President Arroyo has found a formula to promote her administration’s controversial birth spacing program while not offending the Catholic Church, which stiffly opposes the use of any artificial family planning method.
The President yesterday invited Palace reporters and photographers to visit the Malacañang clinic to learn about the various "cost-less" family planning methods available to couples who do not want to violate their religious beliefs by using artificial contraceptives like condoms, contraceptive pills, diaphragms and intrauterine devices (IUDs).
The presidential invitation was made during an impromptu press briefing at the Pa-lace. The natural family planning list includes the basal temperature, Bilings ovulation and symptothermal methods.
The President lectured extensively Saturday on the various natural birth spacing methods promoted under her administration’s family planning program in her speech to mark International Women’s Day.
"Even intelligent people like you hear it only for the first time. That’s the reason why 67 percent of our mothers don’t practice family planning because they don’t know these easy and cost-less methods," Mrs. Arroyo told Palace reporters yesterday.
Upon eliciting the reporters’ interest, the President gamely promised to set up a seminar on natural family planning methods for the Palace press corps. "Not personally, of course," she said, "but I’ll make sure it happens."
Being the President of the Republic, Mrs. Arroyo said, does not exempt her from being covered by her administration’s state policy on population or following the natural birth control method consistent with the religious beliefs of the largely Catholic Philippines.
The Chief Executive said the government’s population policy is anchored on the constitutional principles of "responsible parenthood" in the determination of the size of a family through "birth spacing" and the couple’s choice and capacity to support their children.
The President’s lecture took place at the Palace before she addressed several women’s rights advocacy groups at the Marikina City Sports Complex Saturday.
"I would like to explain some more about each (natural birth control method) but my speech would be too long," she said.
"I want you to know that the Department of Health (DOH) and non-government organizations (NGOs) were conducting information campaigns on this in seven regions of the country, which we hope (will) reach all of the regions to culminate on May 11 this year, when we celebrate Mother’s Day," she said.
The President, who is turning 56 on April 5, said that while she is already menopausal, she is among the women whose age brackets are covered by the family planning program.
"Family planning avoids unplanned, high-risk pregnancy for mothers who are too young, meaning less than 18 years old or too old, meaning those who are 34 years old... I am more than 34 years old. I should practice family planning."
The President and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, have three grown children, Pampanga Vice Gov. Mikey, Luli and Dato.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed appreciation for the presidential emphasis on responsible parenthood as a means of population control.
CBCP president Bishop Orlando Quevedo told Mrs. Arroyo at a meeting at Malacañang’s that "we want to express our collective appreciation for your emphasis on responsible parenthood."
Quevedo was accompanied by Bishops Joel Baylon, Pedro Dean, Honesto Ongbingco and Francisco San Diego and Monsignor Hernando Coronel.