Early Saturday morning on March 19, hundreds of rallyists holding up yellow placards, wearing purple bandanas chanting, “Ibasura! Ibasura!” converged at the entrance of Ayala Alabang Village.
They were holding a demonstration to protest Alabang Barangay Ordinance #1 entitled, “Protection of the Unborn Child” which was set for public hearing that day. It certainly was not a scene that you see every day in the posh village of Ayala Alabang.
Alabang Barangay Ordinance #1 entitled, “Protection of the Unborn Child” prohibits the sale, promotion and the sale of condoms, birth control pills and other forms of modern contraception without a doctor’s prescription. Even with a prescription, the drugstore must record the name of the buyer and the details of the purchase in a logbook.
Under the ordinance, condoms, contraceptive pills, and intra-uterine devices are labeled as “abortifacients,” and also prohibits the teaching of sex education within the barangay, unless there is parental consent.
The ordinance enraged many of the residents and various pro-RH sectors who condemned the attempt at legislating morality and referring to the posh village as "Alabangistan, the new stronghold of the Catholibans."
The village itself has been divided into two warring camps; with their frontline being defined by banners on their front gate, declaring their stand on the issue. Some declare their support for the ordinance crying the need to protect life, while others condemn religious bigotry.
Aurora Pijuan, Convenor of Gising Barangay Movement in Ayala Alabang said that the issue is divisive. “Friendships are on the line and you really feel the tension. People ask if you are pro (ordinance) or anti. There’s no in-between. We don’t respect other people’s beliefs.”
The auditorium of De La Salle Zobel was the venue of the public hearing where the two sides presented their arguments for and against the ordinance to the Barangay Council. At the entrance, there were two different lines for registration and the entrances to the auditorium were labeled “pro” and “anti.” The seats were inside were divided by a rope in the middle.
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The Likhaan Center for Women’s Health brought in residents from the various communities that they serve to protest. “This is not an ordinance that affects only Alabang. If passed, this could be replicated in other parts of the country,” said Junice Melgar, executive director of Likhaan. The rallyists were initially denied entry by the village guards saying that only residents or their guests could enter. “One foreigner walking her baby, who we did not even know, saw us and told the guard that our community members were her guests. Otherwise, we would not have been let in,” said Melgar.
Evelyn, a Likhaan community worker who came all the way from Pasay to watch the proceedings said, “Apektado din kami dito. Apektado tayong lahat. Kung mapaisatupad ito at gayahin sa ibang barangay, papaano na lang kaming mga babae?”
Heated debates
“People have called us idiots, zealots, archaic Talibans. But the one thing that we have not been called is anti-life and for that, we are proud,” said Atty Luis Sison in his opening statement for the pro-side.
The "anti" side stressed the unconstitutionality of the ordinance, saying condoms, pills, and IUDs in the legal market are all approved by the Food and Drug Authority, and no barangay has the authority to usurp mandates set by the national government.
“I am not less of a Catholic just because I oppose this. The ordinance is a clear usurpation of authority, declaring illegal things that are not really illegal,” Frank Chavez, a resource person for the anti-side emphatically declared.
“We should not be discussing the RH Bill here. We should leave that to Congress to decide,” he added.
