By Addison Pascua
PHOTO: @PANTAYPilipinas (Twitter) ; iStock Photo
Buhay party-list representative and vice presidential candidate Lito Atienza remained firm on his stand on same-sex marriage as he recently claimed that the purpose of marriage is for reproduction.

In an interview with ABS CBN News Channel’s In Focus on Tuesday, Atienza reiterated that he is still against same-sex marriage as it is only meant for straight people.

“We don’t believe in same-sex marriage because marriage is meant for a male and a female and the purpose is reproduction,” he claimed.

Atienza, a staunch pro-life advocate, explained that same-sex marriage is not in accordance with the natural law.

“I cannot change my mind. My definition of a family is what is exactly what it should be. If a Filipino male becomes pregnant, I will change my mind, meaning natural law has already changed also,” Atienza stressed.

“Male is the breadwinner, the wife is the child-bearer, eh ‘yan talaga ang magpapatuloy na definition ng pamilya na dapat nating igalang,” the vice presidential aspirant added.

Atienza’s assertion over the purpose of marriage, however, drew mixed reactions from social media netizens including Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.

In a tweet, Leonen asked, “So it will not make sense for senior citizens to marry? Or those who are not fertile? Asking for a friend.”

But Atienza stood firm over his stance on the issue even if this will take some of the votes away from him.

“I’ve always been like this. When I started talking about my pro-life advocacy, I was advised by well-meaning friends to not be vocal about my pro-life advocacy because I might not win the election but that has been disproven time and again,” he said.

Atienza filed his certificate of candidacy along with this running mate Senator Manny Pacquiao, who also shares the same stance over same-sex marriage.

In 2016, Pacquiao faced backlash after delineating gay couples, lesbians, and transgenders as “worse than animals.”

The senator then conveyed his apology for those he hurt but still expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage.