for everyone |
To kill the RH Bill
Some friends who are aware of my seminary training (Christ the King-QC, SVD, as in Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD, or the late Fr. Jose Vicente Braganza, Edicio de la Torre, Charlie Avila, Conrado Balweg), have tried to taunt me into expressing my own view on the RH Bill. They themselves have evidently become so emotional and all worked up on the issue that they will not allow any fence-sitters. My stock reply has always been: “Please, don’t bother me now with such a trivial matter. I’m busy still trying to solve the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.” No kidding aside (sic), the debate over the bill is simply too big for my britches. It is best left in the care of people who like to play God. And you know what they say, “whom the gods wish to destroy…they turn into congressmen.”
The thing I hate most about the bill is it’s a big lie. It really has nothing to do with reproduction and very little about health. It’s really more about reducing, not reproducing, the population. It’s merely your typical publicist’s slogan. It’s really the old “population control” program with a fancy name coined by the rich countries. They are mortally afraid about their precious world being overrun by poor, lazy, ignorant American blacks, Latinos, Africans, Asians, Catholics and, of course, fanatical muslims. It is a massive, well-funded, worldwide campaign run by the G8 countries WHO (no pun intended) control the United Nations through its so-called World Health Organization which in turn invented the term. If you think our local legislators concocted the term, you have another think coming. Our solons may be smart but they are not that clever. When even the term “reproductive health” became overworked, they were advised to refer to it simply as the innocuous-sounding “RH Bill.”
Sometime in the early 1970s, Marcos established the so-called “POPCOM” or Commission on Population to direct a national population program. This was followed by the Population Act (RA 6365) in 1971. Presidents Cory and Ramos doubtless also under foreign prodding, devised their own family planning and population management programs until our policymakers and politicians eventually began to focus on “reproductive health” (2001-2004). Condoms evidently supplied by our foreign funders were freely distributed all over the country. Since our Filipino menfolk found it rather unmanly to use the contraceptive device, condoms were used as balloons at birthday parties. One might say that at least it was one way of getting the population control program off the ground.
But governments and political leaders never seem to learn. It is hazardous to mess around with peoples’ lives, morals, customs, traditions. Whether it’s condoms, safety belts, driving lights, smoking, morals, buying habits or sexual preferences, people seem to have finally realized that they were endowed with some basic and inalienable rights. They will refuse to obey any laws that attempt to unduly infringe on these rights.
On the other hand, history has shown that highly ambitious and successful peoples and nations have always tried to impose their will on others. Whether it was the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Chinese emperors or the Japanese Co-prosperity Sphere, Alexander the Great, Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, they all had one thing in common: their immense success seemed to have convinced them that they must own and rule the world – to their eternal regret. Never mind that in the process they managed to slaughter millions of Jews, pagans, heretics, Christians, Protestants, Apaches, Mohicans, starving Africans, etc. Never mind that they have to spend billions of dollars inventing and producing atomic bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction, money that could easily feed and educate all the starving peoples all over the world – till kingdom come.
Neither is the RH Bill a political nor religious issue. It’s really more about sovereignty and independence. We thought that when Aguinaldo declared our independence from the Spain in 1898, we were freed from the shackles of colonialism. Alas, it was not to be. It turned out to be illusory at best, merely a changing of the guard, no thanks to Admiral Dewey. When the Americans gave us our “independence” in 1946, again we thought we were free – free to run this country, “like hell,” as promised. Finally, we thought that when we drove out the Americans from Clark and Subic, the country was ours, at last. Sadly, we seem to have overlooked the so-called “Golden Rule” – who holds the gold, rules.
Let’s face it. Filipinos don’t own this country any more than the farmers own Hacienda Luisita. Despite the nationalistic provisions in our Constitution, this country has always been effectively owned and run by foreigners, Chinese, Spaniards, Americans, Japanese, Arabs, Koreans, Indians (and their mini or pseudo-Grameen banks), and of late the G8 countries. No thanks to our current restrictive laws on mining and environment, these foreigners now literally hold all the gold.
Indeed, since the time of Marcos, every Filipino is now hocked up to his neck in all kinds of foreign loans. Since the time of Marcos, our country is committed and obligated by law (Sec. 26 [2], Adm. Code of 1987) to provide for “automatic appropriation” for public debt servicing. It means that every year 40% to 60% of our total budget is automatically set aside to pay off our creditors. Hence, whether we realize it or not, we are now at the mercy of our creditor countries. They dictate how this country is run, particularly in the field of finance and taxation. Nobody in his right mind, not even our honorable congressmen, likes the idea of the 12% VAT. But our creditor-countries said “no VAT, no more foreign loans.” In the simplest terms, that means no foreign loans, no money to run the country. No money means no pork barrel to divvy up.
So, why do you think there are so many solons zealously falling all over each other trying to get the RH Bill passed as if their very lives or lifestyles depended on it. By the way, whatever happened to the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that’s been languishing in Congress since 2008? The what bill? Oh, that bill. Not to worry, it’s enshrined, nay, entombed in the Constitution.
But shouldn’t we worry that the RH Bill will be passed? For heaven’s sake, who’s afraid of another “world class” law? If our congressmen cannot pass an Anti-Dynasty Law, why should we take them seriously? Besides, we have arguably the best statutes any country would be proud of. Indeed, no less than the UN special envoy Margareta Wahlstrom , a “Special DRR Representative” of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, complimented the Philippines for having the “world’s best” climate change laws, the Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729) and the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (RA 10121). Thanks, we needed that, Master Ban Ki-moon.
Last Saturday I spent the whole afternoon at the huge Trinoma Mall. It was packed with people - all smiles, happy, eager, and ready to splurge on their remittances from their OFW relatives abroad. The sight would be the envy of any mall tycoon. Now, you might say, therein lies the wealth of this nation. Our own people, in the hundreds of millions, hardworking, God-fearing, willing to take on any job, suffer any pain or humiliation (like the Jews of old) all for the sake of their family and children. Our churches are packed to the rafters on Sundays, grandparents, parents and noisy, carefree children in tow and at play, praying to and thanking the Lord for all their blessings and good fortune.
Now, you don’t really need impressive statistics and surveys, fancy algorithms to realize that indeed “it’s more fun in the Philippines.” I believe that’s it. The global elite who would impose population control must fear and envy us. We have no right to be so happy and to live free like the birds of the air and lilies of the field. Mt. 6:26. We do not deserve a God who counts every hair on our heads. Mt. 10:30. What kind of people are we whose every breath we take is followed by a sigh of gratitude to an almighty God? May awa ang Diyos! PTL.
So what if the UN and its grossly-overpaid consultants consider us a heavily-indebted and highly impoverished country whose finances – and population -have to be closely monitored by creditor countries. So what if the Filipinos are an oppressed people, meek, humbled and abused. “Weder-weder lang.” So were the Jews of old. Look at them now. They are in charge of the world financial centers in New York, Amsterdam, London. Not that they are necessarily happy.
Time was when a fledgling people loosely called “Americans” felt so helpless, abused, and miserable against a formidable Great Britain. It was a time when a man named Patrick Henry felt that his only recourse, before uttering the immortal words “Give me liberty, or give me death,” was to invoke the name of the Almighty in the same breath. So, go ahead, pass the RH Bill. But beware, “There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who…will fight our battles for us.” Atty. JAMES D. LANSANGjeemsdee@yahoo.com
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