IS RH BILL AN ABORTION BILL AND A THREAT TO PRESS FREEDOM?

From Balitaan sa Aloha

The debate continues as the Philippine society remains divided on the issue of Reproductive Health (RH) bill.
 
The bill, which is still pending in lower House, had raised various opinions from the public. In a recent debate on the matter, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, who is one of the proponents of the measure now called Responsible Parenthood-Reproductive Health Bill cited United Nations data showing that 11 women in the country die every day due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
On the other hand, Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, who is opposing the bill said that contraceptives raise breast cancer rates and do not prevent HIV infections, citing Thailand.
Earlier, Catholic Church had an uproar against the undaunted stand of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III who said he still supports the Reproductive Health Bill, various groups including women and other non-government organizations expressed their own take on the issue.
 
After Mr. Aquino’s speech in the last graduation rites in University of the Philippines, Catholic priests issued comments saying that the President is “a bad Catholic and his conscience is not yet well-formed.”
 
Fr. Jerry Oblepias, Laguna diocesan director of the family Ministry, said in previous reports that Mr. Aquino is “misled”, adding that what Mr. Aquino was thinking as ways to solve poverty are the easy and the lazy ways.
 
Fr. Oblepias encouraged  Mr. Aquino to face the real issue that the poverty the country is experiencing not because of too much population but “because of the bad governance and dirty politics that we have in the country.”
 
In one of Fr. Oblepias interviews to the media, he said that Mr. Aquino has a “falsified conscience” and has been rejecting the voice of thousands of Filipino Catholic’s who are against the RH Bill, which they believed as an anti-life and anti-family Bill.
 
Officials of the Catholic Church said that Mr. Aquino’s insistence of approving the RH Bill and make it as a law, only shows his ignorance of his responsibility as the President of the Philippines, which is supposedly lead the country based on its rule of law.
 
Balitaan sa Aloha, a weekly forum moderated by journalist Lolly Acosta, will discuss this issue together with distinguish panel of speakers such as Bishop Daniel A. Balais, national chairman of the Intercessors for the Philippines, pro-life advocates Atty. Luis and his wife Triccie Sison, Dr. Ligaya Acosta, executive director of Human Life International and Bro. Eddie Villanueva, founder and spiritual director of the Jesus is Lord Church.
 
The forum will be on May 11 (Wednesday), 8:30 in the morning at Aloha Hotel along Roxas Boulevard. 
 
For any queries, please contact Ms. Lolly Acosta at 0918-534-9729 or (02)687-4317 and Aura Dagcutan at 0917-532-0719 or (02) 975-9289.