10 laws have the same provisions as RH bill - Senator Vicente Sotto

10 laws have the same provisions as RH bill - Sotto
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated August 30, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - In going all out against the proposed Reproductive Health (RH) bill, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III showed that there were at least 10 laws and executive issuances that already contained all the objectives envisioned by the measure.

For two straight days, Sotto took on the sponsors of the RH bill in the Senate, Pia Cayetano and Miriam Defensor Santiago, both lawyers and strong advocates of women’s rights and welfare.

While the initial arguments centered on the issue of contraceptives and their supposed use as abortifacients, which the sponsors claimed was practically an issue of religious beliefs, Sotto’s interpellation focused on his claim that the bill merely repeats provisions already found in existing laws.

Sotto has been arguing that the Department of Health (DOH) is already implementing various programs on reproductive health and has the funding necessary to fulfill this mandate, so coming up with yet another law to do the same thing would be unnecessary.

He took up the six objectives of the RH bill and showed that there were several laws that were enacted in the past to fulfill them.

The RH bill has the following objectives: to save the lives of mothers and the unborn; provide Filipinos with information on reproductive health so they can make informed and intelligent decisions; provide access to health care facilities and skilled health professionals before, during and after delivery; address HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases; provide access to different family planning methods; and institutionalize age and development appropriate reproductive health education.

According to Sotto, there are laws that go back to the Marcos administration and some authored by the current sponsors that are meant to address all those objectives of the RH bill.

The most prominent of these laws is Republic Act No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, which Sotto noted already addresses all six objectives of the RH bill.

He also cited R.A. 8504 or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, R.A. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, R.A. 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 and R.A. 9501 or the Cheaper Medicines Act as containing various provisions related to the objectives of the RH bill.

Presidential Decrees 603 or the Child and Youth Welfare Code and 965 which requires applicants for marriage licenses to receive instructions on family planning and responsible parenthood were laws that have been around since the Marcos administration.

Administrative Order 2008-0029 of the DOH provides the strategy to rapidly reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and remains in place to this day.

The current administration has continued its support for these objectives by approving the appropriations in the national budget and through the issuance of executive orders to ensure these are achieved.

Sotto noted that the 2011 General Appropriations Act contains P153.978 million for health promotion, another P232.919 million for health human resource development and P7.116 billion for the health facilities enhancement program.

This is on top of the conditional cash transfer program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development which requires its recipients to get prenatal care, assisted childbirth by skilled or professionals, attendance in family planning sessions and regular preventive health check ups and vaccines for children zero to five years of age.

President Aquino, who has thrown in his support behind the RH bill, has also issued Administrative Orders 2010-0010 or the revised policy on micronutrient supplementation to support achievement of 2015 Millennium Development Goal targets to reduce under-five and maternal deaths and address micronutrient needs of other population groups; and 2010-0036 also known as the Aquino health agenda, achieving universal health care for all Filipinos.

Sotto added that there are other programs that exist for the purpose of reproductive health such as the women’s health and safe motherhood project and the family planning program of the DOH.

He said that even the Local Government Code contains a provision for local government units to provide their own basic services and facilities, including primary health care and maternal and child care.

The Labor Code provides incentives for family planning while R.A. 7883 or the Barangay Health Workers Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995 provides health education, training of barangay health workers, community building and organizing.

Sotto admitted that there is much to be desired as far as the enhancement of health facilities are concerned but the government is getting there already.

“The DOH is the best argument against RH bill because they are practically doing everything that the RH bill wants to do. This is already in place, no debates, no problems, no additional funding needed because it’s all there,” Sotto said.

“There is no need for the RH bill. Health Secretary (Enrique) Ona said it clearly, with or without the bill, they are doing it (reproductive health programs),” he added.

Santiago argued that there is no law prohibiting the repeat of what an existing law already states.

“There is no prohibition against redundant provisions in different bills. Plus, it could be possible that one bill is general in nature while the RH bill is specific in nature, and the rule of statutory construction is when one bill is general in nature and another is specific in nature, the courts will uphold the law that is specific in nature,” Santiago said.

“So, in effect, even if there were similar or identical provisions, that is simply an insurance that when the bill is brought to court, the Supreme Court will be persuaded by the position because the bills succeeding each other are repetitions of each other, meaning to say the lawmakers have very strong opinions about a certain provisions in the bill,” she added.

Pro-life group hits Akbayan for malicious tirade vs. Sotto

 

MANILA, August 24, 2011–A pro-life organization on Wednesday criticized a partylist group for waging a vicious social networking demolition job on Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, saying its claims were “narrow-minded” and “out of context.”

In a statement on the group’s website, Filipinos For Life (F4L) said, “Sotto was merely questioning the basis of the oft-repeated statistic of 11 maternal deaths a day, in the context of a legislative debate on a bill that seeks to establish a wide-ranging national policy.”

“It is therefore fair to examine the basis of this bill. There is nothing to apologize for,” the F4L statement said.

“In the first place, there was no derogatory statement on women, and the sarcasm, if at all, is directed at pro-RH lobby groups, some of them pro-abortion, that routinely peddle this statistic. The supposed offense is in the creative, nay, malicious imagination of Akbayan’s propagandists,” the group said.

It also criticized former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel for maligning Sotto.

“May we remind former Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel to elevate the level of the debate on RH. Her repeated references in social networks to an incident decades ago involving a dead movie starlet are uncalled for and below the belt,” it said.

F4L said that based on its own estimates, the correct figure is 4.8 maternal deaths a day, based on 2008 data from the National Statistics Office and the National Statistical Coordination Board.

“This assumes a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 99 per 100,000 live births and 1.784 million live births in 2008. Assuming a high MMR of 169 per 100,000 live births, the figure is 8.3,” the group said.

F4L clarified that it does not downplay the problem of maternal deaths, stating that “it is a problem that needs concrete solutions, like more birthing centers and midwives. But we should guard against the excessive emotional use of the outdated statistic to influence Philippine government policy.”

The group chided Akbayan for covering up the dangerous side effects of contraceptives.

“If Akbayan is really pro-women, it should tell its women constituents that contraceptive pills that would be distributed for free under the RH bill are considered by a WHO agency as a Level 1 carcinogen. Pills, according to reputable literature produced by entities such as the US National Cancer Institute and the Mayo Clinic increase the risk of breast and other cancers.”

“If Akbayan really is pro-women, it should tell mothers that the pills it wants them to ingest daily could expel a fertilized ovum, which is already a human being. It should inform women that pills don’t always prevent ovulation,” it continued. “In case the pills do not prevent ovulation and fertilization occurs, the pills have been proven to create an environment that is hostile to the beginning of life. Akbayan’s lawmakers should be reminded of what the Constitution says about the protection of the unborn.” (CBCP for Life)

ATTY. MARWIL LLASOS AND FILIPINOS 4 LIFE CONTINUE DRIVE AGAINST RH BILL

MANILA, August 30, 2011–As news reports on inconsistencies in statistical numbers and in the agenda of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill and its proponents continue to come out, hundreds of parishioners in Paranaque City got the lowdown on the controversial bill through informative talks delivered by members of Filipinos for Life (F4L).

Following a multi-media presentation on pro-life issues, Anthony James Perez, Anna Cosio and Atty. Marwil Llasos tackled different aspects of House Bill 4244 at an afternoon activity organized by Mary, Mother of Good Counsel Parish and attended by some 300 parishioners, most of them students.

Perez, F4L founder, discussed the reasons for the group’s opposition to the bill, explaining why the legislative measure was not the solution to the country’s problems.

Citing incontestable statistics, Perez debunked the overpopulation myth on which population control advocates have based their claims.

Nurse instructor Cosio tackled the medical and health-related issues surrounding the bill. Armed with science-based research and findings, she proved that human life starts at fertilization–or the meeting of the egg and sperm cells.

As part of the RH bill is the taxpayer-funded procurement and distribution of artificial contraceptives, Cosio also went into a discussion of the harmful–and sometimes fatal–effects of birth control drugs and devices on women.

Tackling the moral, constitutional and legal aspects was Llasos, who declared that the bill was anti-God, anti-human and anti-Filipino. Included in the lawyer’s presentation were explanations as to the constitutional infirmities of portions of the bill.

As the talks concluded, a woman among the participants brought up the situation of an unmarried friend who had considered getting rid of her unborn baby, given that the child’s father refused to acknowledge his responsibility to the mother and child.

Llasos’ advice to the woman was to tell her friend to inform her parents about the situation. Abortion is not an option, he added, and there are government, private and religious institutions that can help women in such situations.

The lawyer also offered F4L’s help in facilitating adoption placement for the baby.

Meanwhile, members of the Speakers’ Bureau of the Vicariate of Real Infanta and General Nakar,  Prelature of Infanta, Quezon province boosted their understanding of the issues pertaining to the culture of life through a recent seminar about the RH bill.

As part of the family and life ministry’s series of trainors’ training seminars, Buhay Partylist pro-life advocacy staff Jose Descallar delivered a day-long talk on issues pertaining to the legislative measure to 45 participants–including school principals, teachers and city councilors–upon the invitation of the prelature’s Vicar-General Fr. Mario Establecida.

According to Descallar, the open forum was quite interesting due to questions about the “fine-tuned” version of the bill, supposedly an initiative of Malacanang.

“Hindi pa din okey sa inyo ‘yung amendments na ginagawa dun sa bill?” queried one of the participants.

Descallar explained that such amendments changed nothing because “it’s the bill’s framework that’s the problem. Even if you amend it and all that’s left are four sections–declaration of policy, guiding principles, appropriations, and the penal provisions–hindi pa din okey ‘yan. It is still within the same framework.”

H.B. 4244, authored by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, continues to face a growing opposition due to its mandate of taxpayer-funded procurement and distribution of a “full range” of birth control drugs and devices including abortifacients, six-year sex education program from Grade 5 to 4th year high school in all schools as well as among out-of-school youth, provision of birth control drugs, devices and services by employers to their employees, and punitive measures for those who speak out against the bill. (CBCP for Life)

Multiple studies show declining number of maternal deaths; ‘11 a day’ an outdated statistic

MANILA, August 30, 2011–Indeed, maternal deaths are a problem requiring a real solution. But is it true that 11 women die each day due to childbirth? Based on hard statistics from the Philippine government, international agencies, and experts abroad, the answer is no.

In fact, data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) show that the real figure ranges from just 4.8 to 8.3 based on 2008 figures, the latest available. That year, the maternal mortality ratio was estimated at 99-169 per 100,000 live births.

A total of 1,784,316 live births were recorded in the country in 2008.

The NSCB defines maternal mortality ratio or MMR as the “ratio between the number of women who died (for reasons of pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium) to the number of reported live births in a given year, expressed as the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.”

The period 1990 to 2010 showed a marked decline in maternal mortality, government data showed. MMR declined by 21% from 121 in 1990, to just 95 in 2010, even in the absence of a “reproductive health” (RH) law.

What other studies show

For those who prefer not to rely solely on government statistics, two separate studies released in 2010 provide even lower estimates of MMR for the Philippines.

“Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2008,” with estimates developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Bank, estimated the Philippines’ MMR at 94 per 100,000 live births in 2008, equivalent to 4.6 a day.

The same report estimated maternal deaths at 2,100 in 2008, and based on this figure, there were 5.75 deaths a day.

The Philippines is in fact “making progress” in reducing maternal mortality, with the estimated MMR plunging by 48% – nearly half – from 1990 to 2008, the report by five international agencies showed.

The Philippines also did a better job of reducing maternal deaths – in terms of the percentage drop in MMR – than Russia, Malaysia, Hungary, Israel, and even Germany, the report indicated.

Maternal death is defined by the WHO as the “death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.”

Meanwhile the study “Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980–2008: a systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5,” published in the respected journal The Lancet and funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, placed the Philippines’ maternal mortality ratio at just 84 per 100,000 live births.

This is equivalent to 4.1 deaths per day – a far cry from the 11 a day that RH lobbyists are using in their bid to push for the controversial and divisive RH bill.

The Lancet article was written by Margaret Hogan, Kyle Foreman, Mohsen Naghavi, Stephanie Ahn, Mengru Wang, Susanna Makela, Alan Lopez, Rafael Lozano, and Christopher J. L. Murray. Most of the researchers came from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington in Seattle.

Based on their data, the Philippines, even without an RH law, reduced its MMR by 81% between 1980 and 2008, and 52% between 1990 and 2008.

“Our analysis of all available data for maternal mortality from 1980 to 2008 for 181 countries has shown a substantial decline in maternal death,” the researchers concluded.

“Compared with previous assessments of maternal mortality, we have narrowed the uncertainty around global and national estimates of the MMR. This improved accuracy is a result of an extensive database and the use of analytical methods with increased explanatory power and improved out-of-sample predictive validity,” they added.

The source of  ‘11 maternal deaths a day’

Now, where did the “11 a day” figure come from? It is from the outdated report “Maternal Mortality in 2000: Estimates developed by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA.”

It estimated the Philippines’ MMR at 200 in the year 2000, equivalent to 9.8 a day. It placed the number of maternal deaths that year at 4,100, or 11.2 a day.

The report, however, is seven years old, published way back in 2004.

The outdated report carried an important caveat: “The 2000 estimates cannot be used to analyze trends because of the wide margins of uncertainty associated with the estimates.”

“The margins of uncertainty associated with the estimated MMRs are very large, and the estimates should not, therefore, be used to monitor trends in the short term. In addition, cross country comparisons should be treated with considerable circumspection because different strategies have been used to derive the estimates for different countries, making it difficult to draw comparisons,” the 2004 report said.

The same international agencies, in their 2010 report, pointed out that the latest (2008) estimates are more reliable.

“[I]t should be noted that the data and methods have improved over time. The 2008 estimates should not be compared with those from the previous exercises to assess changes in time. Trends in maternal mortality calculated using the same improved methodology and presented for years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2008 in this report show the changes over time.” (Dominic Francisco)

SAGOT SA KALAPASTANGANAN NG AGLIPAYANO

 The Paoay Church

Chen...Aglipayano AKO!! said...

niloob ng Diyos na sumibol ang Aglipay!!! kaya wala kang karapatanag kwestiyunin ang kalooban ng Panginoon!!! Kamiy naglilingkod ng mapayapa!!! kaya kung gusto mo pang pumunta sa LANGIT manahimik ka na lang Fr.Abe, nagmumukha ka ng ube dyan!!! ang pangit mo pa naman! manahimik ka na lang ... wala kang naitutulong na maganda sa lipunan...mas maganda pa nga yatang mag Rest In Peace ka na lang!!! hahahahahaha!!!!

August 31, 2011 8:52 AM  

 

Fr. Abe, CRS said... 

 

[niloob ng Diyos na sumibol ang Aglipay!!!]

DEMONIO ANG NAGPASIBOL SA AGLIPAY. MGA MASON AT MGA EREHE, MGA SCHISMATICO AT MGA KAAWAY NG SANTA IGLESIA. KAYO ANG MGA NAGNAKAW ANG MGA SIMBAHANG PINATAYO NAMIN. NABAWI NALANG NAMIN DAHIL NANALO KAMI SA KORTE. MGA MANDARAMBONG!!! MGA TULISAN!!!

[kaya wala kang karapatanag kwestiyunin ang kalooban ng Panginoon!!!]

ANG KALOOBAN NG PANGINOON AY ANG PAKAKATATAG NG IISANG SANTA IGLESIA NA ITINAYO NIYA KAY SAN PEDRONG APOSTOL HINDI SA IMPAKTONG AGLIPAY NA IYAN. KAYA WAG MONG BABUYIN ANG KALOOBAN NG DIOS. MGA KAMPON NG DEMONIO!!!

[Kamiy naglilingkod ng mapayapa!!!]

HINDI KAYO NAGLILINGKOD NG MAPAYAPA DAHIL GINAGAWA NYO KAMI. NAGKUKUNWARI KAYONG CATOLICO KAHIT HINDE. MGA PEKE, ARTIPISYAL... MGA PLASTIC.

[kaya kung gusto mo pang pumunta sa LANGIT manahimik ka na lang Fr.Abe, nagmumukha ka ng ube dyan!!!]

HA HA HA... E TANGA KA PALA E. AKO ANG NANANAHIMIK DITO AT KAYO ANG NANGGUGULO SA AKIN. HA HA HA... ANG SUSI NG LANGIT AY WALA KAY AGLIPAY KUNDI TAGLAY NI SAN PEDRO APOSTOL. KAYA KAYO ANG KAWAWA DAHIL TUMIWALAG KAYO SA TUNAY NA IGLESIA AT GUMAWA NG PEKE.

[ang pangit mo pa naman!]

HA HA HA... MAS PANGIT KAYO. KAMUKA NINYO ANG INYONG AMANG DIABLO NA GUSTONG WASAKIN ANG IGLESIANG TATAG NG PANGINOONG JESUCRISTO.

[manahimik ka na lang ...]

MALAYA KANG MANGARAP NG DILAT. HA HA HA TULAD NI GREGORIO AGLIPAY, ANG HAYUP MONG FUNDADOR NA TUMAKBO BILANG PRESIDENTE NG PILIPINAS LABAN KAY MANUEL L. QUEZON AT NATALO, MALAYA KANG MANGARAP NG GISING AT DILAT. MGA GUNGGONG!!!

[wala kang naitutulong na maganda sa lipunan...mas maganda pa nga yatang mag Rest In Peace ka na lang!!! hahahahahaha!!!!]

MAS MARAMI AKONG NAGAWANG MAGANDA SA LIPUNAN KESA SA YO. INUTIL ANG AGLIPAY CHURCH SAMANTALANG ANG CATHOLIC CHURCH ANG NAG-AALAGA SA MGA ULILIA AT MGA KETONGIN, SA MGA HOME FOR THE AGED AT SA MGA OSPITAL. KAMI RIN ANG NAGPAPA-ARAL SA DI MABILANG NA MGA ESTUDIANTE AT MARAMI PANG IBA. KAYO, ANO NAGAWA NYO? MGA INUTIL. BUMALIK NA LANG KAYO SA IMPIERNONG INYONG PINANGGALINGAN. 

August 31, 2011 10:07 AM

THE 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPLENDOR OF THE CHURCH BLOG!

The All-Powerful Lord

 

Today, we give praise to the Lord for the 4th Anniversary of THE SPLENDOR OF THE CHURCH Blog. We give praise to the Lord because this Blog has become God's instrument in defending the Catholic Church and in explaining the Catholic Faith to so many people. 

From its simple and humble beginning this Blog has grown so much like a Mustard Seed that fell on good ground and became a home for many birds. It became a parola for those who were seeking the truth or were doubting the faith and a source of inspiration for the Catholic Faithful to defend the faith on their own also in various fora. Our visitors mark is reaching half a million in few days and record shows that more than a thousand visitors read the Blog on a daily basis from all over the world. Our followers is nearly 400 people and more are coming.

We have successfully collaborated with the best of the best Catholic Apologists in the Philippines with the likes of Bro. Soc Fernandez of the Catholic Faith Defenders [CFD] and its national president Engr./Prof. Ramon Gitamondoc of San Carlos University in Cebu as well as the CFD Davao led by president Bro. John Diona through its energetic and very bright young leader Bro. Ryan Mejilano. These collaborations paved the way for my appointment as CFD National Spiritual Director last year. Then, our apologetics ministry with the Defensores Fidei Foundation then under chairman Henry Siy through which I get to know these great Apologists ATTY. MARWIL LLASOS, CARLOS ANTONIO PALAD and BRO. CENON BIBE who have all become brothers to me and close friends as well as collaborators. Some of their articles are posted here as well and on several occasions they even joined in the exchanges here. 

Most of all this ministry has been blessed so much that out of this Blog many young people have full-pledged Catholic Apologists as well. Foremost of them is Franz Luigi Lugena who became my assistant in the Splendor of the Church program here in Sorsogon and second owner of this Blog. Bro. Franz, gifted with youthful energy, vigor and sharp mathematical mind have successfully defended and argued for the faith on issues concerning Sola Scriptura, Justification, Predestination, on the Virgin Mary, Rizal and the Catholic Church, Masonry, Philippine History and the Friars and Atheism. Many of his exchanges are archived inhere and therefore recorded for posterity's sake. Also, this blog has contributed so much from the works of Bro. Jubernson Alabastro of CFD Davao, a very bright young man who is an Accountancy graduate and a student of law. Bro. Jubernson is a well of information on Apologetics, Church History and various documents so valuable for research. He is also a very sharp thinker that made him an effective apologist on his own right. Knowing the brilliance of his intellect and the virtue of his heart I gave him the honor to be the second co-moderator of this Blog together with Bro. Franz so that the two of them can post materials here on their own even without my prior approval. My trust, however, are put on good hands because the two never posted things contrary to our goals.

Besides Bro. Franz, other young readers of this Blog have become active in Facebook Fora or Groups arguing for the Faith such as Adrian Tams, Peter Pelayo Cosenillo, Ednard Kim La Rosa and recently Sev Maraño. Some of the inspiring and shall I say 'touching' messages from our readers have been posted here already. And now for this anniversary let me share the latest I have received the other day only. The guy is a Blogger also with the link provided below as well:

Sev Maraño

• Dear Father Abe,
  
  I thank God for your website. You have been instrumental to my conversion to the Catholic Church. It's a good thing that my parents, before they converted to Born Again, were able to baptize me in Barasoain Church. And this weekend I'll go there to get my baptismal certificate and get ready to come again in the Church.
  
  I am so excited to be with the Church. Again, I'm very thankful to your apologetics ministry. Through it, I was able to see the light and see the errors and flaws of the churches I've been to.
  
  God bless you and your ministry Father Abe, I hope you can add me to your list of friends. Consider me as one of your avid readers/fans.
  
  Sincerely,
  Sev.
  
  
  P.S. 
  http://homewardboundsev.blogspot.com/
  i have posts po when i was still protestant.. pero not so much entries. hehe

Home At Last!

Five Years in the Wilderness

It started all in 2006, when I took a weeklong vacation leave from work. It has been my tradition to visit my alma mater, De La Salle University, go to the library and spend time reading the whole day. I was in the mood for reading some religious books. I remembered my atheist professor in Philosophy when she said in her article “if your faith is true, you won’t mind putting it to the test.” So I browsed through the religion section of the library, very confident of what my beliefs are.

The early church fathers were alien to me that time. In that section, I saw various church fathers writings. St. Iranaeus, St. Athanasius, and I tell to myself “who are these guys??” The only familiar church father I know of that time was St. Augustine, due to my Calvinist background. Together with those books are some Marian writings. I thought “bring it on!” These books won’t bother me. So I read them the whole day.

The day ended with me shaken to my very core. I left the library with the same faith I had, but felt a bit less sure than when I entered the place that morning.

It was only after five years will I ever set my feet on solid ground again.

Background

I was raised in a family steep in Protestantism. I grew up in Sunday School of a moderate evangelical church and I studied in a very conservative Baptist-oriented school in my elementary and high school days.

Our church, where I grew up, is composed of families that started out as a small bible study group and eventually grew and became an evangelical church. This is where the love of the Bible in me started. At a very young age, we were memorizing Bible verses, we were taught the stories of Jesus in the Gospels, stories of Protestant missionary stories, etc. . During our early teens, I was active in youth groups, together with my siblings. It was home to me. I will always be indebted to this church where I grew up.

Meanwhile, during my elementary and high school years (1993-1999), in my Baptist-oriented school, we were taught of so many anti-Catholic things - the usual Whore of Babylon-Pope-Anti Christ-Mass sorcery-traditions evil, crucifix of the devil, and what have you. Subliminally, we were taught to hate and fear everything related to Catholic.

For the first seventeen years of my life, I was not exposed to anything related to Catholicism (or so I thought), until I reached college.

I would consider my college years (1999-2004) as the most eventful years of my spiritual life. Eventful, because I was exposed to Catholics, started to be curious in a lot of things, trying out new things, living out new philosophies and ideas.

Early on in my college life, one of the most traumatic and significant thing happened. We experienced a church split where I grew up. My parents had to change churches, and that included us in the change.

We were suddenly in a much bigger church, good teaching nevertheless, but it didn’t feel like home to me. The pastors don’t know me personally, and I don’t know them in the same way either. I haven’t felt the huge impact immediately on this event since I was having the time of my life in college. This is where I started to disengage from church life. I became just a regular attender, not wanting to be involved in anything, lest I wanted to feel the pain of a church split again and again. It never dawned on me that deep inside I was really hurt with the split we experienced.
During my sophomore years, I became an agnostic, courtesy of my atheist professor. I continued in that fashion until 2006, the year my father died.

Going Back But Not the Same as Before

In 2006, I felt like coming back to the way it was before. So I joined my mother, who is now worshipping in a famous Pentecostal megachurch in Manila, and tried to regain my lost spirituality there. I rededicated my life back to the Lord and started to be a bit more serious in spirituality.

The church is unlike any other churches I have attended before. They are very strong on the Holy Spirit gifts like speaking in tongues, baptism of fire, prosperity gospel, etc. I was a bit shocked with the environment.

My initial problem was how to convert my current girlfriend (who's now my wife) that time from Catholicism to our faith.
Incidentally, this was also the time my faith was shaken during my vacation leave from work.
After that long vacation, I started searching the internet for some good materials. I wanted to defend my faith, which I thought was the right one that time.

So I read debates between Catholic and Protestants. I have read writings of the famous Catholic apologists such as Tim Staples, Patrick Madrid, Robert Sungenis, etc. After all this, I know I was treading on thin ice already.

In short, I wasn’t able to convert my girlfriend for so many reasons - the weirdness of the things they do in church services, the prosperity gospel that they are espousing, the ridiculousness of the things I see on TV (televangelists). In fact, I was ashamed of them. I started to see the church I was in from outside looking in. How do people of other faith think of us as a church?

There was even a time when there were Sundays when there was no service at all. Instead of a service, there was a children’s musical in place with themes of prosperity gospel in it – that was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. I realized that this is not the place I would like my children to grow up.

My search intensified when I came across a blogger named Michael Spencer, or the famous InternetMonk (Lord have mercy on his soul). Like him, I was in the evangelical wilderness. His writings question the basic practices of Protestants like altar calls, Biblicism, praise and worship and the likes. Although he was a Protestant, many people who visit his site, through his writings, either settled in Anglicanism, Orthodoxy or Catholicism. His death in early 2009 gave me the courage to not give up hope in finding Christ’s true bride.

Early in 2010, I was churchless again, this time, I’m all alone to search for a new church. I longed for something established, more ancient, a place where my spirit can be at rest from the noisy, ever- changing Pentecostal landscape.

In June 2010, I was able to find a church that fitted my needs that time. It was an Anglican Church. The bishop, who is the current rector there is very warm, welcoming, and loving. He is a New Testament scholar. I could not ask for more ideal spiritual father.

But this did not stop me from searching. In October 2010, I started searching again. This is where I encountered Father Abe’s “The Splendor of the Church” blog. I was amazed with how he defends the beliefs of the Catholics against the misconceptions of non-Catholics. This was where I learned a lot about the Catholic faith. His blog was pointing me to different directions – search, research, compare. This also led me to gain Catholic friends over the past few months.

I should have settled already, but I just can’t. As I dig deeper into Anglicanism, I learned of the early church fathers, the first Christians, the councils, the more I uncover Catholicism. Last April 2011 was the birth of my firstborn child. It was also my first experience of Lent. I started to read books written by Pope Benedict XVI, which lead me to read conversion stories like Rome Sweet Home, Surprised by Truth, etc. in the succeeding months.

Last August 14, 2011, during the Gospel reading (Matthew 16:13-20), it felt like it was as if the reading was directed to me.

18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

I was surprised and happy at the same time. My prayer has been answered. This was bound to happen, I knew it months ago, but I was asking the Lord – I do not want to be rushed. I don’t want to convert just for the heck of it. I want it to be in Your time, just the way You want it. I was planning to convert in 2012, but somehow God wants it ASAP.

This is it! I want to be confirmed already! That night, I expressed this desire to my wife. She was very happy and excited because now, we can really be one family worshipping in one church that God has given to us.

I was drawn to the Catholic Church for several reasons:
1. Because it is universal – it’s the only church that was able to reach all the ends of the earth.
2. Because it is apostolic – I am convinced and firmly believe that Jesus Christ established a visible church, which is the Catholic Church, and through history we are able to trace everything back to Matthew 16.
3. The splendor and beauty of its history and teachings.
4. Using history, simple logic and common sense, you can infer that the Catholic Church is the true bride of Christ.

I have so many other points to raise, but I think it will end up written like a short novel, but anyway, I would like to personally thank Father Abe for being a relentless defender of faith. Now you can see the one of the fruits of your labor.

Right now, I am preparing to get my baptismal certificate in Barasoain Church. I am glad to know that my parents were able to baptize me in the Church. This coming September is my adult confirmation. This time it feels like I’m returning to my home.

I am coming home! †

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!

MAYROON BANG HINDI ALAM SI CRISTO?

The Lord of Lords before His Ascension

 

 

 

Anonymous said...

Fr. Abe, sana po buksan niyo po ang puso at isipan nyo.. Dba po ang ang Diyos lamang ang nakakaalam ng lahat.. samantalang si Cristo ay hindi nya alam kung kailan ang araw ng Paghuhukom.. Sana po maliwanagan po kayo.. na iba si Cristo sa tunay na Diyos.. may panahon pa po pra magbalik-loob sa Diyos! 

August 20, 2011 5:30 PM 

 

Fr. Abe, CRS said... 

 

[Fr. Abe, sana po buksan niyo po ang puso at isipan nyo..]

BUKAS ANG AKING PUSO AT ISIPAN. SA IYO ANG NAKASARA.

[Dba po ang ang Diyos lamang ang nakakaalam ng lahat..]

YES, DIOS LANG ANG NAKAKAALAM NG LAHAT.

[samantalang si Cristo ay hindi nya alam kung kailan ang araw ng Paghuhukom..]

O NO, NO, NO... I RESEARCHED THAT VERSE AND I'VE FOUND OUT THAT ONLY ONE GREEK TEXT ANG NAGSASABI NIYAN. THE GREAT MAJORITY OF THE EXISTING GREEK TEXTS OF NEW TESTAMENT WALANG SINASABI NA HINDI ALAM NI CRISTO ANG ARAW NG PAGHUHUKOM O ANG KANYANG PAGDATING NA MULI:

THE VERSE YOU ARE REFERRING TO ABOUT IS MATTHEW 24:36.

IT IS VERY INTERESTING THAT BOTH THE CATHOLIC DOUAY-RHEIMS AND THE PROTESTANT KING JAMES VERSION DOESN'T STATE THAT THE SON DOESN'T KNOW THE TIME AND THE HOUR OF THE SECOND COMING:

Matthew 24:36 [DRV] But of that day and hour no one knoweth: no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.

Matthew 24:36 [KJV] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

AND THERE ARE SOME BIBLE TRANSLATIONS THAT CONTAINS "NOT EVEN THE SON" WHILE THERE ARE OTHERS WHICH DO NOT STATE IT AT ALL.

I CHECKED AT THE GREEK TEXT OF THE BIBLE AND I FOUND OUT THAT THE ONLY ONE CONTAINING THE SON AS ONE OF THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THE DAY OF THE SECOND COMING IS Greek NT: Westcott/Hort with Diacritics. BUT THE GREAT MAJORITY OF OTHER GREEK NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS LEND SUPPORT TO THE TRANSLATION OF DOUAY-RHEIMS AND KING JAMES VERSION:

1. Greek NT: Greek Orthodox Church
2. Greek NT: Stephanus Textus Receptus (1550, with accents)
3. Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
4. Greek NT: Textus Receptus (1894)

[ Sana po maliwanagan po kayo..]

IKAW ANG DAPAT MALIWANAGAN. DAHIL MAY NAKASULAT RIN SA BIBLIA NA MERONG ALAM SI CRISTO NA HINDI ALAM NG IBA, KUNDI BUKOD TANGING SIYA LAMANG ANG NAKAKAALAM:

Revelation 19:12 [Good News Bible/RSV/ESV] His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but NO ONE EXCEPT HIMSELF KNOWS what it is.

SO, DOES IT MEAN THAT THE FATHER DOES NOT KNOW IT AND THEREFORE HE IS NOT GOD? IF I FOLLOW YOUR WAY OF THINKING THAT WILL BE THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION. THUS, YOUR REASONING IS WRONG AND ERRONEOUS.

[ na iba si Cristo sa tunay na Diyos..]

HA HA HA... SAAN NAKASULAT SA BIBLIA NA "IBA SI CRISTO SA TUNAY NA DIOS"? ANG NAKASULAT SI CRISTO AT ANG AMA AY IISA [cf. John 10:30]. WAG MONG BAGUHIN ANG BIBLIA. WAG IPILIT ANG IYONG HAKA-HAKA. WAG MAGPALOKO KAY MANALO.

[may panahon pa po pra magbalik-loob sa Diyos!]

IKAW ANG DAPAT MAGBALIK-LOOB SA DIOS KASI WALA SA BIBLIA ANG ARAL MO. GALING LANG IYAN SA PEKENG ANGHEL NA SI FELIX MANALO. ANG PEKENG ANGHEL NA NABULOK ANG KATAWAN. 

August 20, 2011 6:04 PM

WHO IS THE FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION 14.6?

 

Anonymous said...

In the revelation 14:6... who is the fulfillment?

August 20, 2011 7:28 AM 

 

Fr. Abe, CRS said... 

 

[In the revelation 14:6... who is the fulfillment?]

THE FULFILLMENT WILL BE AN ANGEL OF GOD WHOM THE LORD WILL SEND AT LATER WHEN THE FINAL DAYS ARE AT HAND. DEFINITELY THAT ANGEL IS NOT FELIX MANALO BECAUSE FELIX MANALO IS NOT AN ANGEL BUT A HUMAN BEING.

LET US EXAMINE THE VERSE:

Rev 14:6 [KJV] And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

FELIX MANALO IS NOT THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS VERSE. ONLY AN IDIOT WILL CLAIM SO... FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. FELIX MANALO IS NOT AN ANGEL. HE IS A MERE HUMAN BEING WHO HAD RELATIONS WITH WOMEN. HE BEGOT CHILDREN AND THEREFORE CANNOT BE AN ANGEL OF GOD. THE ANGELS ARE 'MINISTERING SPIRITS OR BLAZING FIRE' [cf. Hebrew 1:7]. FELIX MANALO IS OF FLESH AND BLOOD.

2. FELIX MANALO DIDN'T FLY IN THE MIDST OF HEAVEN. ACTUALLY, HE IS BURIED ON THE GROUND. HE HE HE...

3. FELIX MANALO DIDN'T PREACH TO ALL THE EARTH AND TO ALL PEOPLE AND LANGUAGES. THE CHURCH THAT PROPAGATED THE GOSPEL AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TO ALL NATIONS AND PEOPLE AND LANGUAGES IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. POPE JOHN PAUL THE GREAT VISITED AND PREACHED ON ALMOST ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AND THESE ARE RECORDED. 

IF THE VERSE HAVE BEEN FULFILLED ALREADY THE POSSIBLE IDENTITY OF THAT ANGEL MUST BE DIRECTED TO THE REAL ANGELS:

1. IT COULD BE THE ANGEL GABRIEL [cf. Luke 1:26ff.] WHO WAS SENT BY GOD TO NAZARETH TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH TO THE VIRGIN MARY. THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS AND THAT PASSAGE OF THE GOSPEL IS BEING PROCLAIMED TO ALL PEOPLE AND ALL LANGUAGES.

2. IT COULD BE THE ANGEL WHO ANNOUNCED THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH TO THE SHEPHERDS [cf. Luke 2:10ff.]. ONCE AGAIN, THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS AND IT IS BEING PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT ALL THE EARTH.

August 20, 2011 11:39 AM

DID WE EVER QUESTION OUR CATHOLIC FAITH?

The Last Supper when the Lord celebrated the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread with His Apostles...

 

Anonymous said...

Did we ever questioned why we Catholics preferred to have relics and other religios paraphernalias to pray to God, I wonder, if the statues were removed from the Church, Christmas, Halloween, Holy week, Fiesta, disco dances, Alcohol, immorality, gambling and laziness were all removed and discourage, would we still stay in the same Church? Are there people who can tolerate without them... I think I can find a lot of them in the INC Church and seldom in our Roman Catholic Church, kung minsan maitatanong ko sa sarili ko, naririnig kaya ako ng Diyos sa mga sinasambit kong panalangin which is normally started by Our Father, Hail Mary etc. na sinasambit ko ng paulit ulit. I am confused...

August 18, 2011 10:04 AM

Fr. Abe, CRS said... 

 

[Did we ever questioned why we Catholics preferred to have relics and other religios paraphernalias to pray to God,]

OF COURSE WE QUESTIONED IT AND WE FOUND IT BIBLICAL AND CONSEQUENTLY TRUTHFUL. IT ONLY SHOW THAT YOU ARE IGNORANT OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH AND OF THE HOLY BIBLE. YOU ARE IGNORANT THAT THE BIBLE SHOWS THE RELICS OF SAINTS AS SOMETHING TO BE RESPECTED AND IS GIVEN POWER BY GOD'S GRACE:

2 Kings 13:20-21 [KJV] And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

SEE, THE BONES OF ELISHA WAS USED BY GOD TO EFFECT A MIRACLE SUCH AS THE REVIVAL OF THE DEAD PERSON. THEREFORE THE BONES OR RELICS OR REMAINS OF THE MEN OF GOD ARE ALWAYS RESPECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF GOD FROM OLD TESTAMENT UNTIL NOW. THE BODY OF THE DEAD SAINT IS IMPORTANT EVEN FOR GOD AND FOR ANGELS. IN FACT, IN THE NAME OF GOD ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL FOUGHT AGAINST THE DEVIL FOR THE BODY OF MOSES:

Jude 1:9 [Good News] Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

FOR ST. MICHAEL THE BODY OF THE DEAD PROPHET AND SAINT SUCH AS MOSES IS IMPORTANT. HOW COME IT IS NOT IMPORTANT FOR YOU?

[I wonder, if the statues were removed from the Church,]

IF THE SACRED STATUES ARE REMOVED FROM THE CHURCH THAT IS EVIL. SUCH EVIL IS CONDEMNED BY GOD BECAUSE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, HIS SANCTUARIES AND ALTARS AND HIS SYNAGOGUES HAVE CARVED IMAGES AND IT IS EVIL TO DESTROY THEM:

Psalm 74:3-8 [KJV] Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. But now THEY BREAK DOWN THE CARVED WORK THEREOF at once with axes and hammers. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

THOSE WHO DESTROY THE CARVED WORKS IN THE TEMPLES, ALTARS AND SANCTUARIES OF GOD ARE GOD'S ENEMIES. IT ONLY SHOWS THAT THE MANALOS ARE ENEMIES OF GOD. 

[Christmas,]

YOU SATANICALLY CELEBRATE YOUR FOUNDATION DAY AND THE BIRTHDAY OF FELIX AND ERANEO AND OF EDUARDO MANALO BUT NOT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST WHICH ACCORDING TO THE ANGELS WILL BRING GLAD TIDINGS TO ALL PEOPLE:

Luke 2:9-10 [Good News Bible] An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.

YOU SATANICALLY REJECT THE CELEBRATIONS COMMEMORATING THE BIRTH OF CHRIST YET YOU CELEBRATE THE BIRTH ANNIVERSARIES OF YOUR IDIOTIC AND NON BIBLICAL FAKE ANGELS. PWE. WE CATHOLICS ARE PART OF THOSE PEOPLE PROPHESIED BY HEAVEN TO BE IN GREAT JOY BECAUSE OF THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH BECAUSE WE ARE THE ONE CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH AND EVERY SUNDAY MASS WE RE-ECHO THAT ANGELIC SONG: "GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO!"

[Halloween,]

HA HA HA... IDIOT. HALLOWEEN IS NOT A CATHOLIC HOLY DAY. HA HA HA... THE CATHOLIC CELEBRATION IS "ALL SAINTS DAY" BUT NOT THE HALLOWEEN.

[Holy week,]

THIS IS REMEMBERING THE SUFFERINGS AND DEATH OF JESUS. WHERE CAN YOU FIND IN THE BIBLE THAT IT IS WRONG? CHAPTER AND VERSE PLEASE.

[Fiesta,]

FEASTS ARE VERY BIBLICAL. THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE FEAST DO NOT BELONG TO GOD BUT TO THE DEVIL SUCH AS YOU ARE. THE TESTIMONIES OF SCRIPTURES CONCERNING THE ORIGIN OF FEASTS ARE VERY CLEAR:

Exodus 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a FEAST by an ordinance for ever. 

GOD ORDERED MOSES AND HIS PEOPLE TO CELEBRATE A FEAST. AND THE LORD JESUS ATTENDED A FEAST AS WELL:

Luke 5:29 And Levi made him a GREAT FEAST in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

 

[disco dances, Alcohol, immorality, gambling and laziness were all removed and discourage, would we still stay in the same Church?]

YES, WE WILL STILL STAY IN THE SAME CHURCH BECAUSE THESE ARE NOT DOCTRINES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

[Are there people who can tolerate without them...]

WE DO NOT TOLERATE THEM BUT WE SIMPLY TREAT WITH RESPECT PEOPLE WHO LIKE THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SINNERS OR WRONG OR HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THEIR PASSIONS. WE DO NOT EXPEL THEM IMMEDIATELY LIKE THE MANALOS BECAUSE CHRIST CAME FOR THE SINNERS NOT FOR THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS LIKE THE MEMBERS OF THE INC.

[I think I can find a lot of them in the INC Church and seldom in our Roman Catholic Church,]

HA HA HA... GOOD THAT YOU HAVE FOUND THOSE SINS IN INC. NICE THAT YOU ARE NOT BLIND TO REALITY.

[kung minsan maitatanong ko sa sarili ko, naririnig kaya ako ng Diyos sa mga sinasambit kong panalangin which is normally started by Our Father, Hail Mary etc. na sinasambit ko ng paulit ulit. I am confused...]

YOU ARE CONFUSED BECAUSE YOU MADE YOURSELF CONFUSED. YOU ALLOWED YOURSELF TO BE CONFUSED BY THE LIES AND DECEITS OF IGLESIA NI MANALO. OF COURSE GOD WILL HEAR YOUR PRAYERS WHEN YOU RECITE THE OUR FATHER AND HAIL MARY BECAUSE THEY ARE BIBLICAL PRAYERS. 

August 18, 2011 10:06 PM

MIRRIAM INVOKES U.S. LAWS IN SUPPORT OF RH BILL, THE SAME LAWS THAT SUPPORTED ABORTION by Zoe Vidal

Quo vadis?  Where are you going, Miriam?

Miriam cites US jurisprudence to argue for the passage of the RH Bill, revealing that it is her intention to put us along the contraception-to-abortion track followed by America.  How crazy is that?  Here's the irony:  backed by her own authority as an expert in the interpretation of law, she herself demonstrates that the RH Bill is in fact what the pro-lfie movement has always suspected: a gateway to abortion.  Perhaps unwittingly, she is showing the public where the Philippine society will end up if the RH Bill is passed.

Miriam quotes Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).  The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. By a vote of 7–2, the Supreme Court invalidated the law on the grounds that it violated the "right to marital privacy".  What Miriam did not mention was how Griswold was followed-up eight years later with Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), which provided the legal basis for abortion-on-demand in America.  In Roe, the Court ruled that a woman's choice to have an abortion  was protected as a private decision between her and her doctor.  The Supreme Court effectively overturned individual states' laws against abortion by ruling them unconstitutional.  Since Griswold, the US Supreme Court has cited the right to privacy in other rulings.  The Griswold line of cases remains controversial, and has drawn accusations of "judicial activism".

The Griswold to Roe sequence demonstrates how even at the highest levels of jurisprudence, abortion follows contraception as night follows day.  Moreover, you may notice in the same sequence, a movement from the destruction of marriage to the destruction of human life.  The evidence for these two consequences is historical.  Contraception and abortion are related as cause is to effect.  You cannot accept contraception and pretend abortion will not happen.

The opinion on Roe was written by Justice Harry Blackmun, who declared that abortion is a "fundamental right" under the U.S. Constitution and substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.  Writing for the 7-2 Court, Justice Blackmun held that abortion is a fundamental right because it falls under the "penumbra" of the right to privacy.  Roe v. Wade provided reinforcement for cases such as Griswold v. Connecticut and Lawrence v. Texas, all of which set up spheres of personal activity which states cannot regulate without "good cause."   It was thus, that the deaths of millions of unborn Americans was based not on legislation by by judicial action, and that judicial action was based on a "penumbra" -- a partial and vague shadow! -- of the constitutional right to privacy.  Justice Blackmun had forced the issue by conjuring a "ghost" of the right to privacy.

Against the error of placing privacy as the supreme right, we should invoke the doctrine that there exists a hierarchy of rights, and that the Right to Life is prior and superior to the Right to Privacy.  All other rights are subject and subsequent to the Right to Life.  This argument was recognized and accepted by the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986, and it is the sense in which the Philippine Constitution enshrines the equal protection of mother and unborn (Ref. Article II, Sec.12).  The US Constitution is NOT the Philippine Constitution.  The Philippine Constitution is pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, and pro-poor -- this was the tag-line during the 1987 referendum by which the Filipino people overwhelmingly approved what was then known as the "Cory" Constitution.  Using Miriam's US jurisprudential arguments, the implication is that the protection of the unborn in the Philippine Constitution should be aborted, presumably via charter change.

When legislation is divorced from sociology and historical facts, the ensuing laws can lead -- as they have led -- entire nations to suffer the very same pitfalls that other nations have experienced.  Miriam is living inside her head and inside her law books, narrowing down her vision into the arguments presented by the cabal of foreign interest groups and dummy NGOs (PLCPD, FFPD, etc) supported by USAID and UNFPA, and the big pharmaceuticals lurking behind the controversy.  They have co-opted the academe, medical professionals, the DOH, and the presidency itself, turning the RH machinery into a kind of Goliath that now challenges what could be the last nation with an actively Christian/Catholic majority.

Here's another irony:
Those who advocate "absolute freedom" will be
absolutely blinded by the kind of freedom they espouse.

CBCP sec-gen puzzled by P-noy’s sudden RH prioritization, enjoins faithful to act

MANILA, August 18, 2011–After the president’s noted silence on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill during the July 25 State of the Nation Address (SONA), and the measure’s absence from this year’s first Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting agenda, President Benigno S. Aquino III’s directive to include the bill among 13 priority measures has elicited more questions than assertions from another Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official.

When asked to comment on the president’s recent endorsement of the RH bill, CBCP Secretary-General Msgr. Juanito Figura replied with questions instead.

“No mention of the bill was made in his SONA–was it or was it not a priority when he was preparing his SONA? Why is it a priority now all of a sudden?” he asked, noting that it had been over three weeks since the SONA and the president remained quiet about the matter until yesterday’s LEDAC meeting.

“I am a bit worried about possible reactions which may range from confusion, dismay, mistrust,” Figura added.

The secretary-general said he is praying very hard as he anticipates “more serious discussions and study on this ‘fine-tuned’ version of the bill. Does it still carry the characteristic contraceptive pro-abortion agenda? Will it still advance a new rendering of ‘conscience,’ ‘freedom,’ ‘rights,’ ‘responsible parenthood’ and ‘family’?”

“Will it still use a lot of taxpayers’ money? And very importantly, has the penalty clause on violations been truly omitted?” Figura continued.

Citing Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma’s statements following the recent development, the secretary-general said that he “sympathizes with Archbishop Palma’s dismay over the prioritization that P-noy has given to the RH bill, now being called RP bill.”

The CBCP official ended by sounding off a call to the lay people to stand up to protect and preserve the culture of life.

“I enjoin the lay people especially the youth to initiate actions, to reach out to everyone who believes in the sanctity of human life and family, to use your skills. We are in coordination with a number of lay groups that are working along this line and would be willing to help those who would like to start getting involved,” Figura said. (Diana Uichanco)