Bacolod diocese submits answer to SC on RH tarp

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  â€” The Diocese of Bacolod, led by Bishop Vicente Navarra, has submitted its memorandum to the Supreme Court on the case of the controversial Reproductive Health tarpaulin, bearing the Team Buhay and Team Patay lists of senatorial candidates and party-list groups.

Lawyer Ralph Sarmiento, head of the diocese’s legal team, said the memorandum was in compliance with the SC order for both sides, the diocese and the Comelec to submit their memoranda on or before April 1, so it can rule on the matter.

In its memo, the diocese asked the SC to declare “unconstitutional and void” the Comelec order to remove the tarpaulin, hanging at the facade of the San Sebastian Cathedral.

“The tarpaulin is not intended to campaign for the candidacy or the defeat of particular candidates, ... (but) simply to convey the message and position of the petitioners on the RH Law and to inform the public who among the candidates and party-list groups had voted for or against its passage into a law,” said the diocese.

The diocese argued that such act was “not campaigning for the candidacy or defeat of particular candidates but a mere statement of either commendation or criticism of candidates based on their positions on the RH Law, an issue of utmost importance to the petitioners.”

It further contended that it was a “mere expression of personal opinions, views, and beliefs by a private party which is protected by the Bill of Rights,” or “a statement of approval and appreciation of their (candidates and party-list groups) action as public officials in voting against the RH Law.”

The Comelec had ordered the Diocese of Bacolod to remove the tarpaulin, measuring 6 feet by 10 feet, for the reason that it was oversized than the allowable size for campaign posters of 2 ft by 3 ft.

The tarpaulin bears the names of senatorial candidates and partylist groups who voted for and against the RH Law, which the Diocese of Bacolod has been opposing.

The Diocese, refusing to remove it, filed at the SC a special civil action for certiorari and prohibition with application for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order against the Comelec order.

Sarmiento said: “You may not agree with what this tarpaulin is saying, but we will fight for the right of the bishop, and everyone else, to say these things. Freedom of speech and of expression is the keystone of democracy,” which he said can survive only in an environment of free speech.

“The Catholic Church is loath to clash with government. That is not in its DNA … But religious freedom and freedom of speech are paramount considerations, and while the Church seeks reconciliation, it will not barter away its voice,” the memorandum also reads.  (FREEMAN)