Protestant churches back RH bill

MANILA, Philippines—The largest alliance of Protestant and non-Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines has thrown its support behind the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill as “a means to encourage Filipino couples to seriously consider how to plan their family.”

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) said the RH bill was more than just about the promotion of artificial contraceptives.

“As a council, we support the spirit of the RH bill [because] it mainly talks about responsible family planning and giving the right to the couples to determine how they could plan their family,” said Rev. Rex Reyes, NCCP secretary general, on Saturday.

The NCCP position runs counter to that of the Roman Catholic Church, which is against artificial contraception and is lobbying against the passage of the RH bill.

NCCP members include the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Apostolic Catholic Church, the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others.

But in favoring the family planning measure, which is currently being debated in Congress, the NCCP said it did not view the country’s swelling population as the root cause of poverty plaguing millions of Filipinos, said Reyes.

“Overpopulation is not the only reason why many Filipinos are poor. We also need to address the proper and just sharing of our resources because we are a very rich country,” he said.

The RH bill, the council said, was one way to promote responsible parenthood and a means for the government to ensure that each Filipino lives a “decent life,” said Reyes.

No abortion link

Unlike the Catholic Church, the NCCP did not link the measure to abortion.

“You don’t necessarily equate it that way because with the church, teaching couples before they jump into marriage is very important,” he said.

“Maybe it’s time for the Church to also affirm that there should be more emphasis given to the counseling prior to marriage,” he added.

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, wants the government to promote only natural family planning methods.

Amid the debate on the RH bill, the population officer of Tacloban City said she “prefers” to teach the natural family planning method more than the government-supported artificial methods.

Ceilito Esquibel said on Friday her preference was not linked to the Catholic Church’s stand but because instructing couples about the natural birth control method was “easier” and did not entail working with medical personnel.

“It is just that we find the natural family method easy to teach. We don’t need to refer the couples to a health center or a clinic to get more information regarding the (artificial) methods,” she said. Jocelyn R. Uy with a report from Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas, Philippine Daily Inquirer