Enrile urges RH bill critics, supporters to debate objectively

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile called yesterday on critics and supporters of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill to debate objectively rather than resort to personal attacks.

He made the appeal yesterday following mounting criticisms against Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III who had delivered two of his four-part contra en turno speech on the bill.

As far as Enrile is concerned, the RH bill is a very serious issue whose passage would have a great impact on the nation even in the next 100 years.

“Let us not only think of our generation now, but the generations to come,” he said. 

“They may not see it today in their lifetime. What about the next generation of Filipinos?”

Enrile is particularly concerned over the provision on the Senate’s version classifying as “essential medicines” condoms, birth control pills and intra-uterine device (IUD).

“What illnesses do condoms cure?” he asked in a radio interview.

“What about IUD?... They say its about women’s health, but the net result is reduction of population.”

Enrile said birth control programs have become a problem now for some countries in Europe since their dwindling populations have caused a massive impact on the work force.

“Why will we copy other countries which implemented the same policy when now they are having difficulties (as a result of such),” he said.

“If they say some are ignorant, then the answer is education. If the problem is poverty, then work on giving them employment.”

Enrile defended Sotto from the criticisms of former health secretary Esperanza Cabral, who challenged Sotto to produce the death certificate of his five-month-old baby who was born with a weak heart in 1975.  

“We should focus on the points raised by Senator Sotto, not the death certificates which he only used to explain his position on the bill.”

“We believe what we are doing is for the national good. We respect their position, but we should not nail Tito to the cross because of what happened to his family.”

His wife, Helen Gamboa-Sotto became pregnant despite her having used contraceptives, Sotto said.

A blogger also accused Sotto of plagiarizing some portions of her blog in the senator’s speech.

Lawyer Hector Villacorta, Sotto’s chief of staff, had written Sarah Pope, apologizing for the staff’s “trespass” after admitting that some portions were lifted and incorporated to the senator’s speech.

Enrile said the debates should focus on the merits of the issue.

“Are his agreements true or not?” he asked. “They should attack what he said, whether it is true or not.”

While there were questions whether Sotto erred by not citing the blogger as source, Enrile said that Pope had released the information to the public.

Referring to the American blogger, Enrile noted there should have been no problem on the issue of attribution since she publicized it and “unless you had it copyrighted.”

“When you recite Hamlet, you don’t have to say its Shakespeare. You know it is Shakespeare,” the Senate President said.

Enrile noted that even the word democracy is an idea copied throughout the world.

“No one owns it, it was being copied. Unless you copyrighted it, no one can copy it,” he said.

 “Don’t attack him personally,” he said of the majority leader.

He will abide with the judgment of his colleagues on the issue after the closing of period of interpellation and period of amendments, Enrile said.

Binay and Estrada

Vice President Jejomar Binay and former President Joseph Estrada said it does not mean they support the anti-RH bill campaign of El Shaddai when they attended the 28th anniversary of the Catholic charismatic movement over the weekend.

Officials of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) showed up at El Shaddai’s 28th anniversary celebration late Saturday evening, but the controversial RH bill was not part of the discussion.

UNA prime movers Binay and Estrada, along with Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, San Juan Rep. Jose Victor Ejercito, and former senator Ernesto Maceda went to the Amvel Compound of El Shaddai in Parañaque City.

Also present were former senator Francisco Tatad, and former Manila mayor Lito Atienza.

They graced the occasion to greet El Shaddai spiritual leader Bro. Mike Velarde who will celebrate his 73rd birthday today.

But Binay, Estrada and Maceda all said that they were in attendance at the celebration to convey their birthday greetings to Velarde and congratulate El Shaddai on its anniversary.

They all denied that they were there to express support for its anti-RH bill position.

Binay said: “First and foremost I attend (the El Shaddai event) whenever I am invited, it (the RH bill) was never discussed.”

Estrada said he has been present at the El Shaddai anniversary for the last 10 years.

“Since I was a senator, I am present because Brother Mike is a good friend of mine... There was no politics,” he said

He had been attending El Shaddai gatherings even if there was no election, he added.

When asked if his exposure last Saturday night would also increase his visibility to El Shaddai voters in Manila, Estrada said, “Maybe I could only say thank you. But I never said ‘vote for me’. I just greeted Brother Mike. It would have been in bad taste if his birthday is mixed up with politics.”

Maceda said that he was invited since Velarde is his “kumpareng buo.”

He was a principal sponsor to the wedding of one of Velarde’s children. 

Maceda said their presence was not politically motivated since if that was the case they would have brought more UNA candidates.

“This is personal. It has nothing to do with UNA or politics,” he said. “Do not put any meaning to it.”

Maceda said there was no talk of politics during dinner.

“There were only social conversations,” he said.

Officials of the Catholic Church denied political undertones in the presence of UNA officials. 

El Shaddai spiritual adviser former Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani said El Shaddai visitors have been friends of Velarde for many years.

“They have been traditionally present here (El Shaddai anniversary),” he said. “So far I do not see any special significance, of course, they would win a lot of exposure at least from the El Shaddai (community).”

When asked if the RH bill was ever discussed with the officials of UNA, Bacani said: “None...We have not discussed anything with them.”

But Bacani hopes the political leaders would support their anti-RH bill position.

El Shaddai and the local Catholic Church hierarchy have been strongly opposing the passage of the RH bill, believing it would promote abortion and use of abortifacient drugs.

‘Church out of touch’

Compared to similar denominations abroad, the Catholic Church in the Philippines is “out of touch” with the sentiments and preferences of the majority of its faithful who want the enactment of the RH bill, according to one of the principal authors.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of House Bill 4244, issued the statement as Catholic bishops and anti-RH lawmakers and other groups continued their offensive on the bill, which advocates wanted approved on second and third reading at the House of Representatives before the end of the month.

“While the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines has been endlessly going ballistic against the RH bill, the Catholic hierarchies in Europe and Latin America had long deferred to the secular State on the adoption and implementation of policies relating to family planning, including contraception by choice,” he said.

“The leadership of the Catholic Church in the Philippines is out of touch with the sentiments and preferences of the Catholic majority on the reproductive health issue.”

Lagman said reputable nationwide surveys document that 71 percent of Catholics favor the passage of an RH Bill, while 76 percent of Catholics agree that there should be a law requiring government to teach family planning to the youth.

Surveys also showed 68 percent of Catholics believe a law should be passed requiring government to distribute legal contraceptives, he added.

Lagman said as early as 1991, a Social Weather Stations survey reported that 96 percent of Catholics believe it is important to have the ability to control fertility and most of them approve of the use of contraceptives.

Other religious denominations, including the Iglesia ni Cristo and Islam, have endorsed the RH bill, he added.

The Interfaith Partnership, an organization of Christian Churches and Islam, has consistently supported the passage of the RH bill, he added.

Following the move of Catholic hierarchies in Europe and Latin America to distance themselves from the RH debate, European and Latin American countries have much lower population growth rates (PGR) and higher contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR) or use of contraceptives, than the Philippines, Lagman said.

For example, Poland has a PGR of 0.07 percent, Portugal (0.18), Italy (0.3), France (0.4), Spain (0.6), Argentina (0.9), and Brazil (0.9), he said. The Philippines, he said, has a PGR of 1.9 percent.

With respect to CPR, Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy have 81, 78, 71, 67, 66 and 60 percent respectively, compared to Philippines’ 50 percent, Lagman said.

Pimentel: Anti-RH stand stays

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has declared that his inclusion in the 12-man senatorial ticket of the Liberal Party coalition has not changed his stand against the passage of the RH bill.

“ I’m against RH bill,” he said. “Actually I believe it is not needed. There were no conditions for me to join (the LP coalition).”

Pimentel believes the government can do without a law addressing the burgeoning population by means of contraceptives.

 “Even without an RH law (it is feasible),” he said.

“What the law plans is to institutionalize the purchase of these commodities. Why do we need to decide on it (RH bill) when we can live without the law?”

Lagman has accused lawmakers opposed to RH bill of delaying the process of introducing amendments to the measure. – With Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla