POPCOM exec disputes claim family planning EO subverting SC TRO

President Rodrigo Duterte's executive order directing agencies to fund and enforce the family planning program is not eroding Supreme Court's temporary restraining order on contraceptive implants.

"Ang EO ay hindi labag sa sinasabi ng Supreme Court,” Dr. Juan Antonio Perez III, executive director of Population Commission, said at a weekly forum in Quezon City on Saturday, disputing claims that the EO sidesteps SC's TRO.

Last Fiday, Buhay Party-list Rep. Jose "Lito" Atienza said: "Here comes President Duterte issuing an executive order circumventing the intention of the hold order." 

But Perez said, “Nakikiusap lang na i-lift na ito ang TRO dahil nakakahadlang ito sa implementation ng family planning program na siyang sinasaad ng presidente ngayon.” 

NOW: PopCom Exec. Dir. Juan Perez discussing EO 12 on strict and full implementation of RH Law. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/78sZygH7wV

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) January 14, 2017

Last Monday, Duterte signed EO No. 12 that aims to "intensify and accelerate the implementation of critical actions necessary to attain ‘zero unmet need' for modern family planning for all poor households by 2018.”

Perez insisted the TRO "is affecting the issuance of certificates of product registration .... [and] the availability of contraceptives over time.”   

However, he said the government can still implement the EO, despite the TRO.

“Even if we were to fully implement the Supreme Court decision, we still have natural family planning, vasectomy and tubal ligation,” he said.

What the TRO does, he added, is that it limits the choices of Filipinos, especially women, under modern family planning methods.

Hairsplitting

The SC had done "hairsplitting" on the matter. They say, ‘We’re not stopping you, but we’re telling you to use only this for your program.’ Effectively, they’re limiting the choices for women. That’s really against the law, because the law says full choice dapat ng women and individuals,” he insisted.

If the TRO is not lifted, an additional (more or less) 1,000 women may die within a year due to childbirth and one million more unintended pregnancies, said Perez.

At present the Philippine population is at 104 million. Citing Philippine Statistics Authority's estimates, Perez said that by the end of 2017 there will be 105.6 million Filipinos.

The POPCOM, along with the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, is expected to report back to the President after six months on their accomplishments in implementing EO 12.

The three agencies were tasked to assist local government units in implementing strategies to intensify the implementation of the RPRH Law. Their tasks iclude:

• identifying couples and individuals with unmet need for modern family planning;
• conducting intensive community-based demand generation and referral activities and ensure the provision of quality modern family planning information and services, within the principle of informed choice and voluntarism; and
• partnering with civil society organizations and the private sector to attain accelerate RPRH Law implementation. 

For his part, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said last Wednesday that EO 12 wants to make sure that "all women of reproductive ages should be able to achieve their desired family size, their desired number of children rather than having more than they want or they can afford and provide for adequately.  That is the essence of Responsible Parenthood and the Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law.” 

The Supreme Court TRO, in effect has, prevented the procurement, sale, promotion, and distribution of contraceptive implants. These products, it said, are “abortifacient.” —LBG, GMA News