Conscience, not political will

As I started writing again on the raging RH bill controversy, a popular joke among lawyers immediately came to mind. It is about a top caliber trial lawyer giving pointers to one of his young associates on how to handle the trial of a case. Without batting an eyelash and sounding really serious about his instructions, he told the young lawyer to always remember that: “if the facts are on your side, pound on the facts; if the facts are not on your side but the law is on your side, pound on the law; but if both the facts and the law are not on your side, then pound on the table!”. By analogy, it appears that this is also the technique employed by the sponsors and backers of the RH bill.

The fact is that their proposed law appropriates billions of pesos (14 billion or more) for the purchase of contraceptives like condoms, pills, IUD, patches and injectables so as to make them available for free to all people, young or old, married or single. The fact is that contraceptives have already been proven to lead to the commission of abortion or to directly cause abortion as well as cancer and blood clotting in the veins. Hence the use of these contraceptives violates the Revised Penal Code penalizing abortion (Article 256-259); and is contrary to the constitution mandating the State to equally protect the life of the mother and of the unborn from the moment of conception (Article II [12]).

The fact is that a foreign government (USA) and foreign organizations (UNPFA, IPPF, the Gates Foundation) are actually intruding into our sovereignty by imposing on us and virtually coercing our legislature to pass the RH bill not only to promote abortion but also to control our population allegedly because we are already overpopulated and the country’s food and natural resources are no longer sufficient for all of us. But the other facts also are: that there is no overpopulation but only overconcentration of population in urban areas; that our country’s resources are enough for everybody except that there is an inequitable distribution of wealth; that our population growth may soon stop because it is already declining towards a negative rate if we adopt population control measures; that our booming population is not a disadvantage but a big economic plus based on worldwide studies conducted by well known and reliable economists; that it is indeed during this period of population growth when we enjoy extended economic growth according to our own BSP Governor; and that the RH bill will derail this economic growth according to the Wall Street Journal.

These are the facts and the laws applicable to the proposed RH bill. Obviously, these facts and laws are not on the side of its sponsors and backers. They have not, and indeed cannot, deny these facts and applicable laws, or prove them false and inapplicable to the bill. So they are now pounding on the Catholic Church and those opposing the bill for blocking its passage and its allegedly laudable purposes of promoting the women’s reproductive health, of preventing the increase in maternal deaths and infant mortalities and of alleviating poverty in the land. They are attacking the Church which is merely pointing out that the bill’s laudable ends do not justify contraception and its abortive and cancerous effects as the means employed to achieve those ends. They forget that the end does not justify the means.

And the worse part here is that the bill’s sponsors and backers are resorting to personal attacks to the extent of picturing the clergies of the Church as “Padre Damasos” while at the same time digging up the alleged defects, sins, shortcomings and sexual offenses of a few clergies. They are even charging the Church for violating the principle of separation of Church and State when the Church is merely exercising their religious freedom of protecting its belief in the culture of life as against the culture of death that will surely prevail if the RH bill is enacted into law.

In short, the bill’s sponsors and backers are sidestepping and confusing the real issues which can be properly and easily understood by any ordinary person who has been adequately informed. In this connection, allow me to cite one of the reactions I received regarding this RH bill which I think presents the true issue in plain, clear and simple terms (edited and shortened for lack of space). It came from a young man ([email protected]) who claimed to have already “paid a lot of taxes to the government” and was asking that the pro-RH legislators better listen to him because “after all, part of their salary came from me”. He is a financial analyst and this is what he wrote in part: 

“The Philippines is a poor country and it wants to spend P3 billion on an ideology pushed by, among others, the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Why should the government buy condoms when the government hospitals can hardly provide antibiotics? I have been to many public hospitals. I have heard so many stories of how the patients would have to wait – at the expense of health deterioration – because there were no medicines available.

Contraceptives may really be necessary to help the poor, but what I cannot accept is that they will spend my money – the hundreds of thousands I paid – to something ideological!

I am a taxpayer. I want my money to go to the poor. I want it to be spent in buying antibiotics, Math textbooks, classrooms, farm-to-market roads, etc. I don’t want a single cent of my money to go to condoms! If Lagman, Cayetano, Santiago and company think they are helping the Philippines by promoting the RH Bill, they should not force me (because, I repeat, part of the tax is my money) to buy condoms so that others can enjoy their vices.

I find it very unfair for me to pay for someone else’s vice. I am not a smoker, and I get pissed off when someone smokes near me. In any case, I can tolerate smoking. But what I cannot tolerate is for the smoker to get my money so he can buy his cigarettes! Do you want to smoke? Then spend your money to buy your cigarette. Don’t get my money”.

A lot of taxpayers are really wondering and quite mystified why some legislators and even PNoy are stubbornly pushing for this bill which is obviously detrimental to our country and people. Is it because of the overwhelming pressure from the foreign groups? Hopefully it is not, because this is no longer a matter of political will but of conscience.

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