RH Bill: Is it now implemented by a UN agency?

Technically speaking, the Christmas season is still with us until Sunday, Jan. 8, but today, the Sinulog Festival officially kicks off with the nine-day novena mass in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño at the Basilica del Sto. Niño. I have always believed the blessings that have been bestowed to us Cebuanos came from our devotion to the Holy Child Jesus, which starts at the beginning of the New Year. All the more that we need God’s blessings for the Year 2012 which we approach with guarded optimism.     

Today is also our 35th wedding anniversary. My wife Jessica and I are indeed blessed to have our children with us and have very lovable grandchildren, whom we all believe are God’s gift to a happy family. We cannot and should not diminish the importance of the family unit which God ordained and which our constitution protects. It is for this reason why I am staunchly against the proposed Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III is hell-bent on pushing, making him not much different from King Herod, who allowed the holy innocents to die.

Speaking of the RH Bill, I was totally appalled by a report I read from the Inquirer that said that the Manila office of the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) came up with a proposal to allocate some US$ 1.76 million (P77 Million) to address the “reproductive health needs of displaced populations, as well as the monitoring, prevention and containment of possible outbreak of disease.” This was targeting the displaced families who were victims of Typhoon Sendong.

That Inquirer report reveals the reality that the UN attached agencies just want to pursue its own abortion agenda even if the Philippines has not yet approved the RH Bill. As the report says, “The Manila office of Ocha launched the “Philippines (Mindanao) Humanitarian Action Plan 2012,” which aims to raise at least US$28.6 million (about P1.26 Billion) for the immediate needs of the Northern Mindanao flood victims. The funds are intended to “provide clean food, drinking and bathing water, emergency shelter and essential household items to 471,000 worst-affected people in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities for three months according to Ocha Resident coordinator Dr. Soe Nyunt-U.”

There’s no doubt that if you lost a family member, especially children, due to the flash floods that devastated Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and Dumaguete City and are still able to have children, chances are, you will try to have more children to replace the ones who perished in the flood.

I’m writing this piece because many of the thousands that perished in that flood were small children. But we know that making babies is not the priority of the victims of Typhoon Sendong. Someone ought to tell the UN Ocha officials that the priority of the displaced people now living in the evacuation centers is not to have sex with their partners and make babies… rather their priority is to put a roof on top of their heads or look for a job.

Clearly we can see the not-so-hidden agenda of this UN agency … that it will pursue its own Reproductive Health program regardless whether the Philippines reject the RH Bill or not! What surprises me is that the Catholic hierarchy in Cagayan de Oro, under Arch. Ledesma, seems to be mum about this concern. Could there be some truth about the rumors I’ve been getting that the clergy in CDO is actually supporting the RH Bill? If so, could it be the reason why the UN Ocha is so bold to implement this RH program in CDO? Let’s hear it from the Archdiocese in CDO!

What I also would like to know is whether or not Malacañang has knowledge about this UN Ocha program? Given the reality that Pres. PNoy is so eagerly and impatiently pushing for the passage of the RH bill under his Regime, who knows the UN Ocha officials may just have the imprimatur from Pres. PNoy to start this program as a way to test the waters on how the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would react to this?

At this point, I’m calling upon our friends from the Task Force for Family and Life (TFFL) and the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and our political leaders, starting with Gov. Gwen Garcia, especially her father Rep. Pablo Garcia, who should be calling for a congressional investigation into this highly-questionable program. Just because they carry the name of the United Nations (UN), it should not be a carte blanche approval that they can do anything in our country. The official based in Manila Dr. Soe Nyunt-U is not even Catholic … which is also a factor because of our different cultural and religious beliefs.

What we are seeing here is the full implementation of the RH bill by the UN Ocha even before the RH Bill is passed into law. So where is the voice from the CBCP? Maybe we should remind the CBCP about that old saying, “For evil to triumph, it is enough for good men to do nothing!”

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