FVR to SC: Lift TRO on contraceptives

Former President Fidel V. Ramos answers questions in a pressconference held in Makati, Nov 21,2016. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

Former President Fidel Ramos on Monday joined calls for the Supreme Court to immediately lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) on contraceptive implants.

Speaking at the first National Family Planning Conference, Ramos said being a long-time advocate of the reproductive health (RH) law prompted him to join the calls, led by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Population (Popcom), for the lifting of the TRO.

“It is from my own family experience that I have long been an advocate of reproductive health. From my mother’s side there were eight children, from my father’s side there were nine… It is our advocacy and determination to remove this final hurdle or have the TRO lifted by the SC,” Ramos said.

For his part, Popcom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III reiterated that it was imperative that the TRO be lifted by the high court to allow the full implementation of the RH Law of 2012.

Teenage pregnancies

Perez said this was because of the danger posed by a rising number of teenage pregnancies.

“Currently, there are 209,000 teen pregnancies in this country. That is more than 500 a day. And the situation has been the same since 2011. So, for the last four to five years, we have over a million teen pregnancies in this country,” Perez said.

If the TRO remains in place by 2018, the number of teenage pregnancy could even become worse, he warned.
Contraceptives to expire

Perez also reiterated that by 2018, 90 percent of contraceptive brands would no longer be available on the market, including P248 million worth of hormonal contraceptives that would be expiring soon.

“The expiration of these modern contraceptives would result in a limited brand or kind of contraceptive for the couples to choose from. They would thus be deprived of their reproductive health and rights,” he said.

Unless the TRO is lifted, government investments like the procured subdermal implants, which are now kept in DOH warehouses and are to expire by 2018, will all go to waste, according to Perez.

“We are really pinning our hopes on the SC. We hope that they broaden their understanding. They are not scientists. They are jurists. So, it has to be the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the DOH, which shall determine whether a contraceptive pill is abortifacient or not,” said Benjamin de Leon, president of Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc.

A million signatures

De Leon noted that the only “family planning methods available now are condoms, ligation for women and vasectomy for men plus the approved natural family planning methods.”

The DOH, meanwhile, called on the public to join efforts to convince the Supreme Court to lift the TRO by signing a petition.

“We hope to gather one million signatures so that the Supreme Court will now lift the TRO. This is our unified call to action,” said Dr Francia Laxamana, an assistant health secretary.

Last week, reproductive health advocates asked the high court to allow the DOH to proceed with the procurement and distribution of contraceptive implants.

In a motion, the intervenors urged the high court to lift the restraining order it issued last June 2015.

The intervenors also urged the high court to reconsider its ruling that struck down the certifications and recertifications issued by the FDA on 77 contraceptive drugs and devices, including Implanon and Implanon NXT, for violation of the constitutional requirement of due process.

Among the intervenors were Filipino Voices for Reproductive Health, Philippine NGO Council on Population Health and Welfare, Philippine Center for Population and Development and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, former health secretary Esperanza Cabral and former presidential assistant for social development Ben de Leon.