Manila, Philippines - Other religions not only Catholics are also against the Reproductive Health Bill, said an official (Pampanga Abp Paciano Aniceto) of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). ''This is not the fight only of Catholics. The Muslims, they are also against it not to mention the Evangelicals, and the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum, they are against it,'' CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life chairman and Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto said in an interview. This, he said, is the more reason why President Benigno Aquino III should rethink his position to push for the controversial bill. Aniceto said being elected by a pre-dominantly Catholic population makes Aquino responsible in hearing their opinions on the much-debated bill. ''There is no Catholic party but there is a Catholic vote. The one who placed him there as president is the majority... and the majority are Catholics,'' he said.
''Since he is the President of the whole country, he represents the vision of the whole Philippines, therefore he should respect the sentiments, convictions, and religious beliefs of the majority,'' added Aniceto. Last week, Malacanang stood by its pro-RH stand saying it is not responsible to the ''demands'' of the CBCP since Aquino is the president of all Filipinos and not only of Catholics. In the Philippines, about 80 percent belong to the Roman Catholic Church while another 10 percent belong to other Christian denominations. Between 5 to 10 percent, on the other hand, of the population are Muslims.
The CBCP is pushing only for the natural family planning method believing that the RH bill is an anti-life program since it subtly promotes abortion.
