Canlas, Alexandria E.

RZL110_OL54 ` Aug 26, 2020

The Philippines is predominantly a Catholic country. We Filipinos value our faith, and
most of us are conservatives. It is clear that if something steps on our beliefs we want to make
things right. The issue of the RH bill, divorce, and the death penalty has been opposed by the
church like the case of the Rizal Bill. Catholics see these issues as a threat to their beliefs and
faith.
The Rizal bill now Rizal Law (Republic Act 1425) aims schools, universities, and
colleges to require the reading of Rizal’s life and works. The goal of the Rizal bill is for Filipinos
to develop their national dignity, pride, and for them to learn from the past. They seek that
everyone should know and learn from Rizal’s works and for it to serve as an inspiration to be
more nationalistic. The position of the church against this bill is that they fear that reading
Rizal’s novels particularly Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo may influence views about
their religion. They fear that people might lose faith because Rizal’s novels violate religious
freedom. Opposing the Rizal bill was Senator Rodrigo, Rosales, and Cuenco they state that
majority of the people in our country are Catholics and compulsion to read something against
their conviction was no different from a requirement to salute a flag. They argued about the
relationship between the church and the state might be affected by this bill because it affects
religious freedom.
The RH bill or “Reproductive Health Bill” aims to provide free information and health care
services to Filipinos to enable them to plan their families. The growth of the rates of teenage
pregnancy and HIV-AIDS cases is rising. The main arguments of the proponents of the bill
contend that high population growth is the main cause of our poverty and therefore we must
control it. The church views sex education as immorality, it is a sin, and passing this bill means
they are encouraging immorality. The church fears that if the RH bill will pass, death bill will
follow next. Reproductive health advocates are fighting for the rights of the people who are
sexually abused. The bill violates freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.
Our country values family and marriage, the Catholic church opposes passing the
divorce bill because it could harm the institution. The divorce bill married couples may end their
marriage for several reasons, including abuse, infidelity, and irreconcilable differences. The
reason why the church opposes this bill is that they believe that marriage is a sacred thing and
divorce is a way to end it easily.
The restoration of death penalty is an issue that is being revived by the current
government and the church has been opposing this bill because they believe that a man can
change and death is not the answer. And also, death bill would violate international laws. The
current justice system in our country as we know it has not been reformed lately. Death penalty
also shows that the people in higher positions have power over the poor or people below them.

We Filipinos respect the church and its teachings. We also value life and our history.
The debate on these issues continues because it tests our morality and our faith. The
involvement of the church in the political sphere it means that we need to weigh things that
would benefit the majority and it would not violate the rights of the people. The church has their
reasons why they chose to speak about what they believe. The catholic objection towards the
Rizal bill, divorce, death penalty, and RH bill means that the church can freely exercise their civil
rights and obligations as citizens of the country.