PHNix Network Advocate

More online polls reject RH bill (updated) May 21, 2011

After the landslide pro-life victory in ABS-CBN’s Harapan online/SMS polls, a few more similar public surveys have been put up. The same pro-life trend seems to be evident on these too.

The Philippine Star (a publication partly owned by the Belmontes, related to the very pro-RH House Speaker Belmonte) has been running an online poll at: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=687349&publicationSubCategoryId=522.

I’ve taken some screenshots of the results. The first was on May 19, at 10:28PM. Here are the results:

I took another look at the poll on May 21, 1:54PM. The number of “votes” had doubled by then. Here’s the screenshot:

The fight is still close, but a clear trend has emerged: most participants in the survey — a lead by 14 percentage points — reject the RH bill.

Another, much smaller, poll can be found at Pinoysurvey.com (http://pinoysurvey.com/2011/05/rh-bill-sa-pilipinas/). I took a screenshot of the results on May 19, at 10:27PM. Here is how it was back then:

Pinoysurvey results as of 2011-05-19 (22:37)

On May 21, at 1:55PM, the number of “votes” had more than doubled. The results were as follows:

Pinoysurvey results as of 2011-05-21 (13:55)

Looks like it’s another pro-life victory here too. Four out of five participants are against the RH bill.

So, where’s the much-ballyhooed pro-RH majority now? Can’t they even get enough people to dominate these polls? One would think that at least on the well-publicized survey by Philippine Star, the supporters of the RH bill would at least get a small lead (if they actually were a majority), but they can’t even manage that!

Granted, these polls aren’t very scientific, but they do give an indication of the public mood in those niche audiences. It would seem that any claim of a pro-RH “majority” is not as well-founded or across the board as some propagandists suggest.

Update (June 2011):

For those interested in following these polls, here is an update.

As of June 20, 10:41PM:

As of June 20, 10:47PM

Looks like a very clear and consistent pro-life trend here. Let’s hope our politicians listen to the people.

Marian Groups release statement opposing RH Bill February 28, 2011

(Here is the text of a press statement released by the Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL). It illustrates the growing awareness among the grassroots that the RH/Abortion bill is certainly not the benign and wonderful measure its authors claim it to be. Wake up, Philippines!)

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release
Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL)

Marian Groups release statement opposing RH Bill

A national convention of leaders from Marian groups throughout the Philippines recently released a strongly-worded omnibus resolution opposing the RH bill. The statement was signed by over 1,400 leaders and members of the various Perpetual Dawn Rosary and Cenacle organizations that met in Carcar, Cebu, on February 12-13.

The Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL) in turn forwarded copies of the resolution to President Aquino, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, CBCP President Nereo Odchimar, and newly-installed Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma. The TFFL called on all parties to heed the heartfelt sentiments of ordinary Filipino citizens expressed in the resolution.

The Marian convention’s statement noted that the RH bill “has caused a deep division among our people,” and that the proposed measure now pending in Congress “in its entirety is about contraception.” It warned that its passing would bring about the propagation of a culture of death, promiscuity, and breakdown of families.

The attendees at the convention concluded that they fully agree and support all the points taken up by the Bishops in their recent Pastoral Letter entitled “Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill,” including the rejection of the RH bill.

To back up their call, the signatories vowed to support the actions recommended by the CBCP, including civil disobedience should the RH bill be passed, and possible excommunication of legislators and national leaders who endorsed the RH bill.

In addition, the resolution also called for an Oratio Imperata against the RH bill to be read in all churches during every Sunday Mass all over the country, and a Church-led educational initiative on Natural Family Planning (NFP) and issues concerning the protection and nurturing of human life and the family.

The convention gathered together leaders and members of the Marian movement from all over the country, under the theme, “Marian Pro-Life Witnesses of Hope, Reconciliation and Peace in Our Times.”

About Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL)

The Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL) is an association of men and women who are committed to the protection of family and life, as mandated by the Constitution and specific legislations and by the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. It is a juridical entity duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

###

Media contact
DOUGLAS GACASAN
President
Task Force for Family and Life Visayas, Inc. (TFFL)

Overpopulation — A Convenient Lie December 6, 2010

The following post is an article by Leonardo Q. Montemayor, President of the Federation of Free Farmers and Party-List ABA (Alyansang Bayanihan ng mga Magsasaka, Manggagawang-Bukid at Mangingisda). Mr. Montemayor served as Agriculture Secretary in 2001-2002 and Party-List Representative in the Fourteenth Congress. This article is an improved version of his oral testimony at the House Committee on Population and Family Relations hearing last November.

–o–

The so-called problem of overpopulation is a convenient falsehood being peddled by rich countries to cover up their injustices against, and to shirk from their obligations to, developing nations.

Last year, Ambassador Alistair MacDonald of the European Union expressed support for continued assistance to the Philippines, on the condition that our government undertakes comprehensive population control. At present, some 60% of existing EU aid for the Philippines is devoted to population management-related programs.

Mr. MacDonald could have mollified the anger felt by self-respecting Filipinos had he also underscored the urgent need for greater consumption control by citizens of EU states.

The truth is that many advocates of population control, under the cloak of “reproductive health” and “family planning”, are concerned not so much to save lives, as to prevent them. This would mean less pressure from developing nations to clamor for a fairer distribution of global wealth and a stop to the profligate consumption of finite resources by the developed states.

If RH and population control advocates truly desire to safeguard the welfare of mothers and family members, they should accord the highest priority to fund generation and genuine anti-poverty programs through effective socio-economic reforms, balanced agro-industrial development and good governance.

But where are their calls on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to comply with their international obligation to allocate 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for the economic development of the Third World?

Where is the leadership of the United States and others mainly responsible for global warming that has been disrupting climate, food security and health, especially in developing nations?

(more…)

Correcting the Inquirer on Contraception March 27, 2010

(The following is is a letter written by Mr. Raul Nidoy to the editors of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in reaction to an editorial that appeared in that newspaper on March 5, 2010.)

Two errors in editorial on contraception
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/letterstotheeditor/view/20100313-258331/Two-errors-in-editorial-on-contraception

THE INQUIRER’S EDITORIAL OF March 5, titled “Intolerance,” had two errors, and the first error is glaring.

The editorial stated that the Catholic teaching on contraception is “only” a religious teaching. I’m sorry, but the Catholic hierarchy is not the only one that understands the immorality of contraception; the secular BBC also perceives it. And this provides 15 secular reasons to make the moral case against contraception. BBC’s Ethics Guide (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/contraception/against_1.shtml), which covers differing angles, argues that contraception prevents potential human beings from being conceived. And people who might benefit humanity will be included among these.

Aside from stressing that contraception leads to widespread immorality, the BBC also argues that contraception is unnatural. It explains that the natural consequence of sexual intercourse is conceiving a child, and contraception interferes with this natural purpose of sexual intercourse. For sure, one can glean from this sampling that there is nothing biblical nor magisterial in these arguments. Nothing religious, really, that a reasonable secular State cannot adopt.

The second error, hidden under the nuanced position taken by the editorial, is the false impression given when it said that Catholic teaching on the intrinsic evil of contraception “took its present shape over 40 years ago, with ‘Humanae Vitae.’”

Of course, the theologically precise terminology can be dated quite recently, but let’s not forget that language is but the expression of ideas. And the idea on the evil of contraception took shape from the very beginning of the Catholic Church. We just have to read what Clement of Alexandria, an early Church Father, wrote around 191 AD: “Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted.” And it is good for everyone to know that all the Christian denominations agreed with this idea—both secularly rational and theologically grounded—until 1930, the era when the dictatorship of relativism was imposing itself on the world.

Kudos go to Mr. Nidoy for his diligence in correcting harmful errors in the media. We need more sharp and informed readers like him.

Ang Kapatiran Party Statement on Women’s Month March 4, 2010

As the nation observes Women’s Month this March, the Ang Kapatiran (AKP) calls on all Filipinos to be vigilant of deceptive initiatives already underway that undermine women’s rights, health, and even threaten their lives and families.

In particular, the AKP notes that the RH/Abortion Bill (also known as HB 5043), while failing to pass during the 14th Congress, is still being pushed through local ordinances and will most probably be filed again after the May elections.

The proposed bill explicitly funds the procurement and distribution of abortifacient contraceptives. Such contraceptives have been shown to cause early-term abortions by preventing the implantation and development of the fertilized egg — which is already a newly-conceived human being — in the womb. This is clearly against the Philippine Constitution which protects the unborn from conception which begins at fertilization (the union of sperm and egg).

The penal provisions of HB 5043 also violate basic human rights, including freedom of conscience. The bill will force doctors and health workers to distribute abortifacient and artificial contraceptives against their conscience, or force them to refer those who request for such to other persons who will do the same objectionable act. Those who refuse to do so face heavy fines and imprisonment.

“The mandated sex education programs in schools for the very young (beginning with 4th graders) is a form of child abuse that forces young children to sexual knowledge without their consent.” said AKP presidential candidate John Carlos “JC” delos Reyes.

AKP is also disturbed by the fact that the Magna Carta for Women mandates strict adherence to international treaties that may be interpreted as promoting a “right” to abortion, which clearly contradicts the Philippine Constitution. The Party wishes to reiterate that the Philippine Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and takes precedence over any international treaty.

The Party objects to recent activities by the DOH and private groups promoting the use of contraceptives for birth control, AIDS prevention, and even as treatment for skin blemishes. Such programs are dangerous because people are not adequately informed of the dangerous side-effects of many such contraceptives. Numerous scientific studies have shown that Increased contraceptive use promotes risky casual sex and multiple sex partners, which leads to more unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases.

These insidious and deceptive developments, the AKP believes, pose a real danger to women’s lives and rights, to families, and even to our democracy.

In line with it’s pro-life principles, the AKP also advocates stricter controls on firearms beginning with a gun-carrying ban in public places, as well as the disbanding of private armies and abolition of the death penalty.

The Ang Kapatiran Party is an accredited national political party that espouses a pro-God, pro-life platform as an antidote to the traditional personality-based parties that have dominated and debased Philippine politics for decades.

March for Life Solidarity Statement January 21, 2010

Every year since 1974, people gather in the dead of winter on January 22 for the March for Life. That date marks the 1973 Roe v. Wade US Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.

The number of people participating in the annual event has grown from around 20,000 in 1974 to an average of 200,000 in recent years.  The March for Life takes place in Washington D.C., but lately satellite activities in different parts of the U.S. have sprung up to make people aware of the holocaust brought about by the infamous 1973 decision, and to stand up for the dignity of human life in all its stages, from the womb to the tomb.

In the Philippines, committed pro-lifers have issued an open statement of solidarity with the March for Life and have begun to gather signatures in support for the statement online and in the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). The statement reads:

We, concerned Filipinos from all walks of life, who uphold, respect and protect the dignity and quality of human life from natural conception/fertilization to natural death, and the natural institutions of marriage and the family, hereby express our solidarity with the people participating in the January 22, 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C., USA.

(initial signatories)
DIANA UICHANCO
MANNY AMADOR
MIKE GOMEZ
MIKE MAPA
NICOLE BAUTISTA
BEN SANTILLAN
MON CABRERA

The signature-gathering event in UA&P saw both students and faculty members signing up in solidarity with the pro-life event in the U.S.

Pro-Life tarpaulin with signatures at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P)