MANILA, Philippines -- President Benigno Aquino III on Sunday said he is firm in his conviction to have the responsible parenthood bill passed despite threats from some sectors to have him excommunicated.
“My conviction is firm to have the responsible parenthood bill passed,” he said in his speech during the 100th general commencement exercises of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
“I am aware there are sectors opposed to this. But I have an obligation as a leader to dialog with all sectors and to calmly explain our position to them, even if some have been calling for my excommunication.”
“We have to listen to all people even if a lot have observed that their minds are already closed. But in the end, I have to decide. I have to follow my own conscience and I have to do what is right,” the President added.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines last month resumed its dialog with the Palace on the responsible parenthood bill since Church leaders unilaterally withdrew from the meeting on Feb. 20.
The responsible parenthood bill is widely seen as a watered down version of the reproductive health bill.
At the House of Representatives, authors of the reproductive health bill have agreed to amend several provisions of the measure’s consolidated version, including the introduction of a paragraph in the bill making sex education optional.
House Minority Floor Leader Edcel Lagman, one of the proponents of House Bill 4244 or the consolidated RH bill, said he and his co-authors have agreed to give parents the option whether or not their children will attend sex education classes.
The amendment will be added to Section 16 of the consolidated version of the bill when the House resumes sessions after its Lenten break.
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