Do not judge candidates based only on RH bill stand: Ledesma
By MIKE BAÑOS - Correspondent Updated November 13, 2009 12:00 AM
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma
CAGAYAN de Oro’s highest ranking Roman Catholic Church official believes that voters should not base their vote for a political candidate based exclusively on his stand on one issue.
“Should a candidate’s stance on the reproductive health bill determine your vote for him?” asked Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City in reply to a question on how a Catholic voter should cast his vote based on a candidate’s position on the controversial House Bill No. 5043 (Reproductive Health and Development Act of 2008) during a joint breakfast meeting of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) last Nov. 7.
Of the current four candidates who have indicated their intention to run for president next year, Sen.
Manuel Villar has expressed his opposition to the bill while Sen. Benigno Aquino III has indicated his inclination to support it. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and former President Joseph Estrada have not articulated their stance on the controversial bill.
The explanatory note to HB 5043 lists the following survey results regarding their choice of candidates who support the bill:
• 82% of Filipinos consider candidates supporting a law or measure on population issues worthy of their votes while only 3% say such candidates should not be backed at the polls and 15% are undecided;
• 83% of Filipinos say they are in favor of candidates who support the allocation of government funds for family planning while only 2% say they are not and 15% are undecided; and
• a mere 8% of Filipinos believe that a candidate’s championing of family planning issues will spell that candidate’s defeat at the polls.
As a member of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, Ledesma said he is constrained not to participate in partisan politics but this should not stop the laity from discussing the bill among themselves and whether or not it should be considered in making them vote for or against a candidate.
“To illustrate, if for example you have a local candidate who does not subscribe to accountability and transparency in governance, should this make you vote or not vote for him based on either of the two issues alone?” Ledesma asked.
Like the hot topics currently raising the collective temperatures of the country’s kapihans, Ledesma believes it would be best for all concerned if people should first familiarize themselves on all aspects of a controversial topic before venturing their opinion about it.
“We should read the RH bill in its totality,” the bishop said. “I think many of us will find it is not a simple question answerable by yes or no whether one should vote for or against it.” He said the bill contains many noteworthy provisions which protect the welfare of women and children, workers and the environment.
Even if people should find truly objections about the bill, Ledesma said a voter’s choice of a candidate should be tempered by how that person also stands on other issues facing the country today such as law and order, transparency and accountability in government, the creation of jobs, the stewardship of the environment, to name a few.
“I think it’s not prudent to be a single-issue voter,” Ledesma said. “We should balance the candidate’s stance on all issues against each other in making our choices.”
Ledesma was the resource speaker for the monthly joint breakfast meeting of the east and west chapters of the BCBP on the topic “Church and State: Christians in Politics”.
“We invited Archbishop Ledesma to be our speaker as part of the BCBP’s ‘Be Honest’ national advocacy,” said Eduardo Pelaez, BCBP regional coordinating director for Northern Mindanao. “We believe the BCBP campaign directly addresses the Church’s call for Christian involvement in politics.”
By MIKE BAÑOS - Correspondent Updated November 13, 2009 12:00 AM
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma
CAGAYAN de Oro’s highest ranking Roman Catholic Church official believes that voters should not base their vote for a political candidate based exclusively on his stand on one issue.
“Should a candidate’s stance on the reproductive health bill determine your vote for him?” asked Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City in reply to a question on how a Catholic voter should cast his vote based on a candidate’s position on the controversial House Bill No. 5043 (Reproductive Health and Development Act of 2008) during a joint breakfast meeting of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) last Nov. 7.
Of the current four candidates who have indicated their intention to run for president next year, Sen.
Manuel Villar has expressed his opposition to the bill while Sen. Benigno Aquino III has indicated his inclination to support it. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and former President Joseph Estrada have not articulated their stance on the controversial bill.
The explanatory note to HB 5043 lists the following survey results regarding their choice of candidates who support the bill:
• 82% of Filipinos consider candidates supporting a law or measure on population issues worthy of their votes while only 3% say such candidates should not be backed at the polls and 15% are undecided;
• 83% of Filipinos say they are in favor of candidates who support the allocation of government funds for family planning while only 2% say they are not and 15% are undecided; and
• a mere 8% of Filipinos believe that a candidate’s championing of family planning issues will spell that candidate’s defeat at the polls.
As a member of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, Ledesma said he is constrained not to participate in partisan politics but this should not stop the laity from discussing the bill among themselves and whether or not it should be considered in making them vote for or against a candidate.
“To illustrate, if for example you have a local candidate who does not subscribe to accountability and transparency in governance, should this make you vote or not vote for him based on either of the two issues alone?” Ledesma asked.
Like the hot topics currently raising the collective temperatures of the country’s kapihans, Ledesma believes it would be best for all concerned if people should first familiarize themselves on all aspects of a controversial topic before venturing their opinion about it.
“We should read the RH bill in its totality,” the bishop said. “I think many of us will find it is not a simple question answerable by yes or no whether one should vote for or against it.” He said the bill contains many noteworthy provisions which protect the welfare of women and children, workers and the environment.
Even if people should find truly objections about the bill, Ledesma said a voter’s choice of a candidate should be tempered by how that person also stands on other issues facing the country today such as law and order, transparency and accountability in government, the creation of jobs, the stewardship of the environment, to name a few.
“I think it’s not prudent to be a single-issue voter,” Ledesma said. “We should balance the candidate’s stance on all issues against each other in making our choices.”
Ledesma was the resource speaker for the monthly joint breakfast meeting of the east and west chapters of the BCBP on the topic “Church and State: Christians in Politics”.
“We invited Archbishop Ledesma to be our speaker as part of the BCBP’s ‘Be Honest’ national advocacy,” said Eduardo Pelaez, BCBP regional coordinating director for Northern Mindanao. “We believe the BCBP campaign directly addresses the Church’s call for Christian involvement in politics.”
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