Final Words

                After thirty-five blogs, I think I think I can now say that I have run out of words to say about the Reproductive Health Bill. With this last blog, I would probably summarize everything I have said about the R.H. Bill over the past seven weeks. I will attempt to summarize everything I have said as simple as possible and in five hundred words. I will say what I now think about the Reproductive Health Bill. Honestly, it’s quite tiring to write thirty-five blogs. So I am actually relieved that this argument is about to come to an end for me.

                The Reproductive Health Bill controversy is an issue that has the potential to be a sophisticated argument about morality and ethics if it weren’t for the primitive reasoning the Filipino culture has attempted to defend it. The concept of ethics in this country is somewhat deluded and even hypocritical that it is hard to take any argument brought up by anyone seriously. Even the so-called “religion” that has attempted to go against the R.H. Bill is filled with nothing more than fancy words about morality that came from priests with nothing more than hot air and over-developed pride. To be a part of this argument is to subject oneself to shallow reasoning and repeated arguments that make no sense and leads to more arguments that make even lesser sense. Misconceptions also exist in the Reproductive Health Bill controversy because those who take part in this argument partly have no idea of what they are defending or trying to attack. If only better arguments were formulated about this issue then I’m sure that it would have been even more interesting.

                Although I believe that the Reproductive Health Bill should be implemented for the sake of those who are stupid enough to get knocked up at the wrong time, I no longer wish to take part in any argument about the R.H. Bill. If someone were to ask me what my side is in the future, I would simply say who gives a sh*+? R.H. Bill or no R.H. Bill, I have lost faith in the system of this country to provide any possible salvation to its people. One day we’ll improve because of some minor success brought about by a professional athlete or the decrease of the prizes of products then the next day we’ll be back in our state of lifestyle where we have to save up because everything is too expensive. The R.H. Bill issue is no different. It provides a possible relief where our country’s population might be stable for a while but in the end, we’ll all go back to our old pathetic lifestyle and our threshold of happiness would once again decrease. Now I ask you this: Is this really what everyone has been fighting about? Do you still really want to take part in an argument where the end result is a situation where nothing has really changed? Because for me, this argument has lost its importance. 

R.H. Bill in the Wizard World

            For humour, I will try to associate the concept of Reproductive Health Bill J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Actually, because of the hypnotic plot the Harry Potter series provides, readers would often miss several issues of family planning inside the book. In my opinion, the R.H. Bill should be passed not only in the muggle world but also in the wizard world. I believe that the wizard world in the Harry Potter Novel also needs the R.H. Bill because, just like us muggles, the wizard world also lacks the concept of family planning.

            The Harry Potter saga actually provides its viewers with an in-depth view of society and its problems. One of its main focuses is the obvious gap in the social hierarchy between the rich and the poor. J.K. Rowling made this distinction between social classes obvious in two wizard families namely the Weasleys and the Malfoys. The Weasleys and the Malfoys are actually a clichéd description of how families in the elite social class and families in the lower social class act based on their lifestyle and personalities.

            Think about it: the Weasleys are a family living on a minimum wage salary brought home by the father (Arthur Weasley) who works in the Ministry of Magic under the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. The Mususe of Muggle Artefacts Office was not held in high regard, it was considered by Ron to be the most boring job at the Ministry. It was located in a tiny office, apparently only staffed by Arthur Weasley and his assistant, Perkins. Percy Weasley also claimed that his father had a poor reputation because he lacked ambition and did not receive a large salary, implying that his position as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office was neither well-respected nor well-paid. Combining this to the number of children they have (7), it’s no surprise that they struggle every year in sending their sons and daughter to school. It’s also no surprise that the best school supplies they could give their children were hand-me-down robes and second-hand books. It was even said indicated in the second book (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) that they could hardly afford the expensive books required for Defence Against the Dark Arts because the author was Gilderoy Lockheart.

            Now look at the Malfoys: They hold a elite position society where Lucius Malfoy holds a respectable position in the Ministry of Magic. He also has several allies above the social class (though it was obtained through deceit and trickery). They have only one son and can afford to give him the best luxuries in life. They also have a big-ass mansion and house elves as servants.

            If you compare the two families, there is an obvious difference between the Malfoys and the Weasleys. Even though the reason why the Weasleys had so many kids was because they wanted a daughter, it still indicated a lack of family planning on their part and that was why they were struggling financially. Obviously, the R.H. Bill is also an issue in the Wizard Community because there are families in that world who lack the proper education for family planning. :P

Children As Young As 5 Should Understand The R.H. Bill

It’s been a decade since the non-stop argument about the Reproductive Health Bill but over the past year, the R.H. Bill argument has gained momentum what with the pro-R.H. Bill faction pushing for change and choice and the anti-R.H. Bill faction moving heaven and earth just to stop the progress of the argument.

            One of the attacks done by those who are against the R.H. Bill is the all “moral” question of “do you want your children as young as 5 years old to learn about sex?” Now I’ve been contemplating about whether that’s a real question or a sarcastic one. When someone asks me the question of whether children as young as 5 years old should learn about sex I would probable answer “Why not?” To be honest, I don’t really believe that the concept of sex should be kept from children because it is as natural as breathing. Why should we keep the concept of sex hidden away from children? Eventually they learn about it and start exploring anyway right? Like any overprotective and over-reacting parent, the only reason why people believe that exposing the concept of sex to children is that it risks exposing children to the reality of the world. In a sense, isn’t that the same as keeping children ignorant?

            Why should we keep the concept of sex hidden from children? Even at the young age of 5, kids do already have some questions related to gender and sex. As the kids grow older, the questions grow more mature and complicated. Do parents really want to wait up to the point where they cannot communicate with their children anymore to explain the concept of sex? True they may not fully understand sex when you explain it to them at such a young age but the least you can do is educate them that having sex at a very young age is wrong.. It’s actually the right age to teach them about what’s bad about sex at such a young age because that is when they start processing information and learning about what is right and what is wrong. Explaining sex to teenagers would be a more futile effort because by that age, they would already have their own versions of what is right and what is wrong and you are less likely to get through to them.

            The problem here is that parents try to avoid the topic of sex as much as possible because it feels too awkward talking about it with their children. But is it really a good idea to keeping hiding that information? Would you really want to wait up to the point where they’ll learn about sex from their friends until you decide to step in? Who do you think teenagers will listen to more; their parents or their friends? Unfortunately, these kids would learn about sex and reproduction through friends are often as dumb about the subject as the person they got the information from. Talk about the blind leading the blind. And it is at this point that the whole barrage of misinformation and myths start and sometimes will culminate into teen pregnancy or other complications regarding relationship with another person.

            Yes, I believe that children should be exposed to sex as early as possible. If we do that, we might just create a new culture where the concept of sex is not such a secret to everyone. It shouldn’t even be a secret because everyone does it.           

A Review On Carlos Celdran 1

One of the most noticeable moments that occurred during the Reproductive Health Bill Controversy was the memorable actions of Carlos Celdran that enraged several church officials. Last September 30, 2010, Carlos Celdran did what most of us could only hope to achieve. He a gave voice to the growing number of secularists in the country, a voice to those who are sick of the undue influence the Catholic Church holds over society. Arrested and detained for “offending the feelings of the faithful” after his daring stunt, Celdran became an overnight sensation. And we know this for a fact because his Facebook fan page skyrocketed to almost 15 thousand fans. On a more important note, this provided an avenue for people to actually have intellectual discourses regarding the issue.

            There was no doubt about it that Carlos Celdran’s actions have spiked several positive and negative opinions from the public. Here are several opinions posted by different people about Carlos Celdran’s actions:

Lino Bruce: My God! Self promotion! Plain stupidity! He should have not done that! Idol pa naman kita sa tourism industry! Gamitin mo naman utak mo! Stupid move!

Nico: He is educated which is why he did what he did. Only geniuses can pull off something like that. The Catholic Church threatened the government with civil disobedience because of PNoy’s support of informed choices of family planning and Carlos just showed them what civil disobedience looks and feels like.

Silvestre flores: Carlos is a an intellectual mand who knew the no.1 reason why the philippines is backward and poor?–He knew it well that it is the Catholic church which is the problem followed by corruption.I am sure he will get more support to AWAKENED ordinary pilipinos about the negative INFLUENCE of the church on everyday life in Philippines

Observer: Oh yeah, I’m a Catholic, and I find it extremely shameful that instead of TALKING to the man and DISCUSSING what’s wrong, which is what THE PRIESTS TAUGHT ME to do in all my years as a student in Catholic schools, the priests instead sends this guy to PRISON.
Talk about HYPOCRISY!
Talk about the message that they are sending to us!
And the Philippine Catholic Church wonders why there are so many lapsed Catholics or why we Pinoys do not take our religion seriously…
I just know that there is a group of young priests out there just itching to get heard above the zealotry of the old guard. May God give them the strength and use this incident to truly save my beloved Church.

            In this article I have attempted showed you the different opinions of people regarding his actions. In the next article I will state my own opinion about Carlos Celdran’s actions and why I admire his actions and why I consider his actions unique and creative. Though some people may call him insane and ignorant, I actually consider him different and intellectual. I will also state my opinion on why I consider those who condemn Celdran as ignorant and insane.

Source: http://www.bobreyes.com/myblog/2010/09/30/carlos-celdran-lands-in-jail/

Population Control Agenda of the R.H. Bill

Last June, 2011, a blog written by James Cordova pointed out a perspective about the Reproductive Health Bill being a means of population control. He claims that population is not the issue when it comes to poverty because it is not the lack of resources that is causing the problem; rather, it is the improper allocation of resources that is the cause of povery.

According to those who are pushing for the RH bill, we need the RH law in order to arrest the population growth of the country, a growth that is the alleged cause of the poverty that is pervasive in the Philippines. The premise of this argument – that the Philippines is poor because it has too many mouths to feed – is contentious, if not flat-out wrong.

Poverty in the Philippines is never about limited resources; it is always about who controls these resources. While it is true that cutting down the number of Filipinos would obviously mean lesser mouths to feed, the population control agenda does not address the root cause of the poverty, which is the control by the few of the country’s vast and rich resources.

The political economy of the Philippines is defined by the presence during the past century of foreign multinational and transnational corporations that turn vast tracts of land into their own plantations and fiefdoms, siphoning off profits at the expense of local communities. While this political economy has somehow evolved and changed over the decades, its main feature remains constant — a few controls the economy while the majority toil in poverty, low wages and landlessness.

                I disagree with Cordova’s opinion in disregarding overpopulation as a factor in poverty. That reason why I disagree with him is because one cannot deny that the reason why some families are so poor is because they have too many mouths to feed. Technically, one person living off a jeepney driver’s salary will be able to survive without too much hardship. The reason why he can barely get by is because he has half a dozen mouths to feed. Now, I’m not saying that the number of people in this country is the reason why we can’t rise above poverty but one certainly cannot simply disregard it and say it isn’t important.

                Cordova, however, did have some interesting points in his blog about the R.H. Bill is not supposed to be the sole solution to overpopulation because people should explore the possibility that there are other answers to poverty out there.

The population control agenda assumes that the state has done everything else it could to alleviate poverty, such as improving wages, providing jobs, providing basic services such as health care, among other needs. The truth is, it hasn’t. On the issue of wages alone, the government has toed the line of employers and big business, refusing to increase wages.

I am in favor of the RH bill only in so far as it recognizes and respects the right of the Filipino, particularly the women, to basic services, to an informed choice.

Read more: http://asiancorrespondent.com/57343/population-control-agenda-hobbles-philippines-rh-bill/

Church Should Back Off In R.H. Bill Controversy

                Lately, the Reproductive Health Bill controversy continues to heat up as more and more different ethical issues about different arguments that are connected to the R.H. Bill surfaces. Lately, even issues about same sex marriage are being brought up once again. Not only that, even issues about couples marrying in an unusual and unorthodox fashion is being attacked just for wanting a different form of wedding.

                The only reason why most of these issues are so complicated and so controversial is because of the persistent clinging of the church to old and obsolete traditions. They keep imposing their rule into this country; believing that they govern it. They also believe that they are the only religion in this country or at least they are the ones who are on top. The problem here is that they are not the only religion in this country. Our multi-cultural country is so diverse that I don’t think that the church should have that much of a say when it comes to the R.H. Bill.

Actually, just last April, It was all over the internet and press release and news programs announcing it that Iglesia ni Cristo or INC has expressed their congregation’s full support for the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill alongside with the Philippine president’s (Noynoy Aquino’s) stand. In fact, Iglesia Ni Cristo Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo said the bill needs to be passed as it is the “moral imperative” of every parent to guide their children and make sure they have food, shelter, clothing, and proper education.

Obviously, the Catholic Church has no right to counter the decision of Iglesia ni Cristo. Neither does Iglesia ni Cristo have the right to counter the decision of the Catholic Church. My point here in this argument is that the Catholic Church is not the only one who is a part of this decision and they should stop being so dominating about it.

It would actually be much simpler if this decision was simply made through the vote of each and every individual in this country instead of letting different organizations choose a side regarding the topic. That is because most of the decisions made by organizations are based on the choice of usually one individual, namely, the leader. Most of the time, decisions made by churches or any large organizations result in the group think because of the decision of the leader and the culture of the organization that it actually fails in the recognition of the values of each individual.

Undermining the decision of each individual and making organizations make the decisions for the individuals actually undermines the entire purpose of the Reproductive Health Bill because the R.H. Bill, in essence, is a choice given to each individual on how to live his/her life. I guess that even a democratic country isn’t really democratic because in the end, it’s not the people who owns the final say about this argument; it’s actually the organizations who hold the final decision in these controversies. 

Opinions About the R.H. Bill

Yesterday, I interviewed a group people who gave me their insigts about he Reproductive Health Bill. I interviewed people randomly from De La Salle University who gave me a short statement of what they think about the R.H. Bill. Most of their opinions revolve around the idea that the R.H. Bill should be a means of a population control and they also believe that it is a good way of informing the people n our country the importance of reproductive health and the properly concept of sex. Here are the opinions of the students I interviewed:

Sharmaine: There are some Christians who are ok with this country having the Reproductive Health Bill. In my opinion, I  believe that Sexually Transmitted Disease is widespread and it must be prevented. Because the age of people who have STD are getting younger and younger, I believe that this is a way of preventing it and a means of preventing overpopulation.

Sean: I am a Jesuit but I studied in Xavier when I was in high school. Jesuits priests don't really see the R.H. Bill is a bad thing. Jesuits have their own beliefs that they do not associate themselves with Catholics. The R.H. Bill is not necessarily wrong and they are ok with the R.H. Bill because most of them believe that society can benefit from that proposal. It's not that we don't value life, it's just that we believe that society has problems and it should be bounded and the solution should not be bounded or grounded by religion alone. But in my school they are against the R.H. Bill because it also incorporates the principles from the school itself Xavier is a Catholic school and because of that they are against the R.H. Bill

Raph: People should be aware of family planning. It's hard to have a lot of children because resources are scarce. It also allows parents to raise their children properly and incorporate the proper culture that allows them to also live proper lives when they grow up.

Mica: In a moral perspective, it is wrong because it encourages minors to have premarital sex. It allows children to have easier access to contraception. Although that is the problem of the R.H. Bill I believe that it is a necessary evil in order to control society so that it gives people a choice and it is also a possible solution in controlling our population that is quickly rising..

Eric: I am for the R.H. Bill because it promotes education. It is a means of population control. It allows raises awareness of people about the importance of family planning.

Anna: The R.H. Bill is a way of not only controlling the population but also alleviating poverty through proper allocation of the budget of the government.

Marik:I believe that it is about the education about the people. It is also a protection for teens so that they'll be aware because there is no way of avoiding teens from having sex. I believe that the church should just stay out of it because I believe that the separation of church and state.