Bishops call on Congress to support GMA’s ‘pro-life’ population program

The Roman Catholic Church called on Congress yesterday to support the "pro-life" population control program of President Arroyo that advocates the use of natural family planning methods.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has sought lawmakers’ help for Malacañang to carry out this policy after it backed the President’s proposal during the United Nations meeting in September to utilize the world body’s population fund to promote natural family planning.

San Fernando, Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, believes there is a need to convince congressmen to support the program, as some of them reportedly even proposed "anti-family and anti-life bills" to be included in impending amendments to the Constitution.

"The government is mandated to protect the Filipino family. The Church has always supported policies that are pro-life and defending human rights so we hope that congressmen would think twice on these anti-family bills," stressed Aniceto during a press conference at the Pope Pius XII Center in Ermita, Manila.

Aniceto said Mrs. Arroyo’s stand on population control, which pushes for the use of the "Billings Ovulation Method" in family planning, "is the best way to promote productivity in family and establish strong foundation and stability in our society."

"Many administrations have passed but only this government has clearly voiced out and supported the position of the Church on the issue of family planning. We are really very thankful for this," the bishop noted.

Aniceto earlier lauded the President’s proposal promoting the use of the UN population fund to alleviate poverty in poor countries by protecting women and the family.

"It is the closest we ever got to identifying the solution to the long-standing problem of poverty. Since poverty is an economic problem, the President is right in pinpointing that the solution should also be economic in nature, even more properly as improving the productivity of families," Aniceto explained.

A devout Catholic, Mrs. Arroyo has proposed the use of the UN population fund to protect the reproductive health of women in Third World countries and to train married couples on how to use and propagate the Billings Ovulation Technology during an inter-faith dialogue among world leaders at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Citing the research of the Population Council of New York in the 1980s, the President believes that significant reduction of birth rates can be achieved by improving living conditions, economic status, and level of education of families.

"Understanding the deep Catholicism of the vast majority of our people reduces the resistance to family planning as a tool for development," President Arroyo said during the meeting.

The proposal was welcomed by "pro-life" groups, including Kalipunan ng mga Kapatiran ng Pamilyang Pilipino (KKPP), Kanlungan ng Buhay Philippines, and Alliance for the Family Foundation.

KKPP education committee chair Willy Fajardo viewed the President’s stand on population as a good sign for their long-standing clamor for access to low-cost livelihood programs.

The policy also earned support from the academe and non-government organizations, which have been promoting the use of natural family planning methods.

Dr. Bernardo Villegas, president of the University of Asia and the Pacific, and Jose Sandejas of the Brotherhood of Filipino Family, were among those who joined the CBCP in seeking the support of Congress.

Villegas, who also attended the news conference, explained there is "no scientific evidence that population growth should be blamed for poverty" and that the current population control program of the government, which promotes use of contraceptives, is a "terrible diagnosis of poverty in the country."

Villegas also stressed that through the President’s population policy, the government could be able to prevent the "demographic suicide" now being experienced by developed countries like Japan.

Sandejas added that NGOs who share the same advocacy have assured their support for the program, noting the President "recognizes the need of women and family."

Meanwhile, the CBCP maintained its stand that the family must not be hampered by proposed amendments to the Constitution.

The bishops are rallying against House Bills 3773, 1808, 3422, 634, and 4016, which are consider as "anti-family, anti-life, and against doctrines of the Church."

Under HB 3773, which was authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, each family would be limited to having only two children. The proposal also requires teaching of sex education for students from Grade 5 to senior high school and the promotion of various methods of artificial contraception.

This bill, which is now for resolution in plenary session after it was passed in Committee hearings, is related to HB 1808, Bill on Population and Development, and HB 3422, Bill on Responsible Parenthood, which are both still in the Committee level.