“THEOLLACY,” WHAT?

This piece was written in October last year. Now that this issue is once again alive, I am posting it here.

I would like to take part in this debate on Reproductive Health. I am no defender of the Church or of the State; I work for both. I am a simple volunteer defender of truth.

Let me share my take on condom. I don't see the point of making it a social (or health) policy; we can make it available everywhere and anytime, anyway. Why?

1. They say that it is for the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS. The truth is, condom does not prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS; it aggravates it. Studies have shown (and UN is aware of this; but, chose to pretend they don't know anything about this) that in areas where condom use is a social policy, in areas where there is massive distribution of condoms, there is an exponential increase in HIV/AIDS transmission. Decline in HIV/AIDS cases was only noted in areas which shifted its focus from C (Condoms) to AB (Abstinence and Be faithful) strategies.

2. They say it is for population control. Control population, why? "To eradicate poverty," they will simply answer. Truth is, there is no direct correlation between population and poverty. Population is not the cause of poverty. There are countries with few people but poor; others are rich. The same is true with countries with many people.

The notion that population is the cause of poverty is based on Malthusian Theory - a theory that had long been proven dead! In the 1960s, this theory was already buried six feet under the ground; and, now, we, Filipinos, are resurrecting it. I wonder why we, Filipinos, who pride ourselves as brilliant people, adhere to this belief, yes a belief since it is already a refuted theory and, therefore, is no longer sound science. While, the theory of Malthus remains dead, no amount of argument can convince a logical person to control population to reduce or stamp out poverty.

If poverty is not caused by population, what then is its cause? Studies have shown that anti-poor economic policies have direct correlation with poverty. Aha! The problem is not with the growing number of people but with governance. Governments are not doing enough to combat poverty; if they ever do, they have wrong priorities. Governments have unjust economic policies; policies that help the rich instead of the poor. No wonder, then, that the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. At this point, for sure, government will come defensive. And, to save its face, it will employ some dirty tricks.

Ineffective and inefficient governments use population as their scapegoat for their incompetence. These governments use this simplistic "Population-Poverty Theollacy (Theory-fallacy)" to tell uncritical people, which apparently is the majority of our population, that their growing number is the root cause of the poverty problem despite evidence that proves otherwise. Government employs this tactic to shield itself from public criticism for being inutile. This is not to mention the fact that the government, along with NGOs who make use the issues of  HIV/AIDS, Gender Equality, Empowerment of Women etc. as milking cow, will make money out of the passage of this Reproductive Health Bill. It is not unknown to us that International Aid Agencies are ready to "reward" us if we finally give a green light to RH Bill. 

Now, back to Condom. I say with confidence that condom has only one purpose: FOR PLEASURE. No more, no less. To propose that it is for the prevention of HIV/AIDS or the control of population is just too much.

My appeal, therefore, to all opinion leaders: Be Truthful. Let us expose all the facts so our people, especially our policy makers, can make informed decisions. We should make decision that are based on facts, not based on ideologies or, worse, "theollacy".