Pacman should fight LH, not RH

I was wildly cheering for Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao at the Mandalay Hotel on March 15, 2008 even as Mexican supporters of Juan Miguel Marquez were screaming “Marquez! Marquez!” in my ears. Pacman prevailed then, of course, as I am confident he will again when they meet for the third time this November. As the best southpaw boxer in the business, Pacman will always win fighting LH (left-handed). But when he fights RH, he’s bound to lose.

RH stands for Reproductive Health which is shortcut for the controversial bill pending in the Philippine Congress that aims to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. While poll after poll show that more than 70% of the Filipino people support the RH bill, which has been introduced in Congress each year since 1998, it has never passed because of the virulent opposition of the Catholic Church.

RH supporters are more optimistic about its passage this year because of the backing of Pres. Noynoy Aquino, who has defied threats of excommunication from the Catholic Church.

When Pacman returned to Manila last week after earning $30 million for beating Shane Mosley in a lopsided match in Las Vegas on May 7, he was feted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and trotted out in a press conference to announce his opposition to the RH bill.

As the new “poster boy” of the Catholic hierarchy’s opposition to the RH bill, Pacman declared to the press that he was opposed to the use of artificial birth control methods because it goes against the will of God. “God said, ‘go forth and multiply,’ he did not say ‘go and just have one or two children,'” he said.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the main Senate sponsor of the RH bill, challenged Pacman’s interpretation. “The Bible does not say ‘Go out to the world.’ It sounds very much like God is encouraging us to go out and copulate in public. God wanted man, not necessarily to literally multiply, but to go out to work with the rest of the human beings of this planet and to apply the stewardship theory. Meaning to say, taking care of each other,” she explained.

Pacman also questioned the need for an RH bill. “In reality, even if the RH (reproductive health) bill has not yet been passed, many people are already using condoms or (birth control pills) so why do we still need to pass it when people are already using them?” he asked.

At least Rep. Pacquiao knew what the issue was, unlike Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing who mistakenly believes that the bill is about legalizing the use of condoms which he considers an “abortifacient” because, he said, it stops the female’s egg from connecting with the male’s ovum.

[So, Congressman Bagatsing, if a rapist happens to be the father, brother or uncle of the victim, would his use of a condom—to prevent the fertilization of the egg of his victim—increase the level of the crime/sin from incest or rape to murder of the prospective fetus? No condoms under any circumstances? Even to prevent sexually transmitted diseases?]

It is reliably estimated that more half a million abortions are performed each year in the Philippines as a result of unwanted pregnancies. So, one would assume, anyone opposed to abortions would support the prevention of unwanted pregnancies which is what the RH bill seeks to accomplish.

The thrust of the RH bill is for the government and the private sector to fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as birth control pills (BCPs) and intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers.

The RH bill is really about choices. To better understand what the RH bill is all about, as “Skedster” explained online, imagine two waiters who approach you in a restaurant.

Waiter 1 (pro-RH): “Here is our menu, sir. I can explain to you each food item on the menu, such as how they can help you and how many calories there are and what ingredients went into each one, so you can decide for yourself what you want to choose. In the end, I’m just here to show you the choices and educate you, but you still decide what you want to order.”

Waiter 2 (anti-RH): “Sorry sir, I cannot show you the menu. I don’t want you to know about the other choices. In fact, I’ll just choose for you. I haven’t actually eaten anything in this restaurant myself, but God gave me clear revelations so it’s better if I just choose for you. The other items in the menu are bad for your health and soul.”

Fortunately, not all Catholic priests are in lockstep with the Ayatollah Bishops. Fr. John Carrol of the Ateneo wrote: “With all due respect for the position of the Philippine bishops, I do not see that total opposition to the bill necessary, once one gets past the polemics. First of all, the bill does not legalize contraceptives; they are already legal and may be purchased in any drugstore. What the bill proposes to do – rightly or wrongly – is to subsidize the cost of contraception as well as natural family planning to the poor.”

Fr. Carrol laments that the Church has backed itself into a no-win situation. “If the bill passes over the total opposition of the hierarchy, there will be gloating in some quarters and a sense of “Who’s afraid of the big bad Church?” If it is defeated by the opposition of the Church, I fear a powerful backlash at the Church’s “interference in politics” and “reliance on political power rather than moral suasion”—the beginnings of an anti-clericalism such as overwhelmed formerly Catholic bastions as Spain and Ireland.”

(Send comments to [email protected] or mail them to the Law offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call 415.334/7800).

Originally posted at 7:05 pm|Wednesday, May 25th, 2011