Published Date: May 11, 2011
A MINDANAO-based priest who is on a cross-country walk for peace and life urged President Benigno Aquino III to junk the reproductive health (RH) bill.
Father Amado Picardal who is on a 2,000-kilometer trek from Mindanao to Northern Luzon arrived in Malacañang on Tuesday to deliver a letter to President Benigno Aquino III.
“I dare to write this letter to you because I believe that you listen to the voices of the people whom you consider as your Boss and whom you pledged to serve. My voice is only one small voice among many. But it deserves serious consideration because I walk my talk,” Picardal said in his letter, excerpts of which were posted on his blog site Tuesday.
Picardal said he wrote the letter on March 31, saved it in a USB flash drive, and carried it in his backpack during his journey, which began on April 1 in Davao City.
Picardal raised four points in his letter:
1. The armed conflict in the countryside that has caused the loss of so many lives and the need to support the ongoing peace process between the government and the revolutionary groups such as the National Democratic Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front
2. The destruction of the environment and the threat to the way of life and cultures of the indigenous peoples – due to mining and logging.
3. The extra-judicial killings carried out by death squads, allegedly inspired or abetted by some local government officials and police personnel in many cities in the Philippines.
4. The RH bill being debated in Congress, “which promotes an aggressive population control program which is based on a questionable if not false assumptions that there is a crisis of overpopulation which perpetuates poverty and is a hindrance to sustainable economic development.”
Report from GMANews.TV
No comments:
Post a Comment