Aquino stand on family planning initially draws cheers

MALACAÑANG spokesmen said yesterday President Aquino is willing to sit down with Church officials to discuss his stand on family planning, which they said is for responsible parenthood.

A survey by the Social Weather Stations shows 68 percent support for family planning, even as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said lay protest actions are being planned against Aquino’s stand.

Aquino on Monday said he is leaving it to couples to decide on whether they want to adopt family planning methods, and which method to use if they decide to. He said the government’s only obligation to the couple is to inform them of what choices are available.

The Church, which takes Aquino’s statements to mean he will not ban artificial contraceptives, allows couples to use only the natural family planning method.

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said, “Hopefully, within the week, we can concretize everything para ang nasa frontline ng battle ay mga de-pamilya nating mga lay people.”

Members of the clergy will most likely stay “in the background,” he said.

“On our side sa clergy, we will simply support them in the initiative… Gusto nila sila ang mapunta sa forefront, which we very much appreciate,” he said.

Castro said the protest action will not be confrontational with the government as some of them supported Aquino during the last elections.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and Herminio Coloma, head of the Presidential Communication Operations Office, said the President has been clear about his stand, which is to promote responsible parenthood.

“He believes that the parents should decide the size of their family, the manner and method by which that plan should be done. So it’s the decision of the parent as the ultimate decision-maker on the size of the family. So binibigay ho natin sa mga kababayan ang kaparanaan ng family planning,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said Aquino stands by this position even if there are pressures from different sectors, including the Church which opposes the use of artificial means of birth control like contraceptives.

An official of the Department of Health said Aquino’s statement would be helpful, at least, in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Gerard Belimac, director of the DOH’s National AIDS/STI Prevention and Control Program, said the use of contraceptives, specifically condoms, has long been proven to be effective in preventing the transmission of the AIDS virus.

“Certainly, it’s a big leap towards achieving MDG (Millennium Development Goals) particularly on the HIV and AIDS prevention. The debate on the effectiveness of condoms preventing HIV transmission is long overdue,” said Belimac.

DOH data since 1984 show that there are now 5,364 people living with HIV in the country, with 849 developed into full-blown AIDS cases.

This year alone, from January to July, there have been 940 new HIV cases reported to the health department.

Belimac stressed the DOH continues to promote the three-step program against HIV/AIDS dubbed “ABC” — A stands for abstinence from sex, B for “be faithful to your partner,” and C for condom use. – Gerard Naval and Jocelyn Montemayor, Malaya