Bishop starts signature drive vs reproductive health bill

The fight over the Reproductive Health Bill has turned into a battle of signatures.

A day after women’s group Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) launched an online signature campaign to support the proposed legislation of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the Archdiocese of Manila (AoM) also started its own signature campaign against the Reproductive Health Bill.

In a statement, the AoM said Chancellor Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. issued a circular last Aug. 28 to all parish priests and chaplains of the archdiocese to teach responsible family planning and asked the clergy and the faithful to sign the position paper against the bill. 

“We must teach our people the scriptural, theological, and even scientific foundations of our position,” Fr. Sescon said.

But he clarified that they would leave it up to their priests to apply their own strategies to conduct the signature campaign.

They were only asked to “exhaust all means available” to obtain the widest possible coverage of signatures against the bill.

The circular also asked priests to intensify the Family and Life Ministry in their parishes.   – Evelyn Macairan