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Gibo says Church's ire won't deter his support for RH bill


Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. might be "very afraid" of the Church but he has no plans of withdrawing his support of some provisions of the Reproductive Health bill. Teodoro, who attended the Senate hearing on national security and military issues, said his fear of the Church's wrath should not deter him from supporting his beliefs. "Takot na takot talaga ako pero ang laban ng simbahan ay dapat sa kaluluwa natin, sa panalangin and our spiritual and moral formation," Teodoro said on Friday.


Syempre takot ako pero yun ang paniniwala ko anong magagawa ko?
– Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
(I'm really very afraid but the Church's battle should be for our souls, prayers and our spiritual and moral formulation.) Teodoro said there are some portions of the Reproductive Health bill that are acceptable to him but he wants to review the punitive provisions. "I believe in freedom of informed choice by a person as to what he or she wants to do with his or her own body," Teodoro said. He said he is against abortion but he is also against the enforced belief that contraception is bad. "Contraception, under the Church doctrine, is wrong but it should not be the policy of the State to adopt the view of any particular religion. The state should be non-religious, non sectarian. It should give opportunities to all based on what they personally believe," Teodoro said. The advocacy of the Church is very important but that is a matter for an individual conscience and own soul, that is not a matter of government enforcement, he added. The ruling party Lakas-Kampi-CMD on Wednesday picked Teodoro as its standard bearer in 2010. [See: Lakas-Kampi picks Teodoro as 2010 standard bearer] The Catholic Church earlier said that it would campaign against presidential candidates who support the RH bill. Population growth In a separate interview, Senator Rodolfo Biazon, author of the RH bill in the Senate, said he will continue pushing for the proposed measure even if it earns the ire of the Church. “I don’t give a damn. I cannot abandon my principles. We should address the population growth amid our running out resources," he said. He said in 2004, several Church-based organizations campaigned against him because of his advocacy on reproductive health. “But I’m still here. The only reason that I almost lost the race was because I became a victim of dagdag-bawas (vote shaving-padding)," Biazon said. Noynoy Aquino's stand Teodoro’s second cousin Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III, possible standard bearer of Liberal Party, had earlier expressed support to the RH bill but not in its entirety. “Yes, I support the bill but not in all of its phases. So far, binabasa ko pa nang husto (I'm still closely reading it)," the senator said. [See: Bishops to Noynoy: Reconsider stance on RH bill] He added that one of the provisions he is questioning is the allotment of budget for artificial contraceptives. “Sabi ko baka 'yung budget na 'yan mula sa pagpaliwanag at opportunity baka biglang ipilit na magamit, dun hindi ako sang-ayon. Pinoproblema ko pag me budget na hindi nagastos, me impression dun sa me budget na gastusin dahil baka mawala yung budget next time around," Aquino said. (I have apprehensions that instead of using the budget for awareness on artificial contraceptives and opportunity to explain it to the people, it might be utilized to force the people to contraceptives.) “Walang karapatan ang estado na mamilit sa sinuman kung paano niya iaayos ang kanyang pamilya pero pwedeng gabayan (The state has no right to dictate on anyone how he should manage his family but it can guide the people)," the senator said. He further said that the Church should be included in the education campaign on reproductive health to enable them to explain their side on the matter. He said there is indeed a problem with regard to the country’s population growth and the government should address it. “Natural ang population growth maraming impact sa napakaraming bagay, eskwelahan, pagkain na available sa merkado, trabaho na pwedeng pagkunan ng pagkakakitaan ng kabataan lalo na yung bagong ga-graduate. So umpisa pa lang siguraduhin natin na tulungan ang bawat pamilya na mapalaki ang mga anak nila sa maayos na paraan," Aquino said. (Population growth has an impact on many things including education, food available in the market, employment especially for new graduates. So we should ensure that the government will be able to help every family in bringing up their children.) He said the population problem hit him in the face during a meeting with urban poor families recently. "Nakita natin ang traditional na stereotype, may bitbit na sanggol, may nakatangan sa palda, meron sa kabilang side na a little less older. Tatlong sunod sunod na anak at andun sa urban poor na community so alam natin na talagang maraming pangkukulang na nangyayari dun," Aquino said. (We saw a mother who was carrying her baby on her arms, another holding skirt and an older child on her other side. Three children and they are living in an urban poor community. From there we already know that there is a shortcoming on the part of government.) - GMANews.TV
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