QC: No condom distribution in public schools

A Filipino health worker shows condoms that are given for free to the public by the Department of Health in Manila, Philippines, on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. The Quezon City government said it would not allow the distribution of condoms to public school students as planned by the Department of Health. AP

The Quezon City government has thumbed down the distribution of condoms in its public schools, in light of the Department of Health’s decision to give out condoms beginning next school year.

In a text message to key officials on Sunday, Mayor Herbert Bautista said they would not allow schools to become distribution hubs of contraceptives.

“We will allow the use of QC public health facilities, but not QC public schools,” he stressed.

Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial  earlier said in a news conference that the planned distribution of DOH had been pilot tested in Quezon City.

But the city epidemiology and surveillance unit said such action was never done in any school in the city, contrary to Ubial’s statement. CBB/rga