Palace: Aquino to face bishops in dialogue over RH issue

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III himself will face Catholic bishops in an upcoming dialogue on reproductive health, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Monday, even as he admitted that he earlier misinterpreted what the president said about the plan.

In an interview with reporters Monday afternoon, Lacierda said he erred in saying during a press conference earlier in the day that an official representative from the government will replace Aquino if the the president is unavailable for the dialogue.

"Ako yung nagkamali sa interpretation ng kanyang text. Nag-usap kami kanina at siya mismo ang magaattend nung dialogue with the bishops (I was the one who erred in my interpretation of his text. We talked a while ago and [he said] he himself will attend the dialogue with the bishops)," Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the official representative from the government will only arrange the dialogue between Aquino and the bishops.

"Pag naayos na po ang dialogue, siya mismo ang aattend ng dialogue, kakausapin ang mga obispo. Makikinig siya sa mga proposal ng mga obispo at saka siguro magbibigay din siya ng kanyang counter proposal (When the dialogue has been arrange, he himself will attend the dialogue and talk to the bishops. He will listen to their proposals and perhaps he will give his counter proposal)," Lacierda said.

Lacierda said no official representative has been chosen yet.

The Palace spokesman also clarified that Aquino did not have a preliminary meeting with bishops last Friday as reported. According to him, Aquino only exchanged text messages with a bishop — whom Lacierda did not name — where Aquino reiterated the government's commitment to a dialogue.

The reproductive health issue drew the Church's attention again after Aquino said in a recent meeting with Filipinos in San Francisco that the government "is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibility and their choices, at the end of the day government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method."

Aquino had the same stand on RH during the campaign period, but his comment once again earned the ire of the Catholic Church which promotes only natural family planning and is opposed to the use of artificial birth control methods such as condoms and birth-control pills.

Some Catholic leaders claim that some artificial contraceptives are abortifacients, and that the use of such could also lead to promiscuity.

However, not all Catholics completely share the Church's position. A survey conducted last year showed six out of 10 Filipinos favored the passage of the RH bill in the Congress then, while eight out of 10 believe the government should not only educate couples on family planning but also provide them with services and materials. — RSJ, GMANews.TV