Aquino faces church ouster

President to promote responsible parenthood

THE leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday said that there is a possibility that President Benigno Aquino 3rd could be excommunicated and expelled as a member of the Roman Catholic Church if he will push with his plan to make contraceptives available to poor couples who request them. President Aquino quickly reacted to the threat, saying that his stand on promoting responsible parenthood has not changed despite the CBCP’s threat to excommunicate him.

Tandag (Surigao) Bishop Nereo Odchimar, the CBCP president, said during an interview over Radio Veritas that there are many grounds for President Aquino to be excommunicated, one of them his supposed advocacy of abortion.

According to Odchimar, distributing contraceptives could make the President an “accessory” to the crime of abortion.

“That is a possibility [to excommunicate Mr. Aquino], we will look into it. We will exhaust all means to come to a point of confrontation,” he said.

The bishop advised the President to consider the position of the Catholic Church, particularly the moral aspect of contraception.

“Well, being the President of all, you must consider the position of the Catholic Church because we are approaching this issue from the moral aspect like the unborn. Abortion is a grave crime, excommunication is attached to those [who advocate it]. That is an issue of gravity, that is violation of God’s commandment,” he said.

But Odchimar added that they are open to having a dialogue with Mr. Aquino on the matter.

The bishop said that population control is not the main problem in the country, and that corruption and lack of jobs result in poverty, which the President must address.

Odchimar added that they have been consistent in opposing passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill pending in Congress.

Mr. Aquino said that he is unfazed by the threat of the Catholic Church to excommunicate him.

“We are all guided by our consciences. My position has not changed. The State’s duty is to educate our families as to their responsibilities and to respect their decisions if they are in conformity with our laws,” the President noted in a statement.

Palace Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the President will not change his position on responsible parenthood despite strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

“Our position is responsible parenthood—the decision to determine what size and what method should be with the parents as the decision-makers,” Lacierda told reporters.

But he said that Mr. Aquino is open to hold a dialogue with the bishops to explain his stand on responsible parenthood.

During a satellite television interview on Monday, the President said that he is for the provision of contraceptives to poor couples who ask for them.

“The government is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibilities and their choices. At the end of the day, the government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method,” President Aquino said.

Ally in Congress

But Mr. Aquino can get an ally in the House of Representatives if he supports the passage of the RH bill.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also on Thursday said that they will seek the support of the President for the controversial bill since he has “bitten the bullet,” referring to Mr. Aquino’s stand to provide contraceptives to poor couples.

“The stand of the President will have influence on our bill here, which is pending along with other bills of the same nature pending with the Committee on Population and Public Health. I think it is OK to ask the President to request him if he can certify that [support for RH]. Anyway, he has bitten the bullet already,” Belmonte told a press conference.

But the House Speaker explained that Mr. Aquino’s position on contraception is not in defiance of the Church or anybody, because the President is just reiterating the national government’s willingness to provide information on all modes of family planning outside of abstinence.

Belmonte dismissed reports that the RH bill, which will provide universal access to contraception, will just feed the profits of related businesses.

“Hind ba pwede gumawa ng pagawaan ng condom dito [We cannot put up yet a factory manufacturing condoms here],” he said.

But Belmonte admitted that the influence of the Catholic Church on the fate of the RH bill is hard to dismiss, and that every member of Congress will take that into account.

“The Church lobby is strong. We can’t say that it won’t matter. Everyone has to assess that. We ourselves have assessed it in the past, and we’re willing to take the risk,” he said.

But even with the renewed interest in the RH bill, Belmonte added that Congress is not rushing the passage of the measure.

“I want to see it reach the point of third reading where everybody can express his [or] her view, whether he or she is for or against [it]. That will be the will of the House,” he said. –JOMAR CANLAS, CRIS G. ODRONIA AND LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTERS, Manila Times