Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim yesterday said he is against the passage of House Bill No. 5043, “An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development, and for Other Purposes,” stressing that even if it is passed, the city government would not follow its provision.
“If in case the bill is passed and approved to become a law, the City of Manila will not follow its provision wherein the local government units will buy contraceptives using taxpayers’ money,” said Lim in his speech before parishioners at the Manila Cathedral School during the “Ulat Sa Lungsod ng Mga Nahalal na Pamunuan ng Maynila” sponsored by the Parish Pastoral Council.
Lim said he disapproves of the bill because, first, it kills lives, second, it can destroy families, and third, it destroys health.
The Manila mayor said that reproductive health and family planning must be founded on the perspective of values.
“We do not want to develop a nation with ‘contraceptive mentality’ that we believe the supporters of the reproductive health bill are promoting,” he said.
Lim said among the aims of the bill are to prevent abortion, manage reproductive tract infections, prevent HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, protect and promote equal gender rights, empower women and counseling on sexuality.
The bill also mandates reproductive health education for the youth, he said.
Even if the bill does not explicitly advocate legalizing abortion, “reproductive health” and “reproductive rights” are terms used by international agencies and NGOs to give “universal access to abortion,” he said.
“Abortion is illegal in the Philippines,” stressed Lim.
Lim said that he is a Catholic and he believes in the church’s position on the bill.
“Indeed, the Filipinos are ready to embrace responsible parenthood and family planning, but, in a more responsible way – the natural family planning method,” he also said.
“The City of Manila is Pro-Life because life is sacred,” Lim also said. – Sandy Araneta