After Tuesday’s 20,000-strong march in Bacolod City opposing the passage of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill, Church and pro-life groups are gearing up to hold more street protests this weekend in the Eastern Visayas cities of Tacloban and Ormoc.
The coming protest rallies will coincide with the 4th Eastern Visayas Congress on Life, Love and Family to be held on Feb. 26 in Tacloban and Feb. 27 in Ormoc.
Meanwhile, in Manila, “pro-life” advocates admitted they only have two remaining cards left in opposing its passage: strong lobby in Congress and street protests. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said bishops and lay people will continue to appeal to their respective congressmen to reject the RH bill.
Next week on March 1, the House of Representatives will start plenary discussions on the consolidated RH bill that aims to require the government to make a comprehensive range of contraceptives available to the public.
Tacloban, Ormoc anti-RH bill rallies set
“The Church, as a Mother, calls each one now to participate in the fight against this danger being poised at the portals of our homes,” Palo Archdiocese coordinator Fr. Herculano Tabad said in an article posted on the news site of the the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
He said the gathering aims to inform the people in the Visayas region about the contentious issues surrounding the bill.
Also, he said the event will uncover the “true face” of the RH bill as the supposed final step “toward legalization of abortion in the Philippines.”
On Saturday, a Mass will be held at 8 a.m. at the Sto. Niño Church. A protest march around the city will be held at 3 p.m.
Speakers at the event will include Dolly Octavaino, Rene Bullecer, Ligaya Acosta, lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong, and former Manila Mayor Jose Atienza Jr.
Similar activities will be held at the Ormoc Superdome the following day, followed with a pro-life march around the city.
Bacolod anti-RH bill rally round-up
The CBCP said that the marchers in the Bacolod rally last Tuesday carried pro-life banners and burned an effigy of the RH bill.
“No to RH bill! Yes to life!” read some of the banners and placards, the CBCP news site reported Wednesday evening.
“We call on the government, both the legislative and executive branches, to carefully consider the matter and to stop pushing this unconstitutional measure,” the rallyists said in a manifesto.
Organized by the Citizens’ Alliance for the Protection of the Human Life (CAPHL), protesters came from civil society organizations and faith-based groups.
Heading the inter-faith organization were Bacolod City Councilor Lyndon Cana and Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra.
Other city officials led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and Bacolod Rep. Anthony Golez also joined the mass action.
The CBCP also noted the presence of representatives from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Born Again Christians, and other Evangelical and Baptist churches at the rally.
Capping the rally was the burning of a giant octopus effigy bearing an RH bill sign at the Bacolod City Plaza. – MRT/JV, GMA News
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