Finally, we won the war against the RH Law!

Have you ever wondered what ever happened to the cases filed before the Supreme Court on the legality of the implementation of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law? Well, last Sunday amidst the noise from those seeking to oust Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s with his “Hitler” remarks (which we already know was clearly a deliberate effort to misquote his statements to make him look bad in the eyes of the world) I found this piece of good news sent to me by my good friend, Engr. Douglas Gacasan, Head of our Task Force for Family and Life (TFFL) who were in the trenches during the battle to stop the approval of the RH Bill. So that this issue is crystal clear to our readers, I’m reprinting this letter in full.

“Dear Friends: I am posting an excerpt from Atty. Noche’s letter on the latest Supreme Court Decision: We are very pleased to inform you that the Philippine Supreme Court in a Decision dated August 24, 2016 DENIED the Motion to Lift the TRO filed by the Office of the Solicitor General. Legally, therefore, there can be NO FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RH LAW.

The Supreme Court likewise declared as VOID all the certifications and re-certifications issued by the FDA of some 77 contraceptive drugs and devices, including Implanon and Implanon NXT, for having been done without the observance of the basic tenets of due process. The FDA, therefore, has been directed to conduct public hearings to determine whether contraceptive drugs and devices are abortifacient or non-abortifacient and are safe.

The Supreme Court ordered that in the conduct of these hearings, the cardinal principles of due process (notice, public hearing, substantial evidence, etc.) will have to be observed. Further the Supreme Court emphasized that the standards to be applied are those laid out in its earlier decision, specifically, those which do not harm or destroy life of the unborn from conception to fertilization and that all reasonable doubts shall be resolved in favor of the protection and preservation of the right to life of the unborn from conception to fertilization.

The FDA is further directed to formulate rules of procedure to govern the public hearings and for the DOH to formulate rules and guidelines to govern the purchase and distribution/dispensation of reproductive products and supplies, for review of the Supreme Court. Also, a complete list of reproductive health programs and services that will be conducted will have to be generated by DOH for the information and guidance of all concerned.

Please share the good news to family and friends, and help spread the correct information. But most important, please continue to be VIGILANT!

Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Let’s all keep the faith!”

Let’s face the facts… that we Filipinos even with the feeble shepherding by our church leaders, are still very much entrenched in their Catholic faith and culture; this is why many of us in the Lay movement and in fairness to the active clergy fought long and hard to prevent the passage of the RH Law. But after two decades of trying… the RH Bill finally became a law under the Aquino Regime when the Liberal Party (LP) was its strongest.

But our TFFL group although small (but we are in a way many from the different diocese from all over the nation) but we have kept the faith against overwhelming odds and the monolith that used to be the Liberal Party (LP) getting the proper advise from Scripture specifically in 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. 10 Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

After a long drawn battle against determined (and well-paid) supporters of the RH Bill, on December 21, 2012 without any fanfare (as if he was ashamed to make a victorious boast) Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III signed Republic Act No. 10354 into law as if he was giving a Christmas gift to the Catholic Church in a final insult! Then this was confirmed by the House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzalez II on Dec. 28, I think it was Holy Innocents Day when this law was confirmed… and the Philippines entered the Year 2013 with a law that was passed with a dark cloud hovering over the nation. While it was a sad time for those of us who fought for the unborn, we still had one card to play… that’s the Supreme Court card and last Sunday when I got this letter… I was nearly in tears… that our Supreme Court has upheld our constitution to save lives. Thank you Supreme Court Justices!

Today we live in the midst of hypocrisy with US Pres. Barack Obama or the UN Human Rights commission chastising Pres. Duterte for the extra judicial killings happening in our land. Yet millions of unborn babies in the US are aborted because the Liberals insist that these babies cannot avail of protection from Human Rights. But animals have more rights than babies!

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