Philippine Catholic bishops: Don't distribute condoms on Valentine's Day

Manila Catholic bishops said the health department should not publicly repeat a caper like distributing condoms and other artificial contraceptives to couples on St. Valentine's day.

"The Church is against the distribution of condoms because we know how the use of contraceptives affects the morality of our people and our society in general," Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said on Radio Veritas.

"Abstinence, fidelity to one's spouse and obedience to God's will (will stop the spread of HIV/AIDS)," said Lagdameo.

The distribution of condoms done by the health department in 2010 was meant to promote the passage of a controversial health bill that will allow the government to subsidize the distribution of condoms and other forms of artificial contraceptives to poor people, said the Catholic Church, which promotes the use of natural family planning method.

The passage of the controversial bill could lead to sex liberalization in the Philippines, Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said on Radio Veritas

Instead, the Philippine government "must work to preserve its culture intact (such as close family ties), and it must remain a model for sexual behavior," said Bagaforo.

"Let us learn from the experience of American and European nations, which are now suffering from the bad effects of (liberalized health) bill," Bagaforo added.

The Catholic Church has remained very influential in Philippine society.

President Benigno Aquino has pushed for the passage of the bill, but it has remained shelved in Congress. His mother, the late former president Corazon Aquino, was a devout Catholic.

Last year, Aquino's health secretary Enrique Ona did not distribute condoms to couples celebrating St. Valentine's Day. Ona argued that campaigning for abstinence and faithfulness among espouses was a better strategy to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

In 2010, during the time of former president Gloria Arroyo who did not openly call for the passage of the same health bill, the Catholic Church criticized her for allowing her health secretary to distribute condoms on Valentine's Day.