REP. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south district) is asking the Roman Catholic Church and those opposing the reproductive health bill to “marshal their forces” and attend the start of the House of Representatives’ session on Dec. 2.

The bill, he said, will top the agenda when the session resumes after the legislators’ Nov. 18 to Dec. 1 break.

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Cuenco said he will be the first speaker to question the bill during the session, and asked Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to “send a delegation” to Congress.

“Active, warm bodies are what we need during the resumption of the debate on the bill,” he said.

“I am against the Reproductive Health Bill. I will block it, with Rep. (Raul) del Mar (Cebu City, north district) and (Rep.) Pabling Garcia (Cebu Pro-vince, 2nd district).

We will vigorously oppose the bill. Those who are supporting it want to stop the debate and force a vote,” he said.

With the help of the Task Force for Life Movement, the Cebu Archdiocese has been distributing DVDs to parishes in Cebu about the reproductive health bill.

The parishes were told to put up tarpaulins informing the people about the bill’s provisions.

The bill has been criticized as anti-life, while those who support it argue, among other reasons, that it helps couples make informed choices about planning their families.

For Cuenco, however, the proposal is “an imported death bill.”

“Ang mga langyaw maoy gusto maaprobahan na aron mahalin ang ilang produkto (Foreign entities want this bill approved so their products will sell),” he said.

Last month, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the passage of the reproductive health bill.

It called attention to the low rate of contraceptive use and lack of access to artificial methods, as well as a high rate of maternal deaths and teen pregnancies.

The Philippine population stands at 92.2 million this year and the Population Commission expects the country to become one of the world’s 10 most populous nations by 2040. (RHM)