“Filipino women will be left with limited and
expensive contraceptive products as the more affordable will lose their
certificates. This will make the important elements of the Reproductive Health
Law ineffective,” Popcom Southern Tagalog regional director Lydio Español
explained.
MANILA,
Philippines – The government will run out of contraceptives for Filipino women
within the next two years if the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by
the Supreme Court (SC) on reproductive health products is not lifted, the
Commission on Population (Popcom) said yesterday.
Around
P248 million worth of contraceptive implants procured by the government could
go to waste unless the SC lifts the TRO on family planning products, according
to Popcom Southern Tagalog regional director Lydio Español.
Español
said the certificates of registration for most family planning products sold in
the market, including the sub-dermal implants purchased by the Department of
Health (DOH) for its family planning campaign, have lapsed or are nearing
expiration.
“If the
TRO on contraceptives is not lifted, it would be impossible for these brands
now available in the market to renew certification, which means the sale would
no longer be allowed,” he said.
If the
TRO is not lifted, Español estimated that about 90 percent of contraceptive
brands would no longer be available by 2017. By 2020, only natural and
permanent methods of contraception are left for Filipino women, he said.
“Filipino
women will be left with limited and expensive contraceptive products as the
more affordable will lose their certificates. This will make the important
elements of the Reproductive Health Law ineffective,” Español explained.
He belied
allegations that contraceptives are abortifacient as years of studies have
shown that the different family planning methods are safe for use of women.
Popcom is
targeting “zero” unmet need for contraceptives under the six-year term of the
Duterte administration, Español said.
But he
admitted that Popcom would have difficulty meeting the target if the high court
would not lift the TRO since there would be no available methods for those in
need of contraceptives.
“It’s an
ambitious plan and given the reality right now of the SC TRO, it may not
materialize because there won’t be enough supply of contraceptives that we
intend to provide beneficiaries of 4Ps and other poor people,” he said.
With
cheaper contraceptives out of the market, family planning advocates said
unplanned and unwanted pregnancies would increase.
Elizabeth
Angsioco, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines Inc. president, said
the TRO against contraceptive implants was anti-poor since it deprives women of
the choice to space the number of their children.
“The TRO
affects only poor women because those with money can readily get contraceptive
implant from their doctors,” Angsioco said, noting that contraceptive implant
costs as much as P10,000 in private hospitals but are given by the government
for free in health centers.
Contraceptive
implant is the most popular modern family planning method among poor women
because of its long-lasting efficacy, Angsioco said.
“It is
disturbing that in the midst of reports that in Southeast Asia, the Philippines
is the only country with rising teenage pregnancy, the SC continues to be
silent on the TRO,” she said.
She said
lifting the TRO would be best for young Filipino women and for the country’s
economy.
According
to Popcom and DSWD, it has been more than a year since the High Court issued
the TRO stopping the DOH from offering implanon and Implanon NXT in its family
planning program.
Español
said the TRO covers the granting of any and all pending applications for
reproductive products.
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