Christians and Muslims against the "two-child" bill in Manila
Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) Some 10,000 people marched in Manila against the 'Responsible Parenthood and Population Management Act', also known as the 'two-child' bill.
The bill, which has already been approved by a committee of the Filipino Congress, provides economic incentives to couples who choose to have only two children and funds for a vast promotional campaign on the use of contraceptives. It also includes fines and jail for those who oppose population control measures.
Urged by several pro-life groups, thousands of Filipino citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, including many young people, took to the streets of the capital on Saturday calling on Congress to reject the 'Ligtas Buntis' (safe pregnancy) bill.
Filipino Bishops have said the bill "is a violation of the privacy and autonomy of couples and families". By contrast, for the bill's backers, population control is the only means to lift people out of poverty and misery.
Archbishop Mariano Aniceto, chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, insisted that "poverty was not a result of overpopulation but of wrong economic prioritization."
Councillor Grepor 'Butch' Belgica also said the problem of the economy is not the number of people, but the low rate of productivity caused by corruption, including political corruption.
In his view, too much population control could have dire consequences for the future of the nation.
"If there [are] more people working, the country will have more earnings. More people working is actually the result of higher productivity, but if there is a small number of people working for a bigger number, then it will result in a depressed economy," the councillor added.
Manila Mayor Jose 'Lito' Atienza Jr, a well-known pro-lifer, was among the protesters. "I cannot in conscience agree to a measure that would brainwash people into thinking that the solution to poverty is population control," he said. "It is just an alibi for failure of the government. Effective governance, anchored on positive values, is what is needed to genuinely address the problem".
Mayor Atienza added that the 'two-child' bill was a "tool promoting abortion and a culture of death". (LF)
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