Photo by Nicole E. Sanglay

JOSE KWE, a 64-year-old man from Navotas, protested against the Reproductive Health (RH) bill by holding up a poster containing a message against the measure bill last September 5 at around 7:30 PM at the Leong Hall.

Early in the evening, Kwe participated in “Perspektibo,” a forum on effecting change through various sectors, hosted by the Ateneo Gabay and conducted in the Leong Hall auditorium.

Earlier during the forum, Kwe found himself raising his voice against a speaker whose view of the bill is opposite his.

As students rushed out of the auditorium, the old man stood on one side and held his poster.

Students gathered around him with negative reactions because of the poster he was holding up. A crowd slowly formed around Kwe and onlookers began talking to him about the RH bill.

Ateneans eagerly engaged the old man in a debate regarding the pros and cons of the RH bill. Some students even tried to convince Kwe of the advantages of the RH bill.

The argument involved raised voices from the students and crude words from Kwe.

Heated arguments

He questioned one of the speakers, Sylvia Claudio, MD, PhD—who made herself clear about her stand on the RH bill, especially as a self-identified postmodern feminist—about the purpose of the bill.

“There are several problems that the bill is trying to solve. First of all is the high levels of maternal death; secondly, the increasing and dangerous spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), especially HIV [Human Immunodeficiency Virus]; third, the lack of sexuality education of young people, which leads to many things including teenage pregnancies and STDs,” Claudio said.

“Part of the bill is the reiteration of programs against violence against women… and better support for reproductive track cancers. Another one is a program to increase the involvement of men in the question of reproduction and sexuality.”

“The other part is to ensure that women who have suffered from illegal abortion—and there is absolutely no provision in that bill that legalizes abortion—but if women come to the hospital, we want them to be treated humanely and properly,” she said.

According to Claudio, we could all accept the bill, but we would not all be happy about it. She said that she was not satisfied with the bill because the introductory statements partially talk about population control.

“I’ll tell you why they are saying these things about population development. They are afraid that the poor will be unmanageable in number,” Kwe told Claudio.

He then proceeded to compare how in his generation, couples could have seven to nine kids without having difficulty in raising them.

“I am happy for you, sir, that you grew up in a family of nine children. What you’re not saying is that therefore, because you are happy with a family of nine, you think every woman should have nine children?” Claudio countered.

Her statement was met by the audience’s applause.

Kwe emphasized that the RH bill is not the solution to control the population. The problem is, according to him, rooted in the low salary received by the lower classes.

The forum suddenly broke down into a heated argument as Claudio and Kwe raised their voices.

Kwe got cut off while trying to explain his side as the time for the open forum was up.

The same thing happened when Kwe talked to Maria Ressa about social injustice and the faults in the social system. However, this did not break out into an argument because Kwe was interrupted due to time constraints.

His ideals

“Sabi ko sa security guard pupunta ko sa faculty room ng Ateneo sa Catechetical Institute of Learning.  Gusto kong makita nila ito—kasi catechist din ako noong college ako. Tapos pagdating dito, tinanong ko ‘yung guwardiya, ‘pwede ba kong magladlad ng poster dito na anti-RH bill (I told the security guard that I would go to the faculty room of the Catechetical Institute of Learning in the Ateneo. I want them to see this poster because I used to be a catechist as well when I was in college. When I got here in Leong Hall, I asked the guard if I could show my anti-RH bill poster around),” said Kwe.

He said that he was affiliated with the Church as a lay minister.

“I read somewhere that you only grow old when you abandon your ideals,” said Kwe with regard to how he was proclaiming his beliefs.

“Hindi pwedeng maging complacent ka lang sa nangyayari (One shouldn’t just be complacent about what is happening around),” he added.

Kwe noted that he was put in prison for a month in Camp Crame during the Marcos regime.

Updated 10:17 PM, September 9, 2012.