Inquirer News:
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) leads tens of thousands in a prayer-rally at the Edsa Shrine in Mandaluyong City on Saturday to show Congress that most Filipinos oppose a bill that would curb the country’s population growth.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Vicente Sotto III and Gregorio Honasan will lead politicians who plan to attend the rally.
Sotto on Friday said he knew about a plot involving a foreign group to make the bill include abortion. He said he would expose the attempt during the interpellation of the bill’s proponents in the Senate next week.
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers will vote next Tuesday to decide whether to close the interpellation and send the bill for amendments, a shortcut that will speed up adoption of the Malacañang-backed proposal.
The Catholic Church views the Aug. 7 vote as a rush to impose birth control on the Filipinos.
President Aquino supports the bill, and the Palace has called on Congress to approve the measure as a major step in dealing with the country’s socioeconomic problems, particularly poverty and unemployment.
But the bill, after 10 years of failure due largely to opposition from the Catholic Church, is coming up for approval at a most inconvenient time for most of the allies of the President in both houses of Congress. They are facing their first election next year since coming to power with Mr. Aquino in 2010, and the Church has promised to campaign against their reelection unless they drop the reproductive health bill.
Categories: Asia, Church, Law and Religion, Philippines, Politics