Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A CRITIQUE OF IGLESIA NI CRISTO EXECUTIVE MINISTER EDUARDO V. MANALO’S STATEMENT ON THE RH BILL PART II by Atty. Marwil N. Llasos, OP

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

INC Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo

A CRITIQUE OF IGLESIA NI CRISTO EXECUTIVE MINISTER EDUARDO V. MANALO’S STATEMENT ON THE RH BILL
PART II
[This is the second part of my critique of Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Eduardo V. Manalo’s position on the RH Bill. The words of Mr. Manalo are in green while my comments are in black.]
In what they propose, they can bring about not only an economic good for our countrymen but also a moral one.
What economic good Mr. Eduardo V. Manalo exactly has in mind? Not being an economist, Mr. Manalo’s statement does not count much. It is nothing but a motherhood statement unsupported by any statistical data.

The Wall Street Journal praises the economic gains of the Aquino administration but cautioned against anti-population growth mindset
Recently, on 24 July 2012, the Wall Street Journal published an article on economic reform in the Philippines. Entitled Keeping the Philippine Dream Alive, the article mentions this very telling fact: 
Mr. Aquino still hasn’t found a way to overcome political opposition to more mining investments, a problem given the contribution the country’s mineral wealth could make to growth if it could be extracted. And his promotion of a “reproductive health” bill is jarring because it would put the Philippines in danger of following China’s path into middle-income development followed by a demographic trap of too few workers. The Philippines doesn’t have too many people, it has too few pro-growth policies.[1]
 Ironically, the article was posted in the President’s website, given Mr. Benigno Aquino III’s vocal support for the RH Bill. Like Aquino, Mr. Manalo burrows his head in the sand like an ostrich which prevents him from realizing that the problem really is not the population but economic and social policies. More statistics and facts can be cited, but the above is sufficient to give Mr. Manalo a reality check.

Clueless: Religious leader Eduardo V. Manalo cannot tell for certain if there are immoral elements in the RH Bill
We are ready to support the Bills on Reproductive Health as long as there would be no immoral elements in them.
The statement above makes no sense. Read closely, Mr. Eduardo V. Manalo’s position on the RH Bill is conditional: if there are no immoral elements in it. As the leader of the Iglesia ni Cristo and being a successor to “God’s last messenger,” isn’t it supposed to be his duty to discern whether or not there are “immoral elements” in the RH Bill? Who determines morality now in his church? Isn’t it Mr. Manalo’s duty to guide his members on matters of morals? How come he is not able to say for certain if, as presently worded, there are immoral elements in the RH Bill? Mr. Manalo cannot shift the burden of ascertaining what is moral or not to Congress without abdicating his duty to guide his flock on morality. Here, Mr. Manalo loses his credibility as a guardian and defender of the morals of his members. How come Mr. Manalo cannot determine with certainty what is moral and immoral in the RH Bill?

Mobbed: What moral guidance do the INC members expect from their Executive Minister who cannot discern what is moral and immoral in the RH Bill?

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