Palace’s anti-student remark provokes angry CBCP riposte

By Macon Ramos-Araneta | Posted on September 02, 2012 | 12:01am | 646 views

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The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Saturday denounced President Aquino’s reproductive health bill in front of hundreds of Catholic educators.

CBCP president Archbishop Jose Palma, labeling the bill as a population control agenda, students should not be controlled to address poverty and the shortage of textbooks and classrooms.

Palma said he felt sad when the administration would consider it a big problem that we have many students.

“I thought we believe that they are not a big problem because we see in them the solution,” he said in his sermon during a Mass, which ended the three-day Catholic Education Association of the Philippines’ annual convention at the SMX Center in Pasay City.

“In education, we give premium to the youth because they are rich, perhaps, not so much economically but given time and in the future certainly they are our best asset,” he said.

Palace spokesmen did not react to the latest tirade by the bishop. The long-pending RH bill, recently certified by Mr. Aquino as priority measure, has reached the period of amendment that would pave the way for its approval but it was being stalled by a crimious debates in Congress.

The archbishop said that he was disappointed upon hearing the President’s solution to poverty and problems in the education sector.

Instead of putting the blame on the young people, they should be recognized as a positive force for economic and social development, he said.

“They are not exclusively a problem to be solved,” he said.

Around 1,500 officials of Catholic school from across the country attended the convention where they discussed issues of the day including the RH bill, K to 12 program and legal concerns affecting private education.

Palma also scored the mandatory sex education provision under the proposed RH bill, which requires a large-scale government funding to promote the use of artificial contraceptives.

“We usually say, please, more God and less sex in the sense of you know… we know how many (people) would like to introduce sex education as early as Grade 4 or whatever. We thought of why not Word of God,” he said.

He likewise emphasized the purpose of Catholic education which is to evangelize and the formation of the young generation.

“I also would like to underline that it is important to remember that the education we give is not just information but above all, formation. It is in this regard that even doctrines of the Catholic education would tell us that the role of the teachers is indeed important,” he said.

“May all schools, as well, help mold people to become truly people of great faith and people who will become assets to the community and saints in the future because we are there to journey with them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III said the last part of his ‘turno en contra’ will focus on other issues like population control and statistics involved, the so-called economic impact of population control.

“But I have already mentioned the explosive issues. But instead of answering the explosive points that I have raised like the revelation of a group which has been receiving huge funding to push for the RH bill, it turned out to be a hatchet job against me. Many of these groups are endorsing or resorting to abortion,” he said.

Sotto said he remained confident that he has the majority of the senators on his side in opposing the controversial RH bill.