PHNix Network Advocate

Imagine a doctor or health worker being sentenced to a prison term simply because he or she refused to prescribe — or refer someone who would prescribe — an abortifacient “contraceptive”. Imagine being fined and jailed for staying true to your pro-life convictions. Could that ever happen in the Philippines?

Well it just might if the latest “reproductive health” bill is passed in the Philippine Congress!

(Image on the right is by Matthew Bowden)

The bill, known as the “Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2007″, has a number of highly objectionable provisions. Here are just a few of them:

• Section 9 (Hospital-Based Family Planning) specificially subsidizes the use of IUDs (insertion of the device is performed in a hospital). The IUD, however, is NOT a contraceptive. It is an ABORTIFACIENT. The IUD does not prevent ovulation. Rather, it works by affecting the uterine wall so that it prevents a fertilized ovum — which is already a human being — from implanting. The Philippine Constitution specifically protects human life from the moment of conception. The IUD clearly violates that principle.
• Section 16 (Ideal Family Size) defines the “ideal family size” as having two children. This idea has no scientific basis whatsoever and further perpetuates the myth of “overpopulation”, which has been discredited around the world. Poverty in the Philippines is NOT caused by overpopulation, but by massive government corruption and economic mismanagement. This so-called “ideal” number of children is also below replacement level, which is 2.1. Should this be be widely practiced, the Philippines will soon be faced with the prospect of population stagnation and population ageing. There are no economic structures or even agreed-upon solutions to counteract the grave negative economic effects of such a situation in the Philippines.
• Section 21 (Prohibited Acts), number 5 mandates that any health care provider who refuses to dispense certain services or information based on religious grounds (for example, a Catholic health worker who will not dispense IUDs or other abortifacients like the birth control pill), is still forced to recommend a “patient” to someone who will perform the objectionable deed! To make such a referral, however, still makes the conscientious objector an accomplice in the objectionable act. Those who refuse to make such a referral are threatened with 1-6 months imprisonment and a fine of P10,000-50,000. This provision is therefore highly coercive and tramples upon religious freedom.

Ramming Through Congress

The bill, with its deadly and corecive agenda, is currently being RAILROADED through the Philippine Congress in a highly irregular manner. This is detailed in a report (shown below this post) from the Bishops-Legislators Caucus on the status of this and other similar bills in the Philippine legislature. Take note that the consolidated reproductive health bill passed the Health Committee of the Lower House in just two minutes, without any debate or discussion! There was no technical working group formed to make the substitite bill, which is in violation of a Constitutional requirement. Something smells rotten in Congress!

This situation has all the elements of a deadly, tragic farce: a bill that is coercive, has no scientific basis, and violates the Constitution is being rammed down our throats without the people in general even knowing aboiut it. Talk about being shafted!

What are we going to do about it?

Link to text of Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2007
(http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgdp8vjs_4t9kmvwgr)

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The latest “crisis” to hit the Philippines is the much talked-about rice “shortage”, and as expected, the advocates of the Culture of Death are once again blaming “overpopulation” as the culprit. Not only is this factually wrong, but it is also a despicable attempt to turn attention away from the real cause of the crisis: massive corruption and irresponsible, long-standing mismanagement of the economy.

Politics of Distraction

Research shows that the GMA administration is perceived to be one of the most corrupt in Philippine history. The Philippines scores way low, at 131 out of 180 nations, in Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. A recent national survey found many Filipinos think that Gloria Arroyo is the country’s most corrupt leader, more so than former President-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, as reported in the December 12, 2007, Sun Star story “Survey says Arroyo most corrupt president“:

The nationwide survey by independent pollster Pulse Asia found that 42 percent of Filipinos believed Arroyo is the country’s most corrupt leader, compared to 35 percent for Marcos.

Lest anyone miss the point, massive corruption has serious effects on the economy and the delivery of government services. Funds that should be going into education, salaries and housing for our soldiers and civil servants, infrastructure, health, agricultural support, and social services ends up in the pockets of those who don’t deserve it. Is it any wonder then that we lack classrooms and texbooks, have underpaid soldiers and policemen, inadequate primary health care, and poor, underproductive farmers?

Another problem — which, to be fair, was allowed by previous administrations — was the insistence on debt servicing, including even the repayment of questionable loans. This has effectively emaciated government’s ability to make critical capital investments in the nation’s industries and infrastructure.

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February is ProLife month. So that means this post is a lot later than it should be. Still, I’ve put together some suggestions thatordinary people can do this month — or any time of the year — to promote a Culture of Life.

1. Expose the lie that contraception can lead to fewer abortions. The exact opposite is true. There is information on that issue in the ProLife Philippines website, LifeSiteNews, Human Life International, Population Research Institute, and many others. Download and pass this information around via e-mail, text messages, instant messaging, and if you can afford to, print them out as flyers and handouts.

2. Vote and speak out against the authors and supporters of the anti-life bills in the Senate and in Congress. These include Rep. Lagman, Rep. Remulla and Sen. Biazon (not sure if Biazon will run again though). Write to your local and national legislators and oppose the various “reproductive health” ordinances which are promoting the contraceptive mentality that eventually leads to abortion.

3. Make a small contribution to ProLife Philippines. You can also subscribe to their magazine, Love Life. Help them educate our people on the many issues involved. Education is key.

4. Most important, make a firm resolution to resist irresponsible behavior and be faithful to your Church and your spouse. No one is perfect, but we still have to try.

These suggestions are not national or global in scale, but can make a real difference when enough people carry them out.

General Objectives Related to a Culture fo Life

Here are some more general goals that are related to building a Culture of Life. I post hese in the hope others can come up with more specific suggestions to attain them.

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The culture of death has been relentless in its advocacy of the population control myth, contraception, and — eventually — abortion. Philippine Local Government Units (LGUs) have become successful targets for so-called “reproductive health” measures that are disingeniously crafted to appear as beneficial programs but are actually used to push abortifacient contraceptives and value-neutral sexuality among minors.

Such deadly measures have already crept nto the programs of some LGUs. These include Aurora Province, Paracelis and Sagada, Mountain Province, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, Ubay, Bohol, Carmen, Ifugao, and Olongapo City.

Yet another assault on life and the family is taking place in Quezon City in the form of the Reproductive Health and Population Management Ordinance sponsored by District 1 Councilor Joseph Juico.

Fighting for Life

The fight for life, however, is being fought in many small battles by unsung heroes who are willing to take a stand — often at great personal risk — against the culture of death. This drama repeated itself late last year as ordinary citizens stood up to oppose the Juico ordinance.

The Committee on Laws of the Quezon City Council conducted its first public hearing on the proposal on the morning of December 18, 2007. Committee chairman, District 4 Councilor Jesus ‘Bong’ Suntay, presided over the hearing. Councilors Dorothy Delarmente (Dist. 1), Joseph Juico (Dist. 1), Jorge Banal, Jr. (Dist. 3), Antonio Inton, Jr. (Dist. 4), and Edcel Lagman, Jr. (Dist. 4) were also present.

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Recent wrong-headed legislation allegedly designed to protect homosexuals from discrimination and to promote tolerance and equality, may actually oppress other groups. Christians, it seems, are becoming the targets of such “reverse” discrimination, inequality, and intolerance. This is truly tragic since homosexuals themselves are children of God and deserving of the compassion, justice, and mercy that the more militant pro-gay advocates are so willing to deny to those who disagree with them.

In what would appear to be a mad scramble to pander to the interests of homosexuals, laws are being passed — or implemented in such a manner — that effectively, place limits on freedom of religion and suppress dissent against the homosexual agenda. Father John Flynn, LC, notes this in the article, Imposing “Tolerance”: Christians Obliged to Approve Homosexuality:

ROME, OCT. 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- State laws on homosexuality are increasingly creating conflicts for Christians who wish to follow their conscience. In recent days, news came from England of a Christian couple who face being forced to give up their role as foster parents because they were not prepared to promote homosexuality, reported the Telegraph newspaper Oct. 24.

Vincent Matherick and his wife Pauline are registered as foster parents in Somerset County. They are also ministers at the non-conformist South Chard Christian Church. They were recently informed by authorities that they must obey laws that require them to treat homosexuality as equal to heterosexuality.

Discrimination Against Religious Belief

Secularists have long sought to remove religious belief from public life, seeing it as irrelevant or even counterproductive. But that in itself involves a value judgement, and assumes the superiority of a secular ideology over contrary ideas. It ultimately results in supression of religion and democratic freedoms. Fr. Flynn recognizes the same and quotes Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor who spoke out against such unjust treatment:

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor strongly criticized the ideology inspiring such laws shortly after their approval, during a lecture given March 28 at Westminster Cathedral Hall. In his address titled “The Kingdom of God and This World: the Church in Public Life,” he maintained that, “freedom of religion is much more than the freedom to worship; it is the freedom to act according to that belief in the service of others.”

He also warned against a model of a secular state that seeks to totally exclude religious principles. “The choice of the state to side with the secular is said to be neutrality; and it is usually justified by an appeal to equality,” Cardinal Murphy O’Connor explained.

“But this is in itself ideology, divorcing religion from the public realm on the pretext that religion is divisive,” he continued.

“If equality can only be promoted at the expense of the freedom to manifest our religion, we have reason to question the nature of that equality,” the cardinal observed. “It is not, surely, an equality which adequately recognizes the common dignity of all.”

Pro-Gay Intolerance

Unfortunately, this hostility to religion is also being used to turn homosexuals into a politically protected class, using laws that have real teeth against those who dissent. The consequences for Christians and others who disagree with the homosexual agenda can be dire, as pointed out in the article, Churches fear British hate crimes law could silence Christians:

LONDON, ENGLAND (CNA) - British churches have expressed concern that legislation punishing hate crimes based on sexual orientation could be used to silence Christian disapproval of certain sexual behaviors.

Both the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the Church of England have issued a memorandum concerning an amendment to the Public Order Act of 1986 that would make incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation an offense punishable by law.

“Christians engaged in teaching or preaching and those seeking to act in accord with Christian convictions in their daily lives need to be assured that the expression of strong opinions on marriage or sexuality will not be illegal,” the memorandum says.

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The link below shows one of the preferred methods for murdering an unborn baby. The method is called “suction and curettage”.

What you will see is mostly a set of drawings, but knowing that a little baby is being painfully torn apart can bring tears to your eyes. The diagram is copyrighted so I cannot post it on this site, but you can simply follow the link to see it.

URL: http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/medical/suctionweb.jpg

There are those that want to legalize this horror in the Philippines. Vacuum machines used in abortions were imported a few years ago. Abortifacient “birth control” drugs are already being sold.

Will we allow this madness to continue?

The Victims

Below are images of more victims of abortion.

Baby killed at 7 weeks:

Source: http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/abortionimages/07week/aborted07-02.jpg

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The principle of separation of church and state is often cited by many persons in all sorts of situations. From traditional politicians trying to surreptitiously push a morally questionable population control program, to anti-clerics who want to monopolize debate in important issues, the principle of separation is employed whenever the Catholic Church, or any other religion, speaks out and steps on a few toes.

The separation of church and state is sometimes thought of as a “wall” separating the affairs of the two. Those who follow this thinking usually claim that religion should have nothing to do with the affairs of men. They would probably also say that religious belief should not influence the crafting of laws, affect the actions of public officials, or even be part of public debate. Instead, government should be neutral towards all religions and be totally secular in nature. Such secularism can therefore be seen as an embodiment of the separation principle.

Carlos Palad, in his essay, “Secularism: A Hidden Danger“, explains it thus:

Secularism is an attitude that takes away the public sphere from the rightful influence of religious belief. Secularism is an outlook, sometimes rising (as in contemporary France) to the level of a state-sponsored ideology, that insists on considering all public matters from a vantage point characterized by a reliance on human reason, and free of any reference to the sacred. This is because the individual conscience must be defended and freedom of discourse allowed, and (so secularists believe) this can be done only by allowing for common ground characterized by a “reasonableness” uninfluenced by “sectarian” considerations. For this reason, the secularist mentality insists on excluding religious views from the public square, often under the plea that Church and State must be considered separate.

Secularism does not necessarily judge religious beliefs to be “wrong” or even “irrational”; it simply considers them to be purely a matter of private judgment or opinion, that should be left at the doorsteps of any public institution. Secularists often profess respect for religious belief, as long as it is kept precisely that: a mere belief without bearing on public affairs. Behind this attitude towards religion is the presupposition that religion is a dangerous element once brought into the public sphere; religion is seen as productive (better word is product) of intolerance and bigotry, and as precluding all “common ground” between the various combatants in the sphere of public discourse. Classic examples of this indifference towards the importance of religious belief in public life are at present supplied by the so-called “Catholics” of the Democratic Party (John Kerry, Edward Kennedy) who say that they are “personally opposed” to abortion but that they are in favor of its continued legalization because “they don’t want to impose their private beliefs” on other people.

But is this “secularism”, this interpretation of the separation of church and state right? Does it have any legal basis?

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Olongapo Councilor JC delos Reyes fights the good fight.

“

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

”

– Matthew 5:13-16

In these days of paralyzing political correctness, it’s refreshing to see someone stand up for the truth and say it like it is. There are just too many unfounded claims and unchallenged popular assumptions (quite often promoted by vested interests) which our people unthinkingly swallow, hook line and sinker.

Overpopulation is just one example of these popular myths foisted upon the Third World by those who can profit from its acceptance. Peddling abortifacient contraceptives, condoms, and eventually abortion services is a billion dollar industry. Killing babies is big business.

But now the overpopulation bogey is being debunked in Olongapo by one brave soul who has chosen to take a stand — alone if necessary — and to speak the truth. That proverbial “voice in the wilderness” is Councilor John Carlos G. de los Reyes, the only one of the 27 candidates fielded for various elective positions by the Ang Kapatiran Party in the last election to win a seat.

A post on the party website’s home page, “JC delos Reyes Opposes the Olongapo City Repro Health Code“, summarized (in too few words) JC’s lonely fight:

Recently, the City council of Olongapo met to pass the Reproductive Health Code. JC was the lone opposition to the code for reasons explained in the privilege speech he delivered. (Click here to read JC’s privilege speech )

Needless to say, the code was passed with a vote of 11 to 1, JC being the only one who voted against. We laud and support JC for standing up for our party’s stand on the issue.

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(Warning: this post mentions certain mature — even disgusting — concepts. It is not intended for young readers)

The proponents of same-sex marriage want to change a revered institution to accommodate the sexual preference (or alleged “rights” or sexual orientation) of certain groups. These groups often include lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transexuals (sometimes referred to as the LGBT sector). Now while that may sound very inclusive and tolerant, their advocacy is actually based on faulty logic that will eventually lead to disaster.

Many people assume that because the institution marriage involves a relationship between a man and a woman (and with God as Witness and Judge as Christians believe), then it must also be based on sexual preference: the distinctly heterosexual preference of the majority. That is not exactly the case.

God’s created reality as the basis of marriage

It is true that marriage — especially Christian marriage — is a monogamous heterosexual union. But the sexual preference of the human participants alone is NOT its basis. If it were, then it would be subject to change at any time, subject to the whims of any of the contracting parties. But marriage is supposed to be far more stable and permanent than that.

The truth of the matter is that the heterosexual orientation of marriage comes about because of something far more basic: the natural, biological reality that God created.

The purpose of marriage is to bring about the union of persons in a relationship that allows them to beget children and to raise them in a loving, nurturing environment: the family. Marriage, therefore, recognizes the simple biological reality in God’s design: that natural reproduction and nurturing of offspring is essential for the continued survival of the human race.

This reality cannot be changed. Non-heterosexual unions cannot beget children. Even science, for all its advances, still cannot effectively replace natural reproduction (if it tried to, the world would de-populate very quickly). And even if it could, this does not change the original basis of marriage nor nullify its validity. It is still an institution based upon a biolgical imperative that is part of God’s created reality.

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Filipinos concerned about stupidity and abuse of authority in government can take some consolation in one small victory. It looks like Bayani Fernando’s unbelievably idiotic helmet rules will not be imposed for now. This good news was reported in the Manila Times article, MMDA defers bike helmet ordinance, which came out last July 28. Here is part of it:

MOTORCYCLE riders who are against the Metro Mayors’ Council’s resolution requiring them to print on their helmets the license plates of their vehicles can relax for the mean time: The Metro Manila Development Authority has deferred the implementation of the ordinance.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando on Thursday asked the representative of the National Capital Region Police District (NCRPO) to study the issues and concerns raised by the Motorcycle Philippines Federation.

. . .

Fernando asked Police Supt. Rey Roderos, deputy director for operations NCRPO, to meet with various groups of motorcycle riders led by the MPF before the agency implements the rules and regulations (IRR).

This is to make sure that the law will be favorable to all parties and will serve its true purpose of preventing crime and protecting the citizens, Fernando said.

Of course, this is not the end. Fernando could still try to find some way to implement this ridiculous stupidity. But at least we have more time to make him realize that his plan will achieve none of his stated objectives.

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It’s time to take action against the MMDA and it’s arrogant chair, Bayani Fernando! I’ve started an online petition against the MMDA’s stupid helmet rules. The URL of the petition is:

http://www.petitiononline.com/no2mmda/petition.html

Please sign the petition. Let’s teach Bayani Fernando that he can’t boss people around like some arrogant bully. The text of the petition is below. Please note that the text can no longer be changed.

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It looks like the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and its Chairman, Bayani Fernando, now want to join in our national leaders’ pastime of creating unbelievably stupid laws and regulations.

As reported by GMANews.TV and Sunstar, the MMDA wants to impose impractical and dangerous new rules on motorcycle owners and riders:

Under the “Dual Motorcycle and Helmet License Plate Numbers Policy,” the license plate numbers on the helmet should be on a water-proof sticker permanently placed on both sides of the headgear and should be large enough to be seen by the public

. . .

The resolution adopted MMDA Resolution No. 07-07 passed in February implementing the “No Face Shield” policy for back riders of motorcycles plying main roads and secondary streets.

Let’s see what these rules will mean to the motorcycle-riding public.

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