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CEBU CITYí¢â‚¬”Does the re-ignited Reproductive Health bill controversy shove us between í¢â‚¬Å“the hard rock of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdisí¢â‚¬ of Greek mythology?
On one side are pugnacious RH advocates. They scoff at the even nuanced support for the bill. Ricardo J. Romulo, who agrees with the billí¢â‚¬â„¢s thrust, cautions against Sections 17 and 21. Proposed criminal sanctions may impinge on religious freedoms.
A dialog between the President and Catholic bishops í¢â‚¬Å“erodes essence of the stateí¢â‚¬, GendeRights Executive Director Clara Rita Padilla asserts. Isní¢â‚¬â„¢t that a recycle of the old criticism lobbed against the Master? í¢â‚¬Å“You talk to sinners.í¢â‚¬
Those whoí¢â‚¬â„¢d call down fire and brimstone are on the other side. Bishop Nereo Odchimar denies he threatened to excommunicate President Benigno Aquino for supporting broader family planning choices. í¢â‚¬Å“Man does not live by words alone, although he sometimes must swallow them,í¢â‚¬ cracked the late Adlai Stevenson.
The regional Sun Star Daily reminded the shepherds : í¢â‚¬Å“Excommunication is to be used with sobriety and circumspection.í¢â‚¬ The Trent Council of 1563 cautioned: í¢â‚¬Å“If wielded rashly, it is more despised than feared, and works more evil than good.í¢â‚¬
Yet, the common ground of advocates and critics is far broader than their fiery rhetoric suggests.
Take the headcount. Congress funded the last national census seven years late. Voting age cohorts are bloated in Maguindanao and other warlord dominated places. Population surged in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. This contrasted markedly with a slow decline elsewhere.
How many of us were here when P-Noy took his oath as president? Depends on who you ask.
The National Statistics Office swears there were 94.01 million Filipinos then. Really? U.S. offices estimate 97.9 million. UN lobs a question in reply: í¢â‚¬Å“Which projections do you use? Low, medium or high?í¢â‚¬
The NSO estimate, in any case, equals 13 Hong Kongs, population-wise.Thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s five times the pre-World War II headcount. Nor is that a neat antiseptic figure. Out of every 100 Filipinos, 44 scrape by on P100 a day.
The country whittled down poverty incidence from a high of 30 percent in the early 1990s. But the global food and fuel crises, plus population surges, í¢â‚¬Å“pushed even more people into penuryí¢â‚¬. We ignore Aristotleí¢â‚¬â„¢s caution at our peril: í¢â‚¬Å“Poverty is the parent of rebellion and crime.í¢â‚¬
The momentum of population growth ignores presidents, bishops, and congressmen. It persists long after brakes are pulled. Computers are still crunching the 2010 census returns, amidst murmurs of undercounts. But all brace for a larger population.
No one disputes the í¢â‚¬Å“youth bulgeí¢â‚¬. Majority of Filipinos are young. With hormones in overdrive, many start families early, despite marriage codes that jack up minimum age. They tarry in reproductive years longer.
All camps here recoil from abortion. Human life is precious. Lacking access to information and family planning services, nearly 473,000 Filipinas opted for underground abortions,í¢â‚¬ notes the United Nations Childrení¢â‚¬â„¢s Fund. Illegal clinics and hilot ply a lucrative sub-rosa trade.
Do abortions now exceed half a million? There is no reliable tally in this murky underworld. But all agree women must be helped to become informed and speak for themselves. Continued neglect would í¢â‚¬Å“abet the terrible reality of abortion as the only viable choice open to poor Filipino women.í¢â‚¬
Couples must make family size decisions responsibly and freely, Pope John Paul II stressed. The Catholic Bishopsí¢â‚¬â„¢ 2nd Plenary Council, taught: Parents should í¢â‚¬Å“beget only those children they can raise up in a truly human and Christian way. The decision on number of children rests solely with parents.í¢â‚¬
í¢â‚¬Å“It is legitimate for government to orient the demography of population,í¢â‚¬ the Catholic catechism says. It can do so by information, but not by coercion or í¢â‚¬Å“means contrary to moral lawí¢â‚¬.
Frontier Mindanao dioceses í¢â‚¬” Ipil, Cagayan de Oro, Isabela (Basilan), Digos, and Cotabato support natural family planning programs. í¢â‚¬Å“We must give an effective answer to the stark realities of unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and use of contraceptives.í¢â‚¬ Cagayan de Oroí¢â‚¬â„¢s Archbishop Antonio Ledesma says.
Could a compromise bill could prevent Filipinos being trapped í¢â‚¬Å“between the rock and the whirlpoolí¢â‚¬? Yes, say business groups that met last November at the Asian Institute of Management.
The conference excluded legislators for or against the RH bill. Instead, Management Association of the Philippines, the Makati Business Club, and the Bishops-Businessmení¢â‚¬â„¢s Conference for Human Development dialoged with stakeholders: from NGOs, academics, to church and business.
A wide range of views were heard: from population programs being an í¢â‚¬Å“imperialist plotí¢â‚¬ to government being able to accomplish the demographic objectives, even without the bill. The final consensus: the problemí¢â‚¬â„¢s urgency demanded business sector help to find a solution.
The President and the Catholic bishops are to dialog. That should help the country step back from a í¢â‚¬Å“hard rock of Scylla or whirlpool of Charybdisí¢â‚¬ choices. All agree the cascade of ill-nourished babies from wizened mothers into sentences of life-long poverty is a prescription for disaster.
Realism must temper hopes. Whatever decisions the President or the bishops reach, the sheer momentum of human fecundity guarantees the addition of a 12-million Metro Manila to the countryí¢â‚¬â„¢s headcount by 2016. Thatí¢â‚¬â„¢s also when PNoy steps down from Malacanang.
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