Philippines: Human Life International experts and advocates gather in Cebu City for three-day Conference

International pro-life advocates gather in Cebu City on November 24 for the 23rd Human Life International (HLI) Congress on Faith, Life, and Family (ASPAC).

With the theme “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6), the Congress features 14 talks by experts from Rome, Argentina, India, Malaysia, Canada, and the Philippines on a wide range of subjects, from family life, anthropology, ethics, culture, caring for the elderly, preventing euthanasia, life and death, better storytelling, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  

The Congress is being organized by HLI Philippines, the host of this year’s Congress, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Cebu. The event opens today and will last until November 26. 

Notable speakers include Dr. Ligaya Castro, HLI Philippines Executive Director; Fr. Francesco Giordano, HLI Rome and Europe Executive Director; Fr. Diego Rivera from Argentina currently rector of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, Our Lady of Formation House in Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines; Amanda Achtman, former Conservative Member of the Canadian Parliament; Dr. Brian Clowes, HLI Director of Research and Education; Mother Maria Compassionis Schmitz, USA Extreme Orient Provincial Superior of the Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara; Dorothy Kuek of Malaysia, Human Life Services Miri; Dr. Eleanor Palayab of San Pedro Hospital Davao City, Philippines; Dr. Angelita Miguel Aguirre, Founder and President of Family Media Advocacy, and Dr. Benito Sunga of Doctors for Life Philippines.  

Fr. Shenan Boquet, HLI president, will celebrate mass at the close of the event.

Human Life International is known as the largest international pro-life organization in the world, with affiliates and associates in over 80 countries worldwide. Its mission is to train and organize anti-abortion and anti-artificial birth control and population control movements and lend support for movements opposed to legislation that recognizes gay rights.

In the Philippines, HLI works hand in hand with the Catholic Church Episcopal Commission on Family and Life. 

In an interview with RVA, Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, HLI country director said HLI Philippines started in 2010. He said they have waged successful battles against proposals to legalize gay rights under the Sex Orientation, Gay Identity, and Expression Bill. The Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) Bill, also known as the Anti-Discrimination Bill, was first introduced in 1996 but remains in limbo in the Philippine legislature.  

HLI remains steadfast in blocking legislative proposals to legalize divorce and decriminalize abortion in the current Congress, according to Bullecer.

In 2012, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law was enacted into law after 45 years of unyielding opposition from the Catholic Church. It took another five years before the law was implemented, owing to court cases filed by opponents who questioned the validity of the RH law. The constitutional hurdle was finally overcome in 2017.  

Implementation of the RH law is now devolved from the executive department to local government units. This year, the DOH budget is pegged at Pesos 296.3 billion, of which Pesos 29 billion is allocated for procuring drugs, medicine, and vaccines. Information as to how much was allocated for artificial birth control supplies is not available, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed priorities in the use of resources and the delivery of health services. 

The divorce bill poses a tough battle for HLI advocates after the Philippine Senate passed a consolidated divorce bill. The House of Representatives has passed, on a committee level, an absolute divorce bill. 

Aside from the Vatican, the Philippines is the only country where divorce is not legal.

Pro-life activists also oppose a bill that decriminalizes abortion. The passage of the bill is being supported by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, in line with two United Nations bodies that pushed recommendations to “enhance adolescent sexual rights and reproductive rights Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) education and access to abortion care”. 

The UN Human Rights Commission has urged the Philippines to make laws and policy recommendations to decriminalize abortion.
Asked if President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., will make it difficult for HLI’s core advocacy, Dr. Bullecer said they will continue their pro-life programs and keep the pressure on government institutions that thwart HLI's goals. - Malou Guanzon-Apalisok