Corruption

See what happens when contraception is equated with corruption: both chambers of Congress pass the Reproductive Health bill by a convincing margin.

At the House of Representatives, the number of congressmen voting for the measure even increased on third and final reading. This is significant, coming on the heels of Church condemnation of the original 104 congressmen who voted in favor of the RH bill on second reading last week.

The warning of eternal damnation was followed by a pastoral letter, read during Sunday Mass in the Christmas season, describing contraception as corruption.

That condemns as corrupt a large segment of the Filipino female population, mostly with financial means and education to decide whether or not to practice contraception.

This message can be confusing for Filipinos who equate “corruption” more with temporal rather than spiritual matters, which is what I think the pastoral letter meant.

By temporal matters, Pinoys tend to think of corrupt government deals – the type involving certain public officials strongly supported by the Catholic Church. Some people may also recall bishops accepting SUVs – complete with at least one unctuous letter requesting the president of the republic for a new vehicle.

Apart from pro-RH women, also being branded as corrupt is Noynoy Aquino, who has made the anti-corruption campaign a cornerstone of his administration.

President Aquino has his faults, there’s talk of corruption involving some of his friends, and people can only speculate on the compromises he has had to make with corrupt politicians to push his reform agenda. His anti-corruption campaign can sometimes seem quixotic. But surveys indicate that Filipinos give P-Noy credit for trying.

Some opponents of the RH bill who were silent on previous corruption scandals such as the purchase of second-hand helicopters at brand-new prices are now fretting about the possible misuse of public funds for the purchase of condoms and pills. When it comes to corruption, it’s helpful to be consistent.

Even in spiritual matters, the condemnation of corrupted souls can be confusing for those who have followed the sex scandals in several countries involving Catholic priests abusing young boys, with legal settlements bankrupting several dioceses.

Since this is the Roman Catholic Church, whose shepherds take orders from the Vatican, bishops in the Philippines cannot distance themselves from the sins of their brethren overseas. In fact a few Pinoy priests have themselves become embroiled in the sex scandals.

It didn’t help the anti-RH forces that the faces of their cause were, in the Senate, Tito Sotto and Juan Ponce Enrile (whose congressman-son is pro-RH – the family’s bases are covered) and boxer Manny Pacquiao (who’s had his share of morally questionable scandals) in the House.

Reputable surveys in the past years – even before the Aquino administration – consistently showed high public support for a reproductive health program. But religious groups in this country are strongest politically when the president’s hold on power is precarious, requiring the support of major blocs.

It needed a strong president – not a despot but someone secure in his mandate and confident of public support – to give the RH bill a push.

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Yesterday, Enrile and Sotto hit back by stalling the bicameral conference on the RH bill.

When you run out of (plagiarized) arguments and can no longer twist facts out of context, you stall. The tactic has a limited shelf life and tends to have diminishing returns.

Then again, it’s good to keep Sotto talking. Like Pacquiao, Sotto’s convoluted arguments can drive those unsure of their stand on RH to support it.

Give the anti-RH lawmakers credit, however, for putting up a good fight. It’s democracy at work – messy, tortuous, but open and the product of compromise on divergent opinions. The democratic process does not take dictation from a single, infallible authority like the pope.

The RH bill will still need bicameral fine-tuning. RH supporters must make sure the final version will stand scrutiny by the Supreme Court, in case the issue reaches the tribunal, which is bound to happen.

Anti-RH congressmen said yesterday that they were cool to taking the case to the SC and having another branch of government pass judgment on the work of an independent, co-equal branch. But anti-RH groups outside Congress can take the case to the high tribunal.

There is continuing debate on the inclusion of the phrase “satisfying sex” for women as one of the arguments for the bill. “Satisfying” is subjective and may need to be replaced with a more accurate term.

Critics of the bill have also pointed out that the penal provisions need to be reviewed. This can be worked out in the bicam, which shouldn’t wait for another nudge from P-Noy.

With the passage of the bill in both chambers, there’s speculation on the fate of Enrile as Senate chief. Enrile also opposed the sin tax bill. He seems to be counting on his stellar performance as presiding officer in the unprecedented impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona at the start of the year.

With the congressional rebuff of the Church on RH, there’s also speculation on whether lawmakers are ready to confront the bishops again and legalize divorce. The bachelor P-Noy isn’t going to benefit personally from it so he can push for divorce, but I think he has other legislative priorities.

Like the RH bill, women’s groups are the ones pushing for the legalization of divorce, which will entitle women to alimony and allow remarriage.

Legal marital bonds can be annulled under certain circumstances in this country, but the process can take up to two decades.

There is also a so-called Catholic divorce, for which Vatican dispensation is needed. This divorce is available only to those with money. To a certain extent, this is like access to reproductive health services, which women with money and education have the choice of enjoying, but not the poor. The RH bill aims to correct this.