President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. INQUIRER PHOTO/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
President Duterte wants the full implementation of the reproductive health law, and the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) affects the distribution of two artificial birth control implants, Malacañang said on Friday.
The palace issued the statement in response to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s denial that the high court was hindering the implementation of the reproductive health law.
“The President stresses the importance of the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health law in his State of the Nation Address,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
Abella said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already issued a certification that Implanon and Implanon NXT were nonabortifacient.
But because of an opposing claim, the court issued a TRO asking the FDA to undertake another certification process.
“This TRO against the two specific artificial birth control implants adversely affected their distribution, resulting in limited availability of artificial contraceptives and, as mentioned by the President, wastage,” he said.
On Thursday, Sereno issued a statement saying the high court never stopped the law’s implementation, and that the TRO only covered two contraceptives.