Buhay Mo, Mahal Ko

THIS February will be the 12th year that the pro-life groups in the Philippines will be celebrating Pro-life Month. It all started when former President Cory Aquino issued the Presidential Proclamation 214 declaring every second week of February as “Respect and Care for Life Week”. This was upon the request of Pro-life Philippines Foundation to hold an annual celebration during February so that it will not only be popularly known as a “Love Month” due to Valentines Day but also a “Life Month”. The time was always celebrated with rallies, conferences, contests and Eucharistic Liturgies, organized by parishes and schools all over the country.

A few years later, because a week seemed too short, Pro-life Philippines declared that the whole month of February be dedicated as Pro-life Month. Various themes have been chosen to emphasize the challenge to promote pro-life : “ Stand Up for Life!”, “Bawat Sanggol, Ipagtanggol”, “A consistent Ethic for Life”, “Respect Life”, “Proudly Pro-life” among others.

This year, the theme chosen is “Buhay Mo, Mahal Ko”. Communications have been sent to the Family and Life Coordinators of the Dioceses and parishes, as well as to school heads and organizations. The Department of social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has also been reminded to involve in the celebration as this is the government entity that was mentioned in the Presidential Proclamation that should supervise the implementation of Pro-life Month nationwide.

Drumming up attention to pro-life values is very crucial at this time when pro-population control/pro-contraception groups are aggressively pressuring congress to pass the Reproductive Health Bill, a title they have given to demand a budget of two billion pesos for massive distribution of contraceptiveabortifacients to the poor. The bill, if passed, will institutionalize a contraceptive-based sex education to be given in both public and private schools from Grade 5 (10-year old children) all the way to high school.

Dissenters to the promotion of population control, whether through sex education or services in health facilities, factories and business enterprises, homes and churches, will be punished. Proponents of the bill insist that it does not promote abortion. However, a careful reading of the bill reveals that the types of contraceptives being promoted are abortifacient in nature and the constant repetition of the contraception-population control propaganda creates an anti-natal mentality, bordering on a pro-abortion mentality. In fact, some of the feminist groups backing up the passage of the bill admit that they would like abortion to be legalized and made available, especially to the poor women.

This is a call then for you, dear reader, to help us in the pro-life movement, and let me also say, a call for you to help YOUR Church, to spread the Gospel of Life in whatever way you can as soon as possible. Remember, every minute delayed results to hundreds of babies being lost in abortion and contraception, thousands of youth misled by the “safe sex” messages, and couples’ marriages polluted by the contraceptive mentality.

Herein is a copy of Presidential Proclamation 214 that you can use to help us in promoting February as “Respect and Care for Life” Month signed by Pres. Corazon C. Aquino last Feb. 3, 1988.

WHEREAS, the United Nations Declaration on Rights of the Child provides that “the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth;”

WHEREAS, Section 12, Article II of the Constitution provides that it is the policy of the State to “protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception;”

WHEREAS, available statistics detail the frightening losses of innocent human lives by abortion; and

WHEREAS, in pursuance of the above constitutional mandate and in support of the UN universal declaration and in order to instill the same, as well as the value and sacredness of human life, in the minds and hearts of the Filipino people and thereby help reverse the above statistical trend, it becomes imperative to set aside a period of time for them to ponder and focus attention on their moral and constitutional obligations to protect human life or one’s inherent right to life;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested on me by law, do hereby declare the second week of February 1988 and every year thereafter as “RESPECT AND CARE FOR LIFE WEEK” under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Pro-Life Philippines, and other involved entities or organization.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.