President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today expressed her grief over the discovery of a dead foetus inside a washroom in the Malacañang Palace complex early Thursday morning. She has ordered authorities to intensify a government campaign against abortion.
"The President is extremely sad over the discovery of the foetus in the New Executive Building. As a devout Catholic, a mother and grandmother, she is against abortion and believes strongly in the sanctity of life. We are saddened by this incident. We hold every human life sacred. We pray for the soul of this innocent child and hope that whoever was responsible for this, realises the gravity of this deed and seek atonement," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.
Arroyo's chief security officer said local police were trying to find who left the foetus, placed in a blue plastic bag and abandoned in a toilet.
"We still have no idea if it was intentionally aborted or it was an accident," Brigadier-General Romeo Prestoza told reporters, adding they were reviewing tapes from a closed circuit camera to identify a woman who went into the washroom early in the morning.
President Arroyo has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to step up its programs geared towards dissuading people from tolerating abortion, and to intensified counseling efforts for unwed and teenage mothers.
"She has given instructions to the DSWD to expand its community networking and outreach efforts to educate the public on the need to shun abortion as a health and moral hazard," said Bunye.
Abortion is strictly illegal in the Philippines and the government under President Arroyo has been promoting chastity education, natural family planning and the traditional Philippine culture in its protection of life and family. "We will push for responsible parenthood and a population policy that is in keeping with our culture," President Arroyo told foreign reporters shortly after her inauguration.
