THE DIE IS CAST!

The die is cast!  At very long last, spanning more than a decade of legislative debates. the highly controversial RH Bill has been passed.  So be it!  What more can I say, except to hope in earnest that three years from now -- thanks to one of the 37 amendments that Sen. Sotto insisted before the bill was finally put to a vote --the new law would be revisited for lawmakers -- hopefully no more at the mercy of the President through the pork barrel fund, as they are now -- would be able to take a second look at some provisions that in my view kind of border on morality.

For example, the bill's proponents believe there is nothing wrong with an unmarried woman having sex with another, provided she does not get pregnant, and so they strongly opposed the proposition of Sen. President Enrile Sen. Sotto to remove the phrase "towards a safe and satisfying sex" as the principal objective of contraception.   "Safe" in the sense that the woman need not worry about getting pregnant, "satisfying" because, according to one columnist, that is why God gave women a "clitoris" and humans a brain.    But what about "legal" -- does it no longer matter to them whether  a girl in his early teens indulges in sex, or a relatively elder woman is in coitus a man not her husband -- vis-a-vis the moral law saying "though shalt not do that!"  I really do not know about the RH Bill proponents' views about morality, but for me, moral laws are absolute, objective and universal, and not relative, subjective nor dependent upon any particular circumstances.

The Commandment, "Though shall not commit adultery," is a moral absolute.  It does not depend on our feelings or social mores or consequences.  It does not suddenly become right when one feels in love and aches for a "safe and satisfying sex," or when society tolerates it.  That is exactly the same as when an unmarried teenager engages in sex.  That is absolutely immoral and will never be made moral by the mere use of contraceptives so that she will not be pregnant.  Moral laws are "objective" not "subjective,"  something that is independent of us, our knowledge, our feelings, and our choices.  They are like, for example, 2 plus 2 equals 4 is an absolute and objective truth, as absolute and objective as the plain truth that sexual intercourse outside of marriage is immoral; it can never be made moral by the use of a contraceptive in order to prevent
pregnancy.  Alas, it is a great pity that the RH Bill proponents does not seem to subscribe to this.

Having said the above, there can't be no gainsaying the fact that had it not been for the President's  intrusion  into purely legislative affairs -- when first he called all administration congressman into a meeting about the rather slow pace, kuno,  of the RH bill in Congress, next, on realizing that votes on the second reading was too close at 113-104 favoring the Pros.  he did not only forthwith certify the bill as "urgent," but also sent 4 of his lapdogs, Roxas, Abad, Lacierda and Carandang as watchers on the third reading -- chances are the third voting might have turned out in favor of the Anti-RH Bill.  Now, the President keeps saying he was not influencing the congressional voting.  Ah, he better tell that to the Marines!

Of course, the die has now been cast, and may never be uncast. I hope others would forgive me for this, my Last Hirit, against the passage of the RH Bill. I still believe any legislative measure as controversial as this one, practically dividing the whole nation into half, should have been given some more time for deeper deliberation.  For one thing,  practically all of our past presidents since Cory had shied away from this highly debatable issue.  For another, one recalls that even President Aquino was not totally sold to this bill during the presidential campaign, as well lately as at the height of the Coronal impeachment scandal.   As things now stand, one can only hope against hope that the Catholic Bishops prediction that the new law may drastically change this country's overall moral values as the most predominantly Roman Catholic nation in the Far East.