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Carlos Celdran: Jail time over 'Damaso' protest will be worth it

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- Cultural activist Carlos Celdran said Friday serving jail time for staging a one-man protest inside the Manila Cathedral in 2010 will be &quot;worth it.&quot;</p><p>The Supreme Court this week affirmed Celdran&#x27;s sentence of 2 and a half months to 1 year for holding a placard with the word &quot;Damaso&quot; at the famed church to protest the clergy&#x27;s stand on reproductive health.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1427627" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Padre Damaso is a character in Jose Rizal&#x27;s Noli me Tangere novel that symbolized church meddling in state affairs during the Spanish colonization.</p><p>&quot;That particular protest action, that particular art intervention I did inside the church kind of snowballed the movement for the Reproductive Health bill,&quot; Celdran told ANC&#x27;s Early Edition.</p><p>The Reproductive Health Law was enacted 4 years after Celdran&#x27;s stunt, guaranteeing sex education for the youth and free birth control for women.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s a win at least. At least the conviction makes it worth its time,&quot; he said.</p><p>Celdran said he would ask the Supreme Court to reverse its decision.</p>

<p>Cultural activist Carlos Celdran said Friday serving jail time for staging a one-man protest inside the Manila Cathedral in 2010 will be "worth it."</p>

Cultural activist Carlos Celdran said Friday serving jail time for staging a one-man protest inside the Manila Cathedral in 2010 will be "worth it."