MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said Tuesday it will sit down with Church officials for a dialogue on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill in a bid to settle differences regarding family planning – a measure the Aquino administration strongly supports to control the booming population. Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, in a press briefing Tuesday, said the dialogue will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the Pope Pius Center on United Nations (UN) Avenue in Manila.
“We’re discussing the health and the legal issues… for the first dialogue,” Lacierda said.
He, however, said President Benigno S. Aquino III will not attend the dialogue.
Expected to be part of the government panel are Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Chief Julia Abad, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.
“On the part of the Church, I have no information yet who their representatives will be,” Lacierda said. He, however, said Bishop Chito Tagle of Imus, Cavite and Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan are expected to attend the dialogue.
According to Lacierda, the Palace is hoping that the dialogue will answer both parties’ positions on the RH bill as well as to where the reservations of the Catholic Church are coming from “both in the medical and legal point of view.”
Both parties had earlier agreed to meet between December 7 and 15 to discuss the RH bill. Initial discussions, however, had been held between the Executive Branch and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in November, particularly on the guidelines and framework of the issue.
Madel Sabater, Manila Bulletin
