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Date Posted: 18:11:07 12/13/12 Thu
Author: IMRD
Subject: Dec. 14, 2012 news

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/323541/tagle-laments-house-vote-in-favor-of-rh-bill

Tagle laments House vote in favor of RH bill
By Philip C. Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:47 pm | Thursday, December 13th, 2012

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The House of Representatives’ decision to approve on second reading the controversial Reproductive Health bill was “tragic and unfortunate,” Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said.
In a statement he issued on Thursday before leaving for Vietnam, Tagle called for “healing” while adding that the vote would spur the Church to work harder to defend the “sanctity of life.”
‘‘The vote in favor of the RH Bill in Congress is unfortunate and tragic. But we do not take it as a defeat of truth–for truth shall prevail, especially the truth about human life, marriage and the family,’’ Tagle said
The Cardinal thanked and commended the lawmakers, Church people, organizations and citizens “who worked hard and tirelessly in a variety of ways to expose the flaws of the RH bill, to form consciences and to contribute to the search for the common good.”
“This vote leads us to further commit the Church, specifically the Archdiocese of Manila to the service of the poor, of the family, of women, of infants and children,” Tagle said.
“We will work harder to promote the sanctity of human life and of the human person, the integral education of the youth, the access of the poor to social and medical services, the preservation of the true meaning of marriage, and stewardship of creation,” he said.
“We call on all Filipinos to work towards healing, and journey together humbly and justly as children of God,” Tagle added.
Tagle left Manila Thursday morning for Ho Chi Minh City to attend the general assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences.
The FABC was supposed to meet last month but the meeting was postponed after Tagle was made a cardinal and had to attend the consistory in Rome.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/special-features/160-news-flash/20038-anti-rh-fight-goes-on

Anti-RH fight goes on
Tight vote seen as an opportunity
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Published on Friday, 14 December 2012 00:00
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IT ain’t over till it’s over.
Hours after the reproductive health bill passed the House on second reading early morning yesterday, supporters and opponents of the measure vowed to fight to the end.
The controversial bill which had been filed and re-filed since 1987 will be put to a vote on third and final reading Monday or Wednesday next week.
The final reading is usually a formality but the bill’s opponents believe they can overturn yesterday’s close vote of 113-104 with three abstentions, and the supporters believe they could widen the margin.
At the Senate, the measure is up for second reading Monday at the earliest. But it is likely to have smoother sailing than at the House as proponents are counting at least 14 of the 23 senators voting in favor of the bill. The Senate plans to put the measure to a vote on third and final reading in a special session on Thursday.
Majority leader Neptali Gonzales II laughed off claims of opponents of House Bill No. 4244.
“We are confident of sustaining the approval of the RH bill when we vote on this by Monday or Wednesday. Proponents of the measure have the momentum and we predict a wider gap as more lawmakers may participate in the voting,” Gonzales said, noting that 65 congressmen failed to vote.
However, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a staunch opponent of the measure, said it would be premature for the RH supporters to celebrate.
“We’ll fight up to the third reading,” said Rodriguez, who fought side by side with deputy speaker Pablo Garcia of Cebu and Roilo Golez of Parañaque against the bill’s passage.
Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, also an RH opponent, said: “Sa tingin ko dahil ganito kalapit ‘yung boto, sa third reading puwede pang magbago ito.”
“Mayroon pang third reading and it will send a very strong signal to Malacañang at sa taong-bayan na ang measure na ito ay hindi majority decision ng taong-bayan,” he said.
Another anti-RH lawmaker, Davao Rep. Karlo Nograles, said the tight vote means there is no clear verdict.
“There are still so many doubts on the soundness of this bill…With this bill, there is division and discord. Does that not tell us something? We doubt very much that this will be good for our country,” he said.
The bill’s principal author, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, said RH opponents should start accepting that majority of the representatives have already spoken for the passage of the bill despite pressure from the Catholic Church.
The bill was approved despite an overwhelming number of Catholic leaders present during the session which lasted up to a little past 2 a.m. Thursday. Among them were Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, Msgr. Clemente Ignacio, and Bishops Teodoro Bacani Jr., Broderick Pabillo, Jesse Mercado, Honesto Ongtioco, and Gabriel Reyes.
Lagman said the second reading nominal voting was almost like a third reading vote “as we were allowed to explain our vote.”
Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, an RH proponent, said: “Iyung mga absent dito, there’s an equal number of pro and anti. I doubt very much (na) mababaligtad ito (result of the voting).”
At the Senate, Marcos expressed optimism the Senate would be able to pass the bill before Congress goes on Christmas break starting December 22.
At the Kapihan sa Senado media forum, he said majority leader Vicente Sotto III would be the last to introduce amendments to the measure on Monday.
After this, the Senate would hopefully vote on the bill on second reading until it reaches third reading either on Wednesday or on a special session on Thursday, he said.
“I think Senator Sotto is going to introduce more individual amendments on Monday but after that I think we will be getting to the vote on second reading,” he said.
“Siguro hindi na namin iiwanan ‘yan hanggang mag-second reading na sa Monday, which means that if we want to bring it to third reading, we will have to have a special session on Thursday,” Marcos said.

‘ILOKANO VOTE’
Marcos downplayed the threat of the Catholic Church, saying it is only the Iglesia ni Cristo and the so-called “Solid North” which could deliver votes.
“You can call it the Ilokano vote or the Iglesia vote. The Catholic vote is less clear, kung ano talaga ang Catholic vote,” he said, citing the case of former Sen. Juan Flavier who first promoted condom use despite opposition from the Church.
“Ipinaglaban niya din ‘yong condom and the Catholic Church came on very strong against him but No. 1 siya sa election,” he said.
Marcos also raised the possibility of a man-to-man lobbying among members of the House in the sense that there will be a “whip” going around and making sure that legislators will not change their vote on the bill.
But such kind of lobbying is unlikely at the Senate although, he said, he is already beginning to feel lobbying from the outside.
“Just last week I had at least seven meetings from both sides. We are nearing the finish line so the pressure is on,” Marcos said.
“In the end, despite all of the pressures that are being put on the senators from both sides, I don’t think anyone will cast their vote purely on political expediency,” he said, adding that that “I really believe that everbody’s conscience will be a part of it.”
Earlier, Senators Miriam Defensor Santiago, one of the authors of the bill, and Panfilo Lacson expressed confidence the measure has the support of majority of senators.
Santiago said based on the voting on the proposed amendments on the bill, many of which were rejected by the Senate, the RH bill would be passed.
Marcos agreed. “Ang definitive guide, so far, is ‘yung botohan sa mga amendments. It’s indicative,” he said.
Lacson said that based on his assumptions, 14 senators would vote for the passage of the measure.

NOT OVER
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila, said the Church is not yet raising the white flag.
“We do not take it as a defeat of truth – for truth shall prevail, especially the truth about human life, marriage and the family,” said Tagle.
His colleagues in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the fight is not yet over.
“Hindi pa tapos ang laban. The pro-RH may have a meager nine-point lead at the votation last night but we will continue the fight,” said Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros.
“May third reading pa,” said Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos.
“Not yet over. There is still the Senate and the third reading,” said Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes.
“The fight for life will never be over. We are fighting for the unborn, for the women and for our future as a nation,” Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo.

AQUINO IRKED
President Aquino said his Cabinet members were not pressuring House members when they attended the voting.
Aquino was irked, saying his Cabinet secretaries – presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II – are also Filipinos who have the right to witness a historic voting and the right to express their sentiments. Abad and Roxas are Liberal Party stalwarts.
“…Sasabihin sa isang araw na presensiya nila, intense ang lobbying? May karapatan rin naman sigurong ipadama sa kinatawan,” he said.
He said in contrast, the Catholic bishops are in the House every day.
“May mga kapartido tayong nagsasabi ng mga pressures nila kung saan galing sa ibat-ibang sektor, at kung nag-led ng moral support ‘yung ating mga miyembro ng Gabinete, may mali ba?” he said.
Aquino said the Palace is not dangling the Priority Development Assistance Fund to pressure lawmakers to vote for the RH bill.
He said everyone’s PDAF was released long before the vote, and this could be verified by checking the budget department’s website. – With Gerard Naval and Regina Bengco


http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/12/14/63-swing-votes-may-yet-spoil-rh/

‘63 swing votes’ may yet spoil RH
By Christine F. Herrera | Posted on Dec. 14, 2012 at 12:02am | 915 views
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Make or break on Monday voting
Some 63 swing votes could still overturn the reproductive health bill when it goes to a vote on third reading Monday, House leaders acknowledged Thursday.
The House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill 113 to 104 with three abstentions in a session that lasted past 2 a.m. Thursday.

Showdown. The nominal voting on the Reproductive Health bill took place Wednesday night, when the ayes won. Ey Acasio
“As expected, the result of the voting on second reading was too close to call. The margin was very slim,” Gonzales told reporters, adding that the 63 votes “could make or break the RH bill on Monday.”
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said the 29-member opposition has forged an alliance with the Catholic Church to convince lawmakers to vote against the bill on third reading.
In the Palace, President Benigno Aquino III met with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Gonzales to assess the situation and to take steps to ensure the passage of the bill, said Akbayan Rep. Arlene Kaka Bag-ao, a principal author of the RH bill.
“The House is doing its best to sustain the victory,” Bag-ao told the Manila Standard.
It was unclear how the 63 lawmakers would vote, but some were members of the President’s Liberal Party who were opposed to the RH bill. Others were opposition members and allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who opposes the bill.
Arroyo, is under hospital arrest and could not be physically present in the House.
“We need to pass the RH bill on third reading on Monday, otherwise, there is no need for the Senate to bother with it anymore. Later than Monday will make it a futile exercise for both chambers,” Gonzales said.
The House on Thursday did rushed to have copies of the bill printed and distributed on the same day to all 285 House members to beat the three-session day requirement for the bill to be passed on third reading.
The President could save the bill by certifying it as urgent, Gonzales said.
He warned that if the bill failed to win approval on Monday, it would need to be re-filed in the next Congress and go through the same long legislative process “back to square one.”
“If we fail to pass the RH bill on Monday, there is no use for the Senate to take it up for second reading. So the Senate is watching us closely,” Gonzales said.
However, the game plan would be altogether different if the President certified the bill as urgent on Monday.
The President’s imprimatur, he said, would compel the House to vote for the bill on Monday and for the Senate to vote for it on second reading and third reading on the same day on Monday, thus allowing the Senate to skip the required three session days between readings.
Then the two versions of the bill could be taken up by the bicameral conference committee on Tuesday and Wednesday and ratified on Wednesday and be ready for the President’s signature, Gonzales said.
On the other hand, if the bill was not certified urgent, the Senate would have to wait three session days, even if it approves the measure on second reading, pushing the vote to a late date and adding more uncertainty to its passage.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the RH bill, said many of the 63 lawmakers were LP members and allies of the President, but did not necessarily share his views on the RH bill.
Among the Liberals in the 63 that did not register their votes even though they were present were anti-RH lawmakers Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, Mindoro Occidental Rep. Reynaldo Umali and House Deputy Speaker and Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza.
The Liberals who were still abroad and extended their stay to watch the boxing fight of Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas were Laguna Rep. Danilo Fernandez and Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone.
Also abroad were opposition members Lanao del Sur Rep. Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman and his father AA Kasosyo Rep. Nasser Pangandaman and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong.
Belmonte and Suarez have ordered the lawmakers home in time for Monday’s vote.
While Lagman, Gonzales and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin sought to play down the possibility of a reversal of Thursday’s vote, those opposed to the bill said the fight was not over.
“The result can be changed and we will fight up to the third reading,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a staunch critic of the bill.
Another anti-RH lawmaker, House Deputy Majority Leader and Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, said Thursday’s slim margin meant there was no clear verdict yet.
“The vote was very close, only nine votes. That is equivalent to only five representatives changing their vote to no. This means there is no clear verdict. There are still so many doubts on the soundness of this bill,” Nograles said.
Pacquiao, returning after his defeat to Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, said he would vote against the RH bill, adding that life was sacred.
But Lagman said the passage of the bill on Thursday was “a signal victory for Filipino women and children who would reap the benefits of improved maternal and infant health which the bill sought to guarantee.”
“The representatives of the people have spoken in accord with their constituents who have long favored the enactment of the bill.
“These legislators are truly the guardians of the peoples’ rights, health and sustainable development, and not centurions of the dominant church,” Lagman said.
Catholic Church leaders expressed disappointment over Thursday’s vote but did not concede defeat. With Maricel Cruz and Joyce Pangco Pañares

http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/8128-bishops-%E2%80%98divine-intervention%E2%80%99-vs-rh-to-prevail

Bishops: ‘Divine intervention’ vs RH to prevail
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Antis vow to put up a ‘better fight’
Outvoted, but not yet down—as there is still “divine intervention” that anti-Reproductive Health (RH) bill advocates can rely on.
This appears to be the sentiment of the Catholic bishops and their lawmakers who are against the near passage of the RH law, as the country has moved closer to the controversial birth control law with the lawmakers passing a version of the bill after a long debate over an issue that has deeply polarized the largely Catholic nation.
The bill paving the way for sex education in schools and the provision of free contraceptives in a country with one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations was passed by the House of Representatives after a five-hour vote, with an outcome of 113 yes votes as against 104 no votes.
“Let us have children by choice, not by chance,” Edcel Lagman, a lawmaker who initiated the legislation, said after voting on the bill that passed with a narrow majority just before dawn.
His comment reflects the view of President Aquino who is pushing the law that he hopes would help bring down poverty in a nation of nearly 100 million people as well as the high maternal mortality rate.
The move is supported by women’s groups and the United Nations but is vehemently opposed by the politically influential Catholic church which is against the use of contraceptives, including condoms and birth control pills.
The proposed legislation would come into force after both houses of Congress agree on a common version that would be signed into law by the President.
Aquino had urged legislators at a recent meeting to help get the law passed after more than a year of bitter debates on the issue.
From page 1

But divine intervention may just come in another form, as a senator said that, like the recently-concluded sin tax bill deliberations, it is likely that amendments made in the plenary on the controversial RH bill of either Houses of Congress could be put aside by the bicameral conference committee (Bicam).
Said Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos: “Everything goes back to the Bicam, as we have experienced in the sin tax (bill). The Senate version was already agreed upon, but what was agreed upon was no longer there after the Bicam. We were railroaded, so we adopted generally the House proposal. Again, those proposals can come from either House.
“It’s possible that once the bill comes out in the so-called ‘third House’, its final form would be entirely different from the versions of either the lower house and the Senate, even completely overhauled. That’s just the way it works. That’s our system so that can happen,” Marcos told reporters in the weekly news forum at the Senate.
Given the narrow difference in the number of those who voted for and against the bill in the lower house, the senator said it’s not impossible that the measure could be voted down in the end.
“It’s a tight vote, but I think despite everything else, despite all of the lobbying that went on, despite all the pressure that was put on the congressmen and the senators, it really was virtually a split vote. It is a very close vote, to have it approved on 2nd reading. There was only a difference of only seven votes,” Marcos stressed.
Marcos, who is a co-author of the RH bill in the last Congress, said that as far as the Senate is concerned, practically all of the amendments proposed were accommodated by the sponsors of the bill.
“I think Sen. Pia (Cayetano who is one of the sponsors of the bill) was very liberal in allowing all of the amendments, as many of the amendments she could allow. We had lunch yesterday and I asked her to hasten the process.”
On matter of how his peers will vote on the measure, Marcos said it’s still uncertain how senators will decide on the bill saying that even if some of the amendments proppsed by staunch critics of the measure were voted down, it’s not enough basis as a definitive guide on who will approve of or not of the measure in the end.
“It’s not that clear. We try to make a headcount, it’s not clear,” he said.
Marcos said his party, the Nacionalista Party (NP), has no stand on the issue as the political organization would give enough latitude to its members to decide on their own on matters like the RH.
Many bishops in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) consider congressmen who voted in favor of the RH bill having poor values and lacking the (moral) formation which caused the passage of the bill during the second reading the Congress .
This was expressed by CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life vice-chairman San Jose Nueva Ecija Bishop Roberto Mallari, after learning the truth, which he said was due to the “yes” congressmen’s fear of losing their “pork barrel” funds and the extreme pressure coming from Malacanang where some congressmen succumbed it.
Bishop Mallari described the RH bill as immoral because it prevents the growth of the population that will serve as a labor force which pushes the country’s economy.
Mallari exhorted the youth to plant in their hearts that they become the hope of the land in ensuring the future of their children.
For his part, Marbel bishop Dimualdo Gutierez, stressed the lack of formation in explaining the yes vote.
He said he was saddened by 113 congressmen who voted for the RH bill, saying that their fiath did not grow after their baptism as Catholics.
Bishop Guttierez admitted that cathechism must be pushed most especially this Year of the Faith to enlighten the minds of the people on the teachings of the Catholic Church about the sanctity of life.
Other bishops praised the 104 lawmakers who voted “no”, saying they have been enlightened, knowing that the RH Bill is an immoral law.
On the part of Human Life International Philippine director, Dr.Rene Bullecer, he believes “divine intervention” will occur to cause the death of the RH bill.
He said that they must strengthen prayers and the information campaign on the adverse effects the RH Bill will bring to the future of the Filipino people.
“We have to continue praying, Let us wait for divine intervention, I know God will do something before (President) Aquino signs the RH into law, We need to intensify more our prayers and information campaign.People will come to understand more the evils of the implication of the RH bill,”
Lawmakers and religious groups led by the Catholic Church yesterday vowed to put up a better “fight” against the reproductive health bill on Monday when it is set to be brought up anew for approval on third and final reading.
“We are putting up another fight on Monday,” Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said yesterday shortly after the House passed the measure on second reading in an extremely tense voting that was being watched by Church leaders and Cabinet members resulting in a vote of 113 to 104 before dawn yesterday. Sixty-five lawmakers were absent during the voting.
“It’s not yet over,” Rodriguez said amid chants and laughter of pro-RH advocates at the main lobby of the House of Representatives.
Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, head of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family Life, said that the results of the voting could have changed had it not for the continued pressure being exerted by Malacañang officials on the lawmakers. He was particular about the presence of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Assistant Spokesman Ricky Carandang and Manuel Quezon III.
“This is not fair,” Reyes, who together with Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, had stayed out in the House of Representatives to watch the voting.
Reyes said that they will continue to appeal to the lawmakers not to vote for the reproductive health bill which will be up for third and final reading on Monday.
Anti-RH lawmakers maintained that the controversial measure is a redundancy of existing laws like the Magna Carta of Women which is not being fully implemented. They also said that instead of pouring in billions of pesos for the purchase of contraceptives, the money should be used to improve the economy.
According to Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, the best “contraceptive” is an improved economic condition. He said that in his 16 years in public service, he has not heard of his constituents asking for a “condom.” Like Sarangani Rep. Manuel Pacquiao, Alvarez was one of those who voted “no” to the bill.
According to House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, one of the pro-RH lawmakers, they would sustain the vote on Monday.
“We are confident of sustaining the approval of the RH bill when we vote on this by Monday or Tuesday. Proponents of the measure have the momentum and we predict a wider gap as more lawmakers may participate in the voting,” Gonzales said. By Gerry Baldo, Pat C. Santos and Angie M. Rosales With AFP

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/top-stories/37372-rh-bill-fight-not-yet-over-lawmakers

RH bill fight not yet over – lawmakers
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Published on 14 December 2012
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Written by Llanesca T. Panti and Jhoanna Paola Ballaran Reporters
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THE reproductive health (RH) bill may have been approved by the House of Representatives on second reading, but it doesn’t mean that the fight over the controversial measure is finished, lawmakers opposed to the bill said on Thursday.


The bill was passed by the House through a 113-104 vote before dawn on Thursday.

“There is a real divide. It only shows that we are not joking when we said that it is very hard to shepherd the bill because Congress is divided on this issue. Exhibit A, there are lot of members from the Liberal Party [LP] who voted no,” House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales 2nd of Mandaluyong City said.

House Bill 4244 or the Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood, Population and Development measure, mandates that the state to guarantee public access to relevant information and education on medically safe, legal, ethical, affordable, effective and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices and supplies, including condoms.

A day before the House voted on the measure, LP President and Interior Secretary Manuel ”Mar” Roxas and Florencio Abad of the Department of Budget appealed to their partymates to vote for the passage of the RH measure because it gives Filipino families a choice on how to plan their families.

However, some LP members did not heed their appeal.

“We really expected that there’s going to be a slim margin for the RH bill. Suffice it to say we were able to pass it, we’ll take it from there. We have been saying before that our concern is to really put this to a vote. Napagbotohan na, nanalo pa [It has been voted upon and we won]. It is a bonus,” Gonzales, who voted yes for the passage of the bill, added.

House bill would still need third reading approval to be deemed passed in the House, but the second reading approval is already a giant step considering that the measure had never got past the period of debates in the last 14 years.

Gonzales is optimistic that support for the bill would grow when the House votes on it on third reading on Monday, December 17.

“What is important is the third reading vote. It will be faster because the explanation of vote would come at the end. Now with the second reading done, votes are already recorded. It would be more difficult to change your vote. You will only look at those who voted yes on second reading to show up on third reading, and those who did not cast their vote,” he added.

But even if the House approves the bill, the measure would only be passed by the 15th Congress if the Senate also approves its version next week.

With a report from Jefferson Antiporda


http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/385564/unfortunate-and-tragic

‘Unfortunate And Tragic’
Despite RH Bill’s Approval, Church And Supporters Not Giving Up
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and BEN R. ROSARIO
December 13, 2012, 6:32pm
MANILA, Philippines --- Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is not about to give up the Church’s commitment to defend the sanctity of life and family even after the House of Representatives approved early yesterday morning the Reproductive Health (RH) bill on second reading.
“This vote leads us to further commit the Church, specifically the Archdiocese of Manila, to the service of the poor, of the family, of women, of infants and children,” said Tagle, who described the approval of the RH bill as “unfortunate and tragic.”
Cardinal Tagle stressed these when he left yesterday for Vietnam to attend the General Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
Oppositors to House Bill 4244 see a ray of hope among the 67 congressmen who were absent during Wednesday’s grueling 10-hour plenary session that saw 220 solons voting – 113 for, 104 against, and 3 abstention for the second reading approval of the measure.
Religious leaders and their congressmen supporters said the presence of the 67 absentees in the third reading vote tentatively scheduled Tuesday may change the second reading decision, but only if President Benigno S. Aquino III’s government will not resort to arm twisting tactics in retaining a status quo.
But President Aquino urged the Catholic Church to verify the facts before accusing his administration of using the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in lobbying for the passage of the RH bill.
Aquino said he would like to invite the Catholic prelates to check on the PDAF releases.
Tagle flew to Ho Chi Minh City together with other prelates a day after the RH bill moved a step closer to passage, with the close vote in the House.
But instead of losing spirit, Tagle got a big boost of confidence that they will make some measure of success on their pro-life stance and leave a more lasting impact.
“We will work harder to promote the sanctity of human life and of the human person, the integral education of the youth, the access of the poor to social and medical services, the preservation of the true meaning of marriage, and stewardship of creation,” Tagle said.
“We call on all Filipinos to work towards healing, and journey together humbly and justly as children of God,” he added.
Despite the RH bill’s approval, Tagle acknowledged the efforts of anti-RH lawmakers and supporters in joining their uphill battle against the measure.
“We thank and commend the Representatives of Congress, the Church people, organizations and citizens who worked hard and tirelessly in a variety of ways to expose the flaws of the RH bill, to form consciences and to contribute to the search for the common good,” said Tagle.
Apart from the Manila archbishop, other prelates also had mixed feelings and reactions.
In the Diocese of Balanga in Bataan province, Bishop Ruperto Santos echoed the same position of Tagle.
“The fight is not yet over,” Santos said as he vowed to continue “to inform the people, pray harder for their enlightenment and be touched by God.”
He added that they “will not be discouraged (by the passage of the Reproductive Health bill on second reading) and go on resisting it.”
Jaro Archbishop and former CBCP President Angel Lagdameo said, “whatever is God’s will will be done, whoever wins or whoever loses, God’s will will be done.”
Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado asked the faithful to be more vigilant and responsive to the ways of the Holy Spirit in the spirit of Advent.
He said, “the Holy Spirit can transform (initial) setbacks into more lasting and life-giving though surprising outcome,” adding that “we continue the struggle for life.”
For Puerto Princesa Bishop Pedro D. Arigo, he described the exercise as “money over principles, convenience over morality.”
“We have to do a lot of forming informed and correct conscience,” the prelate said.
Antipolo City Bishop Gabriel Reyes, together with Cagayan de Oro City Rufus Rodriguez, decried the alleged pressure exerted by Malacañang on lawmakers in order to guarantee support for the bill during the historic plenary vote.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas and presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda made their presence felt in the Lower Chamber as congressmen conducted nominal voting on the measure.
“What they did is unfair. We cannot win with Malacañang using the powers of the government, many were pressured by the presence of the Cabinet men,” lamented Reyes, who was among the ten officers of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines who watch the voting from the plenary hall gallery.
Rodriguez appealed to Malacañang to “play fair”, saying that the executive department should have observed courtesy by keeping away from the Lower House.
“If they (Cabinet officials) were not here we would have won. Maraming nawala sa amin,” Rodriguez said.
Nevertheless, the anti-RH camp noted that despite the alleged pressures and the dangling of “pork barrel” funds by the Aquino government, the vote remained “close.”
However, the Church is equally being accused of threatening to campaign against congressmen supportive of the measure when they seek another bid for public office next year.
Reyes denied the accusations, saying that they will only give the faithful guidance on which candidate to support but the guidelines will be based on characters of bets who have high moral standards and those that do not threaten the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
The House leadership was also taken to task for allowing the explanation of votes to precede the nominal voting, with one of its allies saying that the move is “unusual.”
An administration congressman who requested anonymity said this “plenary floor tactic” allowed a slow pacing for the registration of votes and gave Malacañang and the House leaders’ time to further pressure solons into changing their anti-RH stance while waiting for their turn to vote. (With a report from Madel Sabater Namit)

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