(A Public Forum on House Bill 5043)

In 1956, the Rizal Bill was passed by the House and Senate. With President Ramon Magsaysay’s sign, this bill became a law now known as the Republic Act 1425. This was implemented despite the vehement opposition of the church. Fifty-five years after, the Catholic Church is faced with another legislative battle – the RH Bill. Series of dialogues and hearings were made to prove the merits of this bill to the community.

To address the issue of our time FEU – East Asia College, together with Radyo Veritas and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), organized an RH Bill Forum on March 16, 2011 at the 9th Floor Mini Auditorium of the Technology Building. The event, which was intended to inform the audience of the stance of the opposing sides, was hosted by the veteran announcer Ms. Angelique Lazo-Mayuga and the College’s Junior IT student Mr. Jordan Vincent Ronquillo. Present for the anti-RH Bill side were Rev. Teodoro Bacani and Rep. Milagros Magsaysay while live via phone patch were the pro-RH legislators, Rep. Edcel Lagman and Rep. Arlene Bag-ao. Each speaker was given fifteen minutes to raise his point followed by an open forum wherein the audience had the chance to ask questions to the speakers.

With population being the main reason for this bill, the pro-bill speakers highlighted the overpopulation issues of the country that directly affect our economy. They emphasized the norm of women giving birth “too young, too old, too many or too soon” that leads to death and some diseases. The growing number of people with STDs was also pointed out as well as the relation of poverty with overpopulation. The anti-bill speakers, on the other hand, asserted the stand of the Church pointing that the bill will violate its teachings on moral grounds. To add, they emphasized that the way the government addresses the population is the real problem and not the population per se. They cited the misallocation of funds which the government spends on pills and condoms than on the basic needs and services, as examples.

While both sides were struggling for this legislative battle, the forum became a good venue for citizens, especially the students who will be the future leaders, officers and rulers of the country, to ponder over the advantages and disadvantages that this bill may bring. A forum such as this is FEU – East Asia College’s way of equipping the iTamaraws with up-to-date and non-biased information about the current events in our society.