard reported.

The Catholic Church has asked churchgoers nationwide to double their usual Sunday offerings to help fund the struggle against the passage of the R.H. bill, according to The Manila Standard.

Tano, who is also president of the Philippine Association of Bible and Theological Schools, said the IPPRP supports the R.H. bill because it will help to address the burgeoning population problem in the Philippines, according to ABS-CBN News.

Tano said the Catholic bishops have failed to state the empirical merits of the R.H. bill and have not adequately confronted the issue of overpopulation, according to The Manila Standard.

Tano said, “[A]n average of 11 mothers die due to complications in pregnancy…62 infants out of 100,000 die out of live births and the poor have more kids…there is a relationship between population size and poverty… These should not be a matter of ecclesiastical declarations but a matter of research and science,” ABS-CBN News reported.

The IPPRP is an umbrella organization for religious groups including the locally-grown Iglesia ni Kristo, Muslim groups, indigenous tribes, dissenting Catholics and Protestant churches, The Manila Standard said.

Tano also presented a letter dated Oct. 12, 2010 which was signed by INK head Eduardo Manalo in support of the R.H. bill, The Manila Standard said.

The INK is considered to be a cult which does not recognize the trinity. However, it holds great political sway because of its unified vote during elections which can usually guarantee victory for selected political candidates.

In the letter addressed to Biliran Rep. Robelio Espino, Manalo said, “We are all well aware of the dire situation of our country caused by overpopulation. Many of society’s worsening ills—from homeless families starving in miserable conditions and children not in school but instead begging all day and night in nearly every major street, to the rapidly spreading problems with drug abuse and rising crime rate—can be traced to families growing so large that an increasing number of parents cannot provide the most basic human needs to their families,” The Manila Standard reported.

The INK letter expressed support for contraception except for abortion stating, “We support their use as long as these methods are empirically not abortifacient. Abortion and the use of abortifacients involve the taking of life, which God explicitly forbids,” according to The Manila Standard.

Some of the faith-based organizations in the IPPRP are the Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventist, Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines, Iglesia Filipino Independiente, Philippines for Jesus Movement, United Methodist Church, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Catholics for Reproductive Health, and Episcopal Church of the Philippines, among others, GMA News said.

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Pope Benedict XVI accepted recently the resignation of a Philippine archbishop–who threatened to willingly go to jail if the Reproductive Health bill is passed–and appointed in his place a prelate who is a human rights advocate.

The acceptance by the pope of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal’s retirement has not been linked to the RH issue. Vidal tendered his retirement paper to the pope in 2006 when he turned 75, which is the retirement age of priests as decreed by the Code of Canon Law, the Manila Bulletin said.

Vidal expressed concern recently that if the RH bill is passed, one could be jailed for resisting it. In a fiery homily he said if that were the case, he was willing to be jailed, Cebu Daily News said.

Pope appoints Palma

The Pope appointed in Vidal’s place Archbishop Jose Palma, the current vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), according to the Manila Bulletin.

The news of Palma’s appointment was relayed by Philippine Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams to Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, Media Director of the CBCP, Manila Bulletin said.

Palma said in a statement on the CBCP website, “Unworthy as I am, I accepted the appointment out of obedience.” He added that he felt “overwhelmed by the love of God,” and by the trust of the pope.

Palma is known for having vocally decried extra-judicial killings in Samar, an island in the Visayas; and for scoring the military for human rights violations and calling on the government to prosecute culpable military leaders, GMA News said.

Palma is also known for his crusades to preserve the environment and for working to protect the natural resources of Samar, GMA News said.

Vidal “oversimplifies” RH bill?

Vidal, who was one among a group of church leaders who had met with President Benigno S. Aquino III to discuss the controversial bill, said in his homily, “If it (RH Bill) will be a law, we cannot preach against it anymore because the council and the Church will be silenced,” according to Cebu Daily News.

But Cebu Daily News noted that it is possible that Vidal’s concern is “an oversimplification,” noting that as of now various versions of the health bill are pending at the website of the House of Representatives.

Under the bill, the state is obliged to “promote, without bias, all modern natural and artificial methods of family planning that are medically safe, legal and effective,” Cebu Daily News reported.

Among the “modern methods” that are listed are the IUD, condom, the pill, ligation, vasectomy and “natural” methods such as billings, ovulation and standard days methods, according to Cebu Daily News.

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Amid a declared ceasefire between the Philippine Catholic church and President Benigno S. Aquino III regarding the reproductive health care bill, Aquino said he is agreeable to meeting with leaders of other faith groups as well regarding the issue of family planning.

So far the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines had threatened to call for civil disobedience, and one bishop considered the excommunication of Aquino (the possibility was later withdrawn) over the Reproductive Health bill which, among others, will allow government hospitals to distribute contraceptives including birth control pills and condoms, but falls short of providing abortion.

Aquino and the Catholic Church agreed to a ceasefire at least until they can meet so the president can explain his position to them. Fr. Melvin Castro of the CBCP said “We are acceding to the request of the President and would not issue unnecessary statements until we would have a face-to-face dialogue, the bishops with the President,” The Philippine STAR reported.

However Castro said the silence should not be interpreted as a compromise, but as a time to pause, assess and pray. He also said there would be no efforts from the CBCP to prevent Catholic lay groups from holding protest actions, The Philippine STAR said.

Castro told The Philippine STAR that it is not clear whether or not the CBCP would be present in any protest action by Catholic lay groups. However, he said they would have the total support of the Catholic Church.

Castro said it is likely that any protest from lay groups would take place if the Reproductive Health bill is already passed. He told The Philippine STAR that as of now, the lay group organizers are still networking.

In the meantime, Aquino has not been fazed by threats from the Catholic Church and continues to support informed family planning and responsible parenthood, including the use of contraceptives, but not abortion, The Manila Bulletin said.

Aquino is also agreeable to meeting with lay leaders and plans to speak to leaders of the Muslim faith and heads of other religious churches and organizations as well, The Manila Bulletin reported.

Civil disobedience

Elizabeth Angsioco, national chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines told ABS-CBN that she doubts that the Catholic bishops will get the support it is expecting regarding civil disobedience.

Angsioco cited the fact that while bishops urged the faithful to shun candidates who support the RH bill in the last elections held on May 10 and even endorsed pro-life candidates, none of those whom the church supported won except for Ang Kapatiran bet John Carlos de los Reyes, who barely made the last place with less than one percent support. She also cited an SWS survey which showed that 68 percent of respondents favored making all legal means of family planning accessible, ABS-CBN said.

However, Father Larry Faraon, a popular priest of many local celebrities told ABS-CBN, “If the Church sees it is necessary to exercise extreme options, it will call for civil disobedience,” including persuading Catholics not to pay their taxes.

The Reproductive Health bill has been pending in Congress through many past administrations including that of Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino. All had succumbed to pressure from the Catholic Church.

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Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III urged recently the Catholic bishops to calm down and to await a planned dialogue, after the bishops had threatened to launch a civil disobedience campaign over the pending reproductive health bill.

The Palace said they will hold a dialogue with the powerful and influential Catholic church after it has consulted with lay leaders on R.H. bill 96, which is pending in Congress, GMA News said.

If passed, the bill will require sex education in primary and secondary public schools, and call for the purchase of contraceptives by state hospitals as part of its essential medicines and supplies, according to the CBCP website.

The Catholic church only permits natural methods of birth control and claims that artificial methods of birth control will promote promiscuity and increase abortions. Eighty percent of the Philippine population is Roman Catholic, GMA News reported.

The church went up in arms after Aquino (who is on a seven-day visit in the U.S.) said in a U.S. televised interview that determining the size of one’s family is a personal choice, the AFP said.

Aquino said, “The government is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibilities and their choices. At the end of the day, government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method,” the AFP reported.

Aquino added, “I believe the couple will be in the best position to determine what is best for the family, how to space (the births), what methods they can rely on and so forth. They face the responsibility for the children that they bring in and government is willing to assist them,” according to the AFP.

Civil disobedience threatened

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said, “If the RH bill becomes law, we will advise Catholics not to follow it…the Church considers as non-negotiable its opposition to artificial contraception,” GMA News reported.

Iniguez blamed Aquino’s stance on artificial contraception on the fresh aid from the United States which includes a $434-million grant from the Millennium Challenge Corp., GMA News said.

In the CBCP website Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission on Family and Life said, “It’s no secret that the US and other foreign nations have tried to pressure the Philippine government for a more aggressive birth control program.”

In the past the bishops had often condemned the USAID, United Nations Population Fund and other international aid agencies which Castro said have been pressuring lawmakers to push the reproductive health (RH) bill, according to their website.

Castro expressed fear that with Aquino’s recent support for artificial contraception, the possible passage of the RH bill is further strengthened. He noted that while Aquino was always a strong advocate of the measure, he was relatively silent on the issue during the campaign period, the CBCP website said.

The Philippines estimates its 2010 population at 94.01 million, up from 76.5 million in the 2000 census and making it the 12th most populous nation in the world AFP.

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The Catholic church will support the administration of newly elected president Benigno Aquino III, and hopes that he will make good on his promise for change, the news arm of the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines  said recently.

CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar issued the statement on its website.  Aquino was proclaimed president by the Philippine Congress yesterday and already faces a number of areas of concern that the CBCP has raised this past week.

The CBCP has asked Aquino to impose a moratorium on mining even as they support an alternative mining bill that is now being pushed in congress, in order to prioritize the environment and human rights, according to Business Mirror.

The CBCP has also urged Aquino to abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund of congress, which they say has been one of the biggest sources of government corruption in the country, according to GMA News.

The PDAF, or erstwhile “pork barrel” is supposed to be used by lawmakers to fund development projects which they believe merit priority.  Every year each congressman gets 70 million pesos, while a senator gets 200 million pesos, GMA News said.

However, the CBCP felt that congress should focus on making laws and allow governors and mayors to handle the building of roads and schools. Removing the PDAF may eliminate 50 percent of corruption, according to GMA News.

A second issue raised by the CBCP is the Reproductive Health bill, which they fear Aquino strongly advocates. The RH bill advocates the use of both natural and artificial contraceptives, the latter of which goes against Catholic teaching, GMA News said.

The bill proposes reproductive health education for students from grade 5, and will permit government purchase of contraceptives to be included with the medicine and supplies of state hospitals, GMA News said.

The bill has long been pending in Congress, and adding to church anxieties is the possible retention of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral under Aquino. It was noted that even without passage of the bill, Cabral would be able to strongly promote the use of condoms and pills, GMA News said.

Aquino is the son of the late Corazon Aquino, the former president who spearheaded the peaceful EDSA revolution that ended the 20-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos and returned democracy to the country.

His father, Benigno Aquino Jr. , was assassinated upon his return from exile in 1983, and is also loved by many Filipinos, CNN said.

A staunch supporter of Corazon Aquino during the EDSA days and throughout her presidency was the late Cardinal Sin, who rallied the largely catholic Philippine majority to her support.

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