CBCP vows to continue blocking Reproductive Health bill

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has promised to continue to oppose the passage of the re-filed Reproductive Health Bill despite the greater number of lawmakers supporting its passage.

CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar, said, however, that discontinuing their opposition to the passage of the controversial bill would mean abandoning their social responsibility.

“We have our own duty and we have to speak out. We are not being cowed that just because they are many, we have to keep silent,” he said. “It will be an uphill battle.”

The Catholic Church has been the most vocal opponent of the Reproductive Health bill, which it has labeled “anti-life” because it promotes both artificial and natural birth control methods.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the bill, is optimistic that the measure would finally be passed into law under the 15th Congress because most of the lawmakers who co-authored the bill in the 14th Congress were re-elected.

Lagman re-filed last July 1 House Bill 96 titled “Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population and Development.”