Infringing sovereignty

Reactions to my articles on anti-life, anti-family measures like “reproductive health”, “reproductive rights”, family planning, population control and the use of artificial contraceptives vary from total agreement to conditional support, to critical rejection or indignant disapproval. This is alright. Freedom of expression or free exchange of views, ideas and beliefs is the essence of democracy. But just as they are unrelenting in their campaign for these harmful measures so will my objections be — not on the basis of my religious beliefs but in the interest of truth and on legal grounds.

Hence my only appeal to those who disagree is to stick to the issues and refrain from personal attacks. Wading into and fulminating on collateral matters merely exposes the bankruptcy of their position or betrays a bothered conscience.

Alarmingly, the aggressive campaign to impose these harmful population control methods is not confined to the legislative arena on the national policy making level. To be sure even as Congress is still deliberating on the RH bill several local government councils already passed their own versions of said bill encroaching upon the primary function of the Legislative Branch of the National Government.

Other administrative and executive offices and instrumentalities of the government have also been tapped by UN agencies supported by the USAID to implement an alleged economic program attractively dubbed as “Millennium Development Goals” (MDG). The goals look impressive and beneficial but on closer scrutiny and at the end of the day, they actually destroy the sanctity of the Filipino family life, legalize abortion, euthanasia, same sex marriage and divorce.

The UN agencies and their well funded NGOs are operating in the country and conducting their programs by directly dealing with government agencies and instrumentalities both in the local and national level even without any official agreements with the Legislative and/or Executive Branch of the National Government. One good example here is the Department Order from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) requiring the inclusion of provisions on “Reproductive Health Services” in all CBAs and the introduction of sexual education modules in school curriculum by the Department of Education.

A coercive approach is even being employed. The USAID is asking our LGUs in the rural areas to conduct massive and aggressive information campaign on couples to use their artificial birth control methods, wares and instruments under threats of totally phasing-out their financial assistance if no vigorous promotion is undertaken purportedly to allow couples the freedom of choice.

From all appearances our sovereignty as a nation is being trampled upon or taken for granted by these NGOs and their International financiers. Operating within our territory at least need some kind of a formal document not only in recognition of our sovereignty as a nation but also to avoid misunderstanding by establishing the parameters of their operations. A VFA is necessary before the US military can conduct exercises here. There is no reason why an of agreement of the same nature should not be required before these foreign backed NGOs should be allowed to promote their population control and artificial planning methods here.

Besides, and it bears repeating that these methods are contrary to the declared policy found in our Charter, where “the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution’ (Section 12, Article II). This means that a foreign group like the USAID or the UNFPA cannot just tell our local governments to use families as instruments in implementing their population control program. This is an infringement of the family’s autonomy and a clear incursion into the sanctity of family life protected by the Constitution.

It cannot be justified with the excuse that the government campaign covers all means of family planning where couples are given a free choice between natural and artificial birth control methods. The sanctity of family life recognized by the Charter covers all aspects including and especially the moral or spiritual life. This is quite obvious from the wordings of Section 3(1), Article XV of the Constitution which speaks of the “religious convictions” of couples in the exercise of their inherent right to raise their families. And that religious conviction tells them that preserving the integrity and wholeness of creation particularly human beings, is the Creator’s will; that the natural order of things must be observed. Hence the couples’ right to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions will be placed in jeopardy if the government, upon the prodding of foreign groups, forcibly conducts an information campaign advocating the chemical method like the use of pills, the mechanical method like the use of condoms, and surgical method like vasectomy and tubal ligation all of which tend to break the natural order of things especially in the reproductive system of human beings.

These matters have to be repeatedly stressed especially now that the US Obama administration has openly admitted that “sexual and reproductive health and rights” as well “reproductive services” include abortion. In fact Obama’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has link abortion to family planning that the US is aggressively promoting in the UN and in other countries with something as massive as $87 billion. Clinton’s own legal advisor in the State Department is a transnational supporter of abortion.

Therefore, the intrusive activities of these foreign groups into the lives of Filipino families should not be allowed to continue unabated. The government must assert its sovereignty on these matters. The constitutionality of those ordinances of the LGUs and administrative orders of the executive departments must be questioned in our courts. –Jose C. Sison, Philippine Star