Dear Anti-RH Lawmakers (I heard there's so many of you guys, so I can't really name you all, but you know who you are.),
We get it, we really do. There is no point in debating issues with you because any attempts to respond to your points have been either ignored or outright rejected. You don't want to find out how wrong you are, and your colleagues in the Senate are decent enough people to not take pleasure in making fools out of you. That's kind of surprising since Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is in your roster, but it is what it is.
So no, I'm not here to debate the points of the RH Bill with you. That achieves nothing at this point, since you clearly refuse to listen to reason, and your mind is made up. In fact, my stand on the RH Bill at this point is rather irrelevant to what I, as a taxpaying citizen, expect you to do, all things considered.
The bill has been met with so many delays that instead of addressing the pros and cons of the bill, people are now discussing how to stop filibustering on the issue.
For the pro-RH, filibustering means a rejection of the bill, by default. For the conscientious anti-RH, filibustering is a denial of the democratic process: the very numbers game that makes them think that because the Philippines is composed of 80 percent Catholics, then their values must be the Filipino's values. If the RH Bill is to be rejected, it must be because the people who voted on it clearly did not want it, not because time ran out on the bill.
You will notice that at no point are the pro-RH trying to delay the proceedings, for obvious reasons. They want the bill to pass, and for them, dealing with Sotto's woes on plagiarism is a very real opportunity cost: doing that, as Sotto himself has proven, will be yet another opportunity to stall progress with the bill. It has become a race against time.
Senator Enrile believes they have the numbers. Tito Sotto obviously wants the RH Bill "out of his hair." And even if they clearly aren't supposed to be dictating public policy since we are not a theocratic country, you don't need a link to know that the CBCP believes that God is on their side, and He will not allow something as dastardly as the RH Bill to ruin the Philippines the way it has "ruined" Italy (Where the Vatican is located.), Spain (Who introduced Catholicism to us.), Israel (Where Christ was born.), and America (Because screw America, I guess? I don't really know why they even have to be part of this.).
How lucky then, that the Philippines is the last standing bastion of morality! We're currently the only country where divorce is illegal! Are we the new chosen people or something? Surely, our high rate of teenage pregnancy must be some weird aberration: our cause is pure, right?
At this point, we've established four things:
1. The anti-RH camp believes their cause is just.
2. The anti-RH camp wants to lay this matter to rest.
3. The anti-RH camp is convinced that its arguments have been strong and irrefutable.
4. The anti-RH camp is confident it has the numbers to once and for all reject this bill.
So... what the Hades are you waiting for?!? Why is the RH Bill on the backburner yet again? Why are you interpellating yourselves when you can't trollbait the pro-RH into getting into long, protracted arguments with you? Or are we actually looking at the Rapture, come to take the rest of the Senate while you rambled on?
Pictured: A riveting debate between two men over what to do with a woman's body.
Of course, they would be the ones to know best about this, right?*
Even the CBCP is open to putting the RH Bill to a plebiscite. After all, former President GMA is on their side, and she knows a thing or two about putting things to a vote. If you truly don't have time, why not leave it in the hands of the people, who clearly are the ones who will be affected by this bill the most?
You have everything going for you, as far as you're concerned, dear anti-RH lawmakers. So what the Hades are you waiting for? It's not like you had problems getting things done in a timely manner before. Just ask former Chief Justice Corona: he'd tell you.
Do not deny us the right to see this democratic process completed. Whether the RH Bill is accepted or junked, we aren't paying you our hard-earned money to have you merely stall this process out. If it's such a thorn in your side, then strike it down by putting it to a vote!
It has been way too long, and too many lives have already been sacrificed as you stall this law, hoping that the 2013 elections will make it all go away. Where is your confidence that your cause is just? Where is your belief that you are in the right? If you truly believe that you have the numbers, then you should get through the amendments with little incident, then proceed to voting on the bill upon third reading.
Surely, you're not afraid that the numbers aren't in your favor, right? You believe God is on your side. What more can you ask for? Are you questioning His divine power to validate your beliefs through a vote?
Then, and only then, can you truly prove that you are anti-RH, once you have taken this matter to a vote. Then, and only then, do you prove that you are not a public official who just doesn't want to do their job, instead malingering over the RH Bill issue so as to look busy while not actually accomplishing anything.
TL;DR. Let democracy prevail: whether in Congress, the Senate, or a plebiscite, quit stalling and put the RH Bill to a vote. We, the people, whether we are pro, anti, or undecided on the RH Bill, deserve that much. We are not paying our taxes to see you waste our time again and again on this issue.
Sincerely yours, it's true! It's true!
Kel Fabie
*Image from Kenneth Keng.
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