It should come as no surprise, given his affluent, educated and liberal background, that Noynoy Aquino, as a congressman, co-authored the reproductive health bill that still gets the hierarchy of the Catholic Church all riled up every time that controversial piece of legislation comes up in conversation. To his credit, Aquino quickly admitted that he was one of the prime movers of the RH bill and declared that he has no intention of withdrawing his support for it, now that he has declared for the presidency. Predictably, as well, the Philippines’ senior cardinal, Cebu’s Ricardo Vidal, expressed shock that the Church’s all-but-anointed political savior has declared that he is in favor of government intervention in population management, which still translates to abortion in the minds of the supposedly non-reproductive clergy.
