Malacañang said on Thursday that it is continuing to coordinate with all stakeholders regarding the implementation of the goals for the Reproductive Health Law despite the reduction of P1 billion from the 2016 national budget for funding contraceptives intended for the poor.
“Health Secretary Janette Garin says the government continues to coordinate with all stakeholders regarding the implementation of the goals of the RH Law,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.
Coloma said the DOH will give a comprehensive report on this development.
Senator Vicente Sotto III on Thursday admitted that the budget meant for the purchase of contraceptives for poor couples was scrapped from the 2016 national budget.
Garin earlier said the P1-billion allocation for contraceptives was deleted from the budget during the bicameral conference.
Garin said she learned of the budget cut on Monday and blamed the Senate for it.
Sotto, an oppositor of the RH Law, said the budget for contraceptives was indeed deleted, but added that the budget for the rest of the programs under the RH Law remains in the budget of the Department of Health.
“The budget of the DOH is P123 billion. RH budget is scattered all over that budget total. What was deleted was a mere small portion of their allocation for contraceptives including condoms and injectables that are considered abortifacients and in fact, covered by the Supreme Court TRO against the purpose of such. Less than P200 million that was cut was transferred by the Committee on Finance to augment the budget of State Universities and Colleges,’’ Sotto said.
‘’Do not be a victim of disinformation. For the record, I am now in favor of the RH Law after we passed it because we made sure it was [cleansed] of abortion, population control and the use of abortifacients,” Sotto said.
Sotto provided the following breakdown:
– DOH total budget: P123.5 billion
– 2016 budget for family health and responsible parenthood: P2,275,078,000 lump sum
– Submitted total cut: P195,963,748 in Family Health and Responsible Parenting under the family planning supplies:
– P15,964,748 – IUD
– P30 million – male condoms
– P50 million – Depot Medroxy Progesterone Acetate
– P50 million – pills (combine oral contraceptives)
– P50 million – pills (progestin only pills)
Foreign and local authorities have long cited the need for improved birth control in the Philippines which has one of Asia’s highest birth rates as well as high maternal mortality rates.
The country has a population of more than 100 million with about 25 percent living in poverty.
In 2014, the Supreme Court finally upheld a “reproductive health” law, striking down more than a dozen petitions against it from church-backed groups.
The law requires government health centers to supply free condoms and birth control pills, as well as mandate sex education in schools.
It also requires that public health workers receive family planning training, while medical care after an abortion will also be legalized.
Nearly 80 percent of the population is Catholic, an inheritance of three centuries of Spanish colonial rule that ended in the late 1800s.
The Catholic church opposes birth control and abortion and its hold is strong in the Philippines where divorce and abortion are illegal.
Garin said the department would now seek private donors to provide funds for contraceptives.