Gov’t to allot funds for condoms, contraceptives under RH overhaul

Whether it is the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill or Malacañang’s Responsible Parenthood bill (RP), public funds will still be used to buy condoms and other forms of contraceptives for population control.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, during a press briefing yesterday, admitted that despite the modifications made by Malacañang on the original reproductive health measure, the questionable provision which

requires the government to appropriate funds to finance the purchase of artificial contraceptives and ensure their availability to the public has not been removed which means taxpayers’ money would be used to buy condoms.

As a consolation to those opposed to the use of artificial contraceptives, Lacierda said President Aquino has ordered the insertion of a provision which also appropriates funds for natural family planning method, “to emphasize that both natural and artificial family planning methods will be encouraged by the state.”

“I just don’t know how much but there will be appropriations for that. I didn’t go through all the details of the bill itself. But one thing very, very important when we were going through the bill was that the President noticed that there was no explicit statement on the funding of the natural family planning method. And so, the President felt that ‘let’s also emphasize the use of the natural family planning’,” Lacierda said.

Under the original version of the bill, an amount of at least P3 billion a year will be allocated by way of appropriations for the purchase of artificial contraceptives such as condoms and birth control pills.

Lacierda, however, refuted claims that the lobby for the passage of a state-funded population control measure comes from pharmaceutical companies that stand to rake in billions for supplying artificial contraceptives for the government.

The Palace official said is already expected that the Catholic Church will continue to oppose the RH/RP Bill despite adjustments made to make it more “Church-friendly,” noting that “we recognize their moral objections to the Responsible Parenthood Bill” but nonetheless, Aquino is hoping that this will lessen the opposition in the legislature.

“From the very start, the Church would not agree to the Responsible Parenthood Bill owing to the fact that there are provisions which encourage the use of the artificial family planning method. And so, the President has supported this consolidated bill with modifications and that is the position of the President. Again, the President’s position on Responsible Parenthood is in consonance — the five-point statement is reflected on the Responsible Parenthood Bill,” Lacierda said.

Earlier, Aquino declared the inclusion of the RH/RP Bill in Malacañang’s list of priority measures.

He said the “new” Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development is more Church-friendly and many of its controversial provisions such as the aspect of sex education, and the issuance of free contraceptives in hospitals have been altered or removed.

While he refused to call the Palace version of the RH bill as “water down” or “compromise version,” Aquino claimed that there are “certain segments that view anything that talks about artificial means of responsible parenthood as anathema to their beliefs” so he recommended the removal of more contentious issues.

“For instance, there was a provision that we were informed by (Albay) Congressman (Edcel) Lagman which has already been deleted — the ideal family size was defined as two children, that would be deleted. The age-appropriate sex education, we propose that we increase it from Grade 5 to Grade 6 up to high school, and, I think, they agreed also that that is to be so,” Aquino said.

Other provisions of the RH Bill that will be amended include giving parents the option to hold sex education talks by themselves and giving church-based hospitals the right to distribute artificial or natural family planning methods within their jurisdiction.

Lagman, for his part, said the acceptable clarificatory amendments which the President proposed to the RH Bill did not water down nor dilute the bill since its salient features have been retained.

“The President himself rejected the insinuation that Malacañang watered down the RH bill as he explained that the principal provisions remain intact like freedom of informed choice, promotion of all medically safe, legal and effective methods of contraception, sexuality and reproductive health education among the young and adequate government funding,” the lawmaker said in a statement. –Virgilio J. Bugaoisan, Daily Tribune