Why Gibo Teodoro changed his mind on RH Bill

Wednesday, 20 January 2010 08:41 Rochelle Sy Chua

Presidential candidate Gibo Teodoro & his pretty wife, the congresswoman from the 1st district of Tarlac were once supporters of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. A few weeks ago, they changed their minds regarding the RH bill. So when the opportunity came to ask Mr. Teodoro some questions, I had to take it.

Why did Gibo change his mind regarding the RH bill?

Gibo Teodoro answered my question with authority & strong conviction. I was actually speechless throughout his reply. Now after reviewing the video that I just realized that I have several followup questions to his answer.

Gibo Teodoro said the main problem of the RH bill debate was this: Everybody got so involved with the bill & how to pass it that everybody forgot about what the actual problem was and how to fix it.

Mr. Teodoro then said that this debate is about government substituting itself as the people's moral guardians. He said it was a mistake because family planning is a personal issue. He then recounted that the Reproductive Health bill will not pass. He reasoned, what good can the RH Bill do if we fight for something knowing the effort would simply fail?

GIbo said that there are things we need to know about our population problem:

We have this problem because we have limited resources;
We have a finite quantity of land for 92M and growing population. This population we will need to feed and provide for;
There's the classic conflict between church and state. He said that we get into trouble without our moral guardians.

Then there's the classic conflict between church and state. Gibo believes that the right thing to do is to accept that the government is not the right moral guardian for personal questions.

What personal questions? Like whether to have children or not. How many children they should have and what method of contraception and family planning to use.

Gibo believes that our moral guardians must be responsible for reproductive health because it is a question of morality and a personal choice. However he thinks that moral guardians must be responsible and accountable for our population management.

Gibo Teodoro has this belief that a government's role in reproductive health is to support a couple's moral choice (not influence it). Gibo Teodoro chose to withdraw his support for the bill because he thinks that we are not dealing with the problem but we get involved only in a debate that nobody wins.

However, I think Gibo Teodoro forgets that the Church-- our moral guardians have already been in charge of our reproductive health for centuries since we have been a Catholic and very religious Country for that long. That's why we have a population problem because our moral guardians have failed. Isn't that why we are debating reproductive health today because our population problem is already an issue? So, why should we give them a chance when they have already failed?

When Gibo Teodoro mentioned that at some point, it is shown that the "experiment" is not working, then the government should step in. As I mentioned in my previous article on Reproductive Health Bill, if we don't act now, then we will double our population in 10 years. Is this the time that Gibo will start to step in? When everything is too late?

Mr. Teodoro must realize that time is not on our side. We don't have time to "experiment". We cannot pass responsibility to our moral guardians. We cannot pass responsibility of reproductive health to some future generation. If Mr. Teodoro will become the next president of the Philippines, then he needs to make a stand or else our country will be facing greater problems years from now.

Gibo’s stand on Reproductive Health Bill & Population Management is actually to do nothing & wait till everything is out of control. He does not realize though that for many families, when it comes to reproductive health & family planning, they don’t really have a real choice. Either because of lack of education regarding contraception & family planning or lack of essential tools. If our moral guardians had these education & tools then his “experiment” would suffice.

Lastly, here is a video of Presidentiable Gibo Teodoro answering my question regarding the topic:

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Nick 20 January 10, 01:43 PM

great job on asking the question during the Gibo discussion, and this article states his stance on The RH Bill and Population management perfectly.

I agree wholeheartedly with the article, and the premise that was laid out.

In effect, and I try to be as open minded about candidates' solutions as much as possible.

But if we really look at it.. he's just passing the buck on this one.. We have to call a spade a spade with this one.

He wants all responsibility passed on to the "moral guardians" of society.

Surely, he's a student of development economics, and should know that one of the solutions prescribed towards economic development, especially that of third world countries, is to be serious about the problem of population management.

He can't say he's serious about it, and then proceed to do nothing. It's a cop out, and he should be called out for it.

I'm sorry, but he may be a good guy, and I have to respect him on certain issues, just not this one.

Again, great job.

GabbyD 20 January 10, 02:00 PM

his answer doesnt make any sense.

RHbill cannot pass ==> therefore i will not support it?

sigh.

cocoy 20 January 10, 05:07 PM

i know right? that's how he will be as president i suppose?

Photoblogger 20 January 10, 02:37 PM

Personally i believe that our RH bill is still not perfect. Most of the people supporting the RH bill don't know it completely and may not even be aware of other factors that might be used against the people instead of for the people.

Maybe as of now they should work on improving the RH bill rather than passing it now.

Anathema 20 January 10, 02:52 PM

Here we go again, politicians playing safe. Knowing a million votes coming from the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is at stake, Gibo opted to answer open-endedly. RH Bill is a pressing issue now and if we don't act swiftly, we'll get the worst of its result in 10 years or so. Who is the church to dictate what is moral and immoral? It's time to draw the boundary and let these people know the separation of Church and the State exists.

cocoy 20 January 10, 05:04 PM

read between the lines 20 January 10, 05:38 PM

Teodoro is being realistic. Reproductive health in the country has been in a deadlock between church and state, that's why nothing is achieved. The way to get the goals of the reproductive health bill going is by taking the debate out of the church vs. state bind. This can be done through a backdoor approach where the government does not legislate people's moral choices, but delivers its support for reproductive health through the private sector. This is the smartest, most practical solution that satisfies both the pro and anti-RH bill camps, and achieves the objective of making information and tools for reproductive health available to those who choose to have it.

Rochelle Sy Chua 20 January 10, 05:58 PM

Good point. There has been support for reproductive health at the local clinic and by the private sector for the longest time. The issue here is that our government should take a stand. Our president should have the political will to resolve the problem. More people are in favor of the bill but our members of congress are not or are scared of the church lobby.

RH Bill is not perfect but I believe this should be revisited in such a way that could benefit the country in the long term. It is not possible to please everybody. If we continue to play it safe, then our country will not prosper.

read between the lines 20 January 10, 06:18 PM

That can be a long-term goal, but given the urgency of our population boom and how influential the Church still is, we need to have an interim solution, and that is what I like about Teodoro. He's practical and he focuses on outcomes. "Taking a stand" is pointless if it will not deliver the desired outcome. Teodoro has come up with a formula that will deliver the result that the pro-RH bill camp wants, while respecting the views of the Church and the anti-RH bill camp. He has put a win-win solution on the table that will actually allow the goals of the RH bill to move forward, while respecting the religious views of others. (By the way, I'm not Catholic and I am very pro-RH bill. That's why I was thrilled when I heard Teodoro explain a novel approach that will take reproductive health in the country out of the deadlock that it's been stuck in for years. He had a lengthier explanation about this in a TV interview. I'll try to look for the link and post it here.)

cocoy 20 January 10, 06:15 PM

read between the lines 20 January 10, 06:31 PM

I didn't say anything about church and state being inept. I'm just saying they are caught in a deadlock. They cannot agree. Teodoro's approach will break the Gordian knot. The government can funnel its support through the private sector (note this is the complete opposite of saying the private sector will be left alone to solve the problem).

You have to remember that passing the RH Bill is done through the congressmen. It is not like the President can just issue a decree and dictate it. If you have more than a hundred stubborn people in Congress, what do you do? Do you wait for them to debate for another 10 years on the RH Bill? No. You take the backdoor approach to get the goals of the RH bill met. That is the smart thing to do to get things moving.

cocoy 20 January 10, 06:41 PM

i'm just saying that there is no deadlock. the deadlock is artificial. it doesn't matter what the church says. they can say, "no we are not in favor of it."

It isn't the Church who voted our congressmen in.

We the people did.

If people say, go for it, why should our congressmen say otherwise? problem is our electoral system isn't mature enough yet to dangle that in front of our congressmen. maybe one day it will be. i dream of the day people can vote their congressmen out of office simply because they went against a law that people wanted.

imho, the smart thing to do now is for private citizens to engage their own reproductive health campaign. just do it themselves. No laws needed to get passed. No church to complain and certainly no congressmen to lobby against.

Just do it ourselves. That's the backdoor approach.

read between the lines 20 January 10, 07:02 PM

True, we are the ones who elect the congressmen, and in a perfect world, they should be representing us not the Church. Unfortunately, we have to deal with the reality that a lot of the congressmen still believe there is such a thing as a Catholic block vote. It will take a while for the congressmen to unlearn that. The good news is, there are ways around it that will be relatively acceptable to all parties, as Teodoro's approach shows.

moneyv 21 January 10, 12:30 AM

Luke Cruz 20 January 10, 06:37 PM

Kevin 20 January 10, 07:00 PM

Modern nations prosper because they mold create policies to make their society sustainable. There's no point in having a huge population and still complain about the lack of unemployment and poverty. There's more to go around if there was less people, that's just the way things work.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the government intervening to sustain the society. The government would be a failure if they allowed that to happen. When that happens, what will the church say? That they had completely nothing to do with the mess and blame the government?

read between the lines 20 January 10, 07:15 PM

I think there's no debate that the population boom is a problem that needs to be addressed. Of course the government should intervene. And there are ways for the government to address the problem without getting bogged down by endless debates in the legislature. That's the approach Teodoro is taking :)

read between the lines 20 January 10, 08:32 PM

Here's Teodoro's stand verbatim transcribed from interviews and posted on his official website (www.gibo.ph) :

"Population management is a necessary thing. However the diverseness and the acrimony between pro and con will result in nothing happening. So once and for all, we must have an honest to goodness dialogue. The RH bill minus certain punitive provisions maybe a good law. I really believe though, I’ve put it clear that abortion is out the window. I don’t support abortion whatsoever. However the incidence of a mother in an evacuation center with 10 children, 9 children, who’s gonna take care of these people? We have to give information to people and give them the resources to apply what they believe in. I may not believe in contraception. You may not believe in contraception. But other people do. And we have to give them the freedom to choose. What they want to do with themselves in an informed manner. This is not to say that religious organizations do not have a role. They have a very powerful and strong role. But not through the state. Not through the law. But in our consciences, in our souls, and in the pulpit."

cocoy 20 January 10, 08:57 PM

good that you brought that up and i hope people read it and they decide for themselves.

moneyv 21 January 10, 12:22 AM

This is a question of political will, else they're only empty campaign promises. The will to do the people right, because they NEED it, and they DESERVE IT. As far as political will goes, Gibo has only shown it when it it was expedient to his and his allies goals.

Some examples of his political will:

Davide impeachment. (Seriously, what in the hell was that??)

Kicking Ampatuan out of party, Going to Magindanao (some good that is doing now, with the star witness reversing his testimony).

Sticking by his boss' side even when she has repeatedly flaunted a complete disregard for our laws.

So I ask, will the RH bill be a priority for this guy, or will it be left forgotten by the wayside IF he takes office and starts the process of repaying his benefactors?

Kevin 21 January 10, 01:12 AM

Everyone who runs for office has benefactors. Also, officials who aren't performing are the ones who aren't corrupt. If you look at the congressmen who are close to GMA, their districts are the ones that prosper from the economic development. That is why the anti-GMA sentiment is always only in Metro Manila. Visayas and Mindanao aren't anti-GMA because she brought prosperity. Negros and Panay got new airports. There was lots of roads being built and the RORO. All this couldn't have been possible if they weren't paying some benefactors.

Now I don't care if Gibo will repay his benefactors. He will bring development and prosperity to the rest of the country in the same way GMA did. That is why Visayas and Mindanao love him and will deliver the vote he needs to win the presidency - paid or not. Last time I checked, it was 500 pesos per vote in either Visayas or Mindanao. The people outside Manila are not blind to this, it's real and it's happening that's why we still support Gibo!

Furthermore, modern society has modern forms of corruption. If you look at the US, they have tons of money being funneled into lobbying efforts and funding of different research orgs to sway public opinion. Look at what happened to the climate change data being manipulated for economic gains. All this is a form of corruption. Even Obama pays an economist to talk and to sway the healthcare bill his way without disclosing that that economist is being paid. Look at Korea and Japan, they have built huge industries because of the extremely corrupt link between the chaebols and keiretsus to the government. Heck, Samsung chairman was pardoned twice for crying out loud!

Bottomline for me, prosperity and development will come at the expense of corruption - be it straightforward or not.

Moneyv 21 January 10, 05:26 AM

Jesus, did you just really say that Gibo will win because the votes will be bought and that that's what's going to bring prosperity to the country?

How in the frigging hell do you explain the Philippines' consistent slide down the poorest countries index?

Your idea of prosperity only affects one segment of society: The same benefactors of your precious Gibo.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=531218&publicationSubCategoryId=200

And the one thing that seems to be going over your head (or one you choose to close your eyes to, and honestly I'd rather believe that because I have difficulty believing someone can be that stupid) is though you can compare corruption in the philippines to corruption in the rest of the world or even the US, there's one telling difference: People go to jail in the US when caught for corruption. Politicians there also have the decency to resign or step down when embroiled in corruption scandals. THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THE PHILIPPINES. And please, don't even try to say a simple case of non-disclosure is equivalent to corruption on the scale of WEAPONS and ARMS being given by your boy to warlords in the south.

You and your ilk are what's wrong with the country, you who would rather explain away corruption than try and root it out, you who'd rather the people remain stupid and d*** through your misinformation campaigns than give them something to work and strive for.

What price 'progress'?

Here, add this to your books I refuse to read because it hurts my feelings library:

http://reason.com/archives/2006/03/01/why-poor-countries-are-poor/print

stopkiddingyourselfkevin 21 January 10, 06:54 PM

Ye who condone corruption can go screw yourself in your own lala little nation, but leave us honest and well meaning Filipinos alone!!!

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Why Gibo Teodoro changed his mind on RH Bill

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