Manila (AsiaNews) –The Filipino Church unequivocally condemns and expresses its total opposition to the draft bill on population management, this according to an official press release signed by the President of Filipino Bishops' Conference, Mgr. Fernando R. Capalla, Archbishop of Davao.

"The Church calls on the government to attend to its own sphere of responsibility" uprooting corruption and poverty before "attacking the sanctity of every Filipino family's home." For the Church, the "two-child policy is neither necessary, nor beneficial or practicable."

Congressman Edcel Lagman introduced the "Reproductive Health Act" to Congress some weeks ago. Also known as the "two-child bill" the bill purportedly promotes family planning practices that would limit family size to two children. Such practices include economic incentives to couples for having only two children as well as tax exemption for manufacturers of contraceptives.

In the press release Archbishop Capalla calls the underlying logic of the bill "simplistic" for it assumes that "our growing population is the cause of our nation's poverty and that we just have too many people for our scarce resources."

According to the archbishop the roots of poverty in the country are found elsewhere. They include, among others, "widespread graft and corruption in government, poor quality of basic services in education and health, unjust and inequitable distribution of land and other natural resources, massive unemployment, and the burden of servicing an onerous foreign debt."

The "two-child policy", Archbishop Capalla argues, "is but a thinly-veiled coercive system that infringes on the freedom of conscience and the natural right of couples to choose the number of children they want."

Here is the full text of the press release signed by Archbishop Capalla:

"Over the last few weeks, much public discussion has centred on a 'two-child policy' proposed in Congress. The draft bill proposes, among other things, to limit the size of families to two children. This proposal presumes that our growing population is the cause of our nation's poverty and that we just have too many people for our scarce resources.

"A better quality of life where poverty is eradicated is something we all desire. It is too simplistic, however, to presuppose that this can only be achieved by reducing our population through legislation.

"The roots of poverty in our society are multifaceted and go much deeper than the growing population. They include, among many others, widespread graft and corruption in government, poor quality of basic services in education and health, unjust and inequitable distribution of land and other natural resources, massive unemployment, and the burden of servicing an onerous foreign debt.

"The Church asks the government to attend to its own sphere of responsibility first, before attacking the sanctity of every Filipino family's home. The 'two-child policy' goes against our constitutional provision that safeguards the welfare of every family. It is discriminatory and penalizes the poor who have greater need for government assistance.

It also leads to the entrenchment of a 'contraceptive-abortive mentality' that goes counter to promoting a culture of life, and many eventually bring about a 'demographic winter' as has already been happening in many developed countries.

"In the end, the "two-child policy" is a thinly-veiled coercive system that infringes on the freedom of conscience and the natural right of couples to choose the number of children they want.

"The Church has consistently taught that married couples should exercise responsible parenthood and should be able to support adequately every child that is born into the family. Responsible parenthood is the empowerment of the couples to use their inviolable liberty wisely and responsibly, taking into account social and demographic realities as well as their own situations and legitimate desires in the light of objective moral criteria.

"The Church is also ready to work together with government in attacking the root causes of poverty and to ensure genuine development for people. A 'two-child policy' is not necessary, not beneficial, and not practicable. (LF)