Youth leader Peter Pardo has always been a "pro-life" advocate.

As far back as 2009, Pardo was busy campaigning against the passing of the Reproductive Health bill, which sought to manage population growth in the Philippines, in his capacity as coordinator of the National Capital Region Youth Ministry, a non-government Catholic group.

“Being pro-life means saying ‘no’ to anything that goes against teachings of the Catholic Church, like the death penalty, euthanasia, and of course, abortion and the use of contraceptives,” he said.

In the 2010 elections, there was no doubt in Pardo’s mind who he would vote for in the party-list elections.

“I voted for BUHAY,” he said. “Its battle cry was to protect life. Its campaign materials even had a photo of Brother Mike with a child. That was a clear message it would be the voice of pro-life groups in Congress.”

“Brother Mike” refers to Mike Velarde, the religious group El Shaddai’s leader who allegedly founded BUHAY, or Buhay Hayaang Yumabong (Let life prosper), a party-list group known primarily for its staunch opposition to abortion and its advocacy for the sanctity of life.

In 2001, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified BUHAY on grounds that the group was merely an extension of El Shaddai. Religious groups are barred by law from participating in the party-list elections.

CONJECTURES, SPECULATIONS

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) opposed the Comelec before the Supreme Court, saying the election body’s stand was “merely anchored on conjectures or speculations.”

The High Court upheld the OSG, and before the end of 2003, BUHAY’s two nominees -- Velarde’s son Rene Velarde, and Christian Seneres -- took their seats in the House of Representatives.

BUHAY has since then participated in every single party-list election—and successfully so, always garnering considerable number of votes.

Although allegations that BUHAY was an extension of El Shaddai have been raised over and over again, it mattered little to pro-life advocates, including Pardo, who was not even a member of El Shaddai.

In the 2010 elections, BUHAY received the third highest number of votes.

STREET PROTESTS

What mattered to Pardo was that his champions in Congress -- by that time, another Velarde son, Mariano Michael and businessman Irwin Tieng -- joined them during street protests, and assured them they would not allow the Reproductive Health bill to be passed in the Lower House.

“Yung iba, nag-iingay lang sa streets pero yung nasa loob, for me, ang mas importante. At the end of the day, sila ang magbobotohan, hindi naman yung nag-iingay sa labas,” he said.

But on December 17, 2012, when the Reproductive Health bill was put to a third and final vote, Velarde and Tieng arrived late and failed to vote against the measure.

That surprised Pardo. “I really felt bad because sila yung inaasahan mo dun eh. Maraming pro-life organizations felt bad also,” he said.

The House of Representatives passed the Reproductive Health bill that evening.

In spite of this, BUHAY emerged as the topnotcher in the 2013 party-list elections, giving the group three seats in the 16th Congress: one occupied by Mariano Michael Velarde, another by Irwin Tieng, and the third one by former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.

Together they authored 68 bills.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

BUHAY has been credited for the passage of several laws in the last nine years, among them: the Veterans Benefits Act, the Red Cross Act, the act mandating use of motorcycle helmets, and the Anti-Camcording Act.

But here lies the twist. The Anti-Camcording Law appears to benefit the film industry more than the pro-life constituents who voted them to public office. The film industry is also the main beneficiary of another bill BUHAY championed that became law in the 15th Congress: Republic Act 9640 lowers the amusement taxes to be paid by cinemas, film producers and distributors from 30 percent to 10 percent.

Representative Tieng's family owns Solar Entertainment, a multimillion-peso film distributor and producer.

“That’s clearly a conflict of interest,” said political analyst Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. “Of course, you can always file bills of national importance for the general welfare, which includes the welfare of your constituents. That’s not the problem. The problem is if you file bills that do not benefit your constituents. Meaning, you have other vested interests that you are looking out for."

ABS-CBN tried to get a statement from Tieng and Solar Entertainment, but they declined. ABS-CBN is a sister company of Star Cinema, a competitor of Solar Entertainment.

TIME TO MOVE ON

BUHAY has filed a bill to repeal the Reproductive Health law but was unable to get support from its colleagues.

Pardo said there are other important issues pro-life advocates need to keep an eye on in Congress. “This isn’t just about reproductive health. Madami pang dapat labanan ang pro-life groups like divorce and same-sex marriage.”

And while elections are three months away, Pardo said this time around, he’s giving more careful thought to the party-list elections.