BY PETER TABINGO

ILIOILO Rep. Janette Garin yesterday said she has no intention of withdrawing her support for the reproductive health bill pending at the House of Representatives despite threats by members of the Catholic Church to deny Holy Communion to legislators supporting it.

"This might mean losing my position (as congresswoman) in the 2010 elections. I must admit, I'm very much afraid about the political repercussions of this decision, but if this is the price I have to pay for doing my job. for the people who have given me their trust, then so be it," she said.

Garin made the pronouncement in a press conference where she appealed to the Catholic Church to "respect the principle of separation of the Church and the State."

Among the consolidated bills on population management are that of Garin and Rep. Edcel Lagman which gives incentives to couples who have only two children. The measures also allow the use of contraceptives or artificial means of family planning, which the Church frowns upon.

Last Sunday, Ozamis Archbishop Jesus Dosado said in a pastoral statement that politicians supporting the reproductive health and population management bills must be refused Holy Communion because the bills promote "permissive abortion."

Garin said she is a devout Catholic but her advocacy for the reproductive health bill does not contradict her faith. She said there is no provision in the proposed measure that promotes abortion, contrary to allegations.

She recalled that in the 2007 elections, the parishes in her district urged churchgoers not to vote for her because of her authorship of House Bill 3773 (proposed Reproductive Health Care Act) during the 13th Congress.

"My campaign managers worked hard but there was simply no way one can match the number of churches and priests who would tell hundreds of people not to vote for `Congresswoman Abortionist.' Fortunately, I was able to explain my position because I am a physician by profession and people were willing to listen," she said.

'STOP THREATS'

Dr. Sylvia Estrada Claudio, director of the University of the Philippines-Center for Women Studies and one of the panelists in the conference, assailed the Church's threat to deny Holy Communion to lawmakers who support the controversial bill as "bordering on the criminal.'"

"The bishops are using religion to intimidate lawmakers from doing their sworn duty to the public. That is close to a criminal act. I would like to remind the bishops that not all lawmakers are Catholics. They should stop threatening people about things that are not even relevant to some of us," she said.

Claudio pointed out that the Church has opted to engage in name-calling and negative publicity but has repeatedly refused to sit with advocacy groups to discuss population and reproductive health issues.

DISHONEST ARGUMENT

Another panelist, former National Economic Development Authority chief Felipe Medalla, accused the bishops of lying to the public by misrepresenting the bill as "pro-abortion."

"They should not say that the bill promotes abortion because that is a dishonest argument. When they say that the bill encourages abortion, they are intellectually dishonest," he said.

Medalla said the absence of an effective population control policy is the root problem of food shortage, skyrocketing inflation and government budget woes.

"It's a hard fact that the poor families are the ones who have more babies than they want or are able to properly support. This is the same reason why pregnant women from poor families are the ones who seek abortion. The enemies of this bill are the ones who would increase abortion," he said.

NO ABORTION

The Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development, a policy-making body of Congress, condemned Dosado's statement.

Its media relations officer, Vigie Benosa, said Dosado's threat was "misplaced" because nothing in the bill promotes abortion.

"The issue of the RH bill promoting abortion has long been clarified. Nowhere in the proposed reproductive health bill does it state that abortion is allowed. In fact, Section 3 of the Committee on Health-approved substitute bill states that: While nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion, as abortion remains a crime and is punishable, the government shall ensure that women seeking care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner," she said in a statement.

PROPAGATING LIES

"We are disgusted with how some bishops continue to display irresponsible behavior of spreading disinformation on the bill, refusing to take it for its real intentions and choosing instead to demonize it; to look for ghosts that are not there. We look at bishops as symbols of truth and morality. And yet, they themselves propagate blatant lies to instill fear both among policymakers and the public. This behooves us to wonder, what are the real reasons behind the Church's very antagonistic position towards the bills? Whatever they are, it is certain that saving lives is not among them," she added.

Benosa said the bishop's attempts to block the bills' passage through "political blackmail, dangling the Holy Eucharist in the faces of supportive legislators, are full of contradictions and hypocrisy, with only poor women, children, and families at the losing end of the deal."

"This behooves us to wonder, isn't that the greater sin?" she asked.

NOT THE SOLUTION

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said widespread poverty is not enough reason for lawmakers to resort to controlling population.

"Let us not anymore create legislation like this for us to address the poverty of our people because this is not the solution," he said.

Jo Imbong, CBCP legal counsel, said the problem lies not on the huge number of Filipinos but on mismanagement in government.

"One reason is the uneven and unjust distribution of wealth in the country," she said.

Castro said the CBCP will repeatedly state its opposition to any "anti-life" bill.

"We appeal to our dear legislators to rethink their position regarding this bill," he said. "It's the responsibility of the faithful to convince the unconvinced."