The ActiveTalker

Recently, a tragedy (typhoon Pablo) struck the Philippines that left a lot of people dead and destroyed billions worth of properties and livelihood. A leader of the influential Catholic Church linked the catastrophic event to the RH (Reproductive Health) Bill as the tragedy happened at the same time when Congress was deliberating the bill’s fate.

The bill, according to some “experts” will just legalize abortion and contraception. Huh? “Porke ba RH Bill e contraception agad? Hindi ba pwedeng women’s health/advancement of reproductive health facilities muna?” [If it’s RH Bill, it’s always about contraception? Why not think of it as women’s health/advancement of reproductive health facilities?] (in a Vice Ganda-ish tone)

Why do they always link the Bill to contraception? Have they read the bill’s content before making a comment? Have they been keen on understanding what the bill says before jumping into conclusions?

We are now in a modern society with a high cost of living. You can’t support a family if you’re just relying on the crops you grow in your backyard or the farm. Before, a Filipino family can afford to eat three times a day and even send their children to school, even if they are large in terms of number of offsprings. But gone were the days…

Today, a liter if petrol is about 5times more than the price when I was in high school, and that was just 20years ago. When I was a kid, a tricycle ride was just 2Php, now it is 10Php. My daily allowance before was just about 2Php/day. If that is still the case today, you can just buy 2pieces of candy.

Going back, we need long-term solutions to long-term problems. Aside from providing facilities that specifically cater to women’s health, this bill can also provide options and educate couples by providing them access to family planning facilities. Nowadays, it is quite impossible to manage a large family. Educating poor families the value of family planning is not really about limiting the number of children but providing them quality life.

The church official’s comment was highly uncalled for. It is very unbecoming of a man who is called to lead the people to salvation by setting an example, not only through the sermons they deliver from the pulpit but also how they behave in front of the public’s scrutinizing eyes.

Pinoy Sounding Board said that his God is not a cruel God. I do agree. I highly agree. Who can forget when God made a wonderful covenant with Noah: Genesis 9:11 “I
establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Has he forgotten to read the bible? Will God break this covenant he had not only with Noah but also with all generations to come? Well, let’s leave it to them, we are entitled to our opinions.

That disaster is an sign, a sign for us to slow down and not a sign to kill the bill. This is just another consequence of climate change and rampant mining and illegal logging (which is not in the case of some towns affected by the flash flood brought by the typhoon, because according to some experts, the forest there are now denuded). And also, the place is a hazardous zone for habitation according to the Mines and Geoscience Bureau.

As for my personal opinion, it is our fault. It is not made by God for us to kill RH Bill, but for us to learn that we must learn to slow down and start caring for the environment. The typhoon is NOT in any way related to the RH Bill.

I support RH Bill because I love my family. I love my wife and my daughter. I support RH Bill because I support life. Period.

Posted from WordPress for BlackBerry.