VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4], 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 01:08:27 11/28/12 Wed
Author: IMRD
Subject: Nov. 25-26, 2012 news

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2012/11/26/873679/cbcp-warns-pro-rh-bets-catholic-vote

CBCP warns pro-RH bets of Catholic vote
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 26, 2012 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged yesterday the faithful to use the “Catholic vote” to choose pro-life candidates in the May 2013 senatorial and local elections.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, former vice chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said it is high time that Filipinos exercise their religious beliefs in rejecting candidates who are not following the Church’s teachings.
“If there is a candidate who does not follow Church teachings, we should reject this candidate. We must use the Catholic vote and show them what the real Catholic is. There are fake Catholics here, they are the ones ruling in our country,” the prelate said in Filipino.
Proponents of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill, including Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, believe there is no such thing as a “Catholic vote.”
“We can only stop ethnic cleansing, contraceptive mentality, immorality, increasing number of broken families, and promiscuity if we vote for candidates who love life,” Arguelles said.
Arguelles also said the “ethnic cleansing” being promoted by some officials can be countered via a Catholic vote.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
“They are doing ethnic cleansing that’s why they are pushing (RH) bill in our country. They want to eliminate us,” the prelate said.
The RH bill, which promotes both the artificial and natural methods of family planning, is still pending in both houses of Congress.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in their respective periods of amendment for the controversial RH bill. The CBCP earlier said it will endorse candidates who are pro-life.
In an interview with dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the State does not meddle in those kinds of things and they are not in a position to comment.
The Catholic Church has maintained a hardline stance to oppose the RH bill.
Last September, CPCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life chairman Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes said that the Church remains firm in its stand that all the provisions in both Senate Bill 2865 and HB 4244 or the Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Development bill are against natural moral law.
“We already gave the amendments to the congressman who are agreeing to the position of the Church. The amendments that we are going to give should not include provisions of the Senate bill and the Congress bill that are against natural moral law,” he said.
The Church, Reyes said, will not go into any compromise regarding the provisions.
Reyes said the country should not listen to what the United Nations dictates – which is to legalize abortion and control the country’s population.
A house divided
Arguelles also revealed that opposition to the controversial RH Health bill is the reason why several lawmakers have been skipping plenary sessions in the past days.
“They don’t want to vote against life. They don’t want the RH bill to be rammed down their and our throats, especially by foreign powers out to eliminate our nation and our race,” he said, adding that foreign powers and the rich people want to impose the RH bill to eliminate the poor and the weak.
“They pretend to think of the poor but they are against the poor,” Arguelles said.
“Let us open our eyes. The Philippines does not need this law. The enemies of our country do,” the prelate said.
Arguelles that said instead of allocating funds for RH Bill, the Philippine government should increase investment in the education sector and provide more jobs to Filipinos.
The RH bill has stalled at the House plenary for almost four months after the lower chamber decided to end debates on the proposed measure last August. The Senate has already begun introducing amendments to its version of the RH bill.
The Lower House, however, has failed to tackle amendments due to privilege speeches by lawmakers opposing the measure, and due to the lack of quorum.
Last week, the lower chamber adjourned for three straight days due to lack of quorum.
•
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/383102/no-quorum-on-rh-bill
No Quorum On RH Bill
Lawmakers ‘Don’t Want To Vote Against Life,’ Says Prelate
By LESLIE ANN G. AQUINO
November 25, 2012, 7:38pm
MANILA, Philippines --- The lack of quorum in the House of Representatives is due to the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, according to a Catholic prelate.
Lipa Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said yesterday he is convinced that the reason some lawmakers are not attending the plenary session is their opposition to the bill.
“They don’t want to vote against life. They don’t want the RH bill to be rammed down their and our throats especially by foreign powers out to eliminate our nation and our race,” he said in an interview.
The former vice-chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (CBCP-ECFL) said foreign powers and the rich want to impose the RH bill to eliminate the poor and the weak.
“They pretend to think of the poor but they are against the poor,” said Arguelles.
“Let us open our eyes. The Philippines do not need this law. The enemies of our country do,” he added.
Arguelles said these foreign powers do not give what the poor people really need such as education and work, for fear of Filipinos becoming stronger and powerful than them.
To recall, the House adjourned for three straight days due to lack of quorum last week. The lower chamber also had to cut short the session because of lack of warm bodies on the floor.


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/312867/lawmakers-skip-rh-bill-debates-to-avoid-catholic-church-backlash-in-2013-polls

No RH vote? Politicians fear ire of local priests
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:34 am | Monday, November 26th, 2012
Tweet
This Palace official suspects one reason for the lack of quorum in the House of Representatives during deliberations on the reproductive health (RH) bill: Reelectionist lawmakers fear provoking their parish priests.
In the countryside, there is such a thing as a “Catholic vote,” and pro-RH lawmakers would rather absent themselves from the sessions than become the object of attacks from the pulpit in the run-up to the May 2013 elections, according to Secretary Manuel Mamba.
Mamba, head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, on Sunday said lawmakers were “fearful” of provoking their parish priests by appearing in the deliberations, much more by voting for the controversial measure.
“If you’re a politician, you stay out of trouble. They (the clergy) are not even the enemy. Why provoke them? By voting for the measure, you’re provoking the Catholic hierarchy,” Mamba said in a phone interview.
“The elections are near. You don’t want to create enemies. In local politics, there is a Catholic vote, especially in areas where the clergy are very influential on their flock. If the clergy are popular, they have the pulpit. They can do it every Sunday,” he added.
So, for some pro-RH lawmakers with their eyes on the midterm elections, the option is “to absent themselves” from the deliberations, said Mamba, whose office acts as middleman between Malacañang and Congress in the choice of the legislative agenda.
Lack of quorum
Mamba said President Aquino was aware of such dynamics in local politics. Being a former lawmaker himself in Cagayan province, Mamba said he “fully understood” where the lawmakers were coming from.
“It would have been much easier if it were put to a vote not too close to the elections,” he said.
The campaign for the midterm elections begins in mid-February.
The Church fiercely opposes the measure. After bold predictions by House leaders that the bill would be approved, plenary debates on the measure have bogged down for lack of quorum.
Lawmakers either skip sessions or leave after the roll call. Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said most of the absentees were supporters of the measure.
Abortion, promiscuity
The RH bill would provide couples with information on family planning approaches, including modern contraception methods that the Church opposes. It would also widen reproductive health education in schools and government health centers.


http://www.tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/7355-bishop-threatens-%E2%80%98catholic%E2%80%99-vote-vs-pro-rh-legislators

Bishop threatens ‘Catholic’ vote vs pro-RH legislators
• Written by Pat C. Santos
• Monday, 26 November 2012 00:00
• font size decrease font size increase font size
• Print
• Be the first to comment!
Rate this item
•
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
(1 Vote)
The Catholic hierarchy will not hesitate to overstep the boundary dividing Church and State on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, warning legislators that priests will use the pulpit to campaign against candidates who voted for the enactment of the bill in next year’s elections.
CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life vice chairman Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said millions of devotees should prove their being a true Catholic by rejecting the pro-RH bill legislators in the 2013 mid-term elections.
Arguelles said Catholics, who comprise nearly 85 percent of the population, should vote “according to the commandment of God.”
The bishop said the elections would be the time when Catholics should make a stand by rejecting candidates “who will not abide by the law of God.”
Arguelles added that devotees should make the supporters of the RH bill feel the Catholic stand in the coming elections to make them regret in belittling the so-called “Catholic vote.”
The Church have never been a factor during recent elections in the country since most Filipinos believe that priests should not be dipping their hands into politics.
The only way to avoid the “ethnic cleansing,contraceptive mentality, the deterioration of morality, destruction of family and promiscuity in the Philippines” is when the people elect candidate who love and values life and not the destruction of it, according to Tagle.
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, said the RH bill is “ripe” for vote at the Senate.
”The RH bill is ripe for a vote. We have debated long enough. We’re ready to vote,” Marcos said on radio.
However, Marcos remains uncertain whether or not the controversial measure would get enough affirmative vote from the 23 senators.
“There is no assurance that it would get enough vote but I think, we are ready to vote for this bill,” he said.
Marcos also expressed doubt whether the bill would get enough vote at the House of Representatives due to the upcoming 2013 mid-term national and local elections.
”What I’ve learned was that some of the authors have already withdrawn their support because of the election. That’s the reality in our politics. If you’re candidates, it would be really difficult to oppose the church,” he said.
Marcos said he would personally vote for the passage of the RH bill which is already in the period of amendments in the Senate.
”I’m supporting the bill specially our lady sponsors,” Marcos said, referring to Senators Pia Cayetano and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, co-sponsors of the Senate Bill 2865 or An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development.
Last week, Cayetano expressed optimism that the RH bill would get at least 12 affirmative votes as she promised to exhaust all remedies to submit to vote the measure within the 15th Congress.
Cayetano is facing difficulties in sponsoring the bill on the floor as no less than Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Seante Majority Leader Vicente Sotto have openly expressed their opposition for the bill’s passage.
Last Monday, Enrile presented first five of the 17 amendments he would want to insert on the bill.
Enrile promised to continue presenting his remaining amendments after the Senate has finished the plenary debates on the proposed P2.006-trillion national budget for 2013.
Meanwhile, Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio said senators and congressmen do not have the capability nor competency to determine when life begins in reference to the hotly debated topic on conception that is the focus of the current debates on the RH bill.
Bishop Gregorio however said that he is praying for those who are pushing for the RH bill that they will change or be converted and stand up for giving value to life.
The bishop believes that those who donot value life will not receive gods blessings particularly in the afterlife.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.