The shortage of contraceptives was the result of the Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court in July 2015, according to PopCom
The shortage in available contraceptives is seen to rapidly increase the population in the Philippines to more than 106 million, as projected by the Commission on Population (PopCom).
This is declared by the PopCom itself on Monday, January 2, as the shortage in available contraceptives continues.
According to PopCom Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III, the population of the Philippines is likely to exceed its projected increase by a million this 2017 if the supply of contraceptives in the market continues to be scarce.
The shortage of the contraceptives is the result of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Philippine Supreme Court in July 2015.
Before 2016 ended, the PopCom projected the population of Filipinos to reach 105.7 million when December 2017 comes, based on the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), revealing that women of reproductive afe in the country continue to increase, coupled with fertility rates in most region of the Philippines going higher-than-national-average.
According to Perez, the population could be more than 106.7 million if the decision of the high court would become final.
“We are slowly running out of modern family planning methods”, said the PopCom executive director.
In 2012, the Reproductive Health law was enacted by Congress, and the executive department approved its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) a year later.
But until now, some TROs from the courts have constrained the full implementation of the law.
Just like in July 2015, the Supreme Court stopped the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) from renewing the licenses of all contraceptive products, following the petition filed by the Alliance for Family Foundation Philippines, Incorporated.
Because of the said TRO, the FDA had to re-certify that the products are safe and not an agent to abortion.
The Supreme Court also prohibited the Department of Health (DOH) from including about P250 million worth of contraceptive implants in its family planning program. These products are set to expire in DOH warehouses by late part of 2017.
Motions for Reconsideration (MRs) have been filed by the DOH and other reproductive advocates with SC but last August 2016, the high court instead issued an order to the FDA to re-certify the contraceptives again.
According to the PopCom executive director, the licenses of 15 out of 48 contraceptive brands out in the Philippine market had expired since tthe issuance of the TRO.
The PopCom also hopes that the SC TRO will be lifted soon so that their fear of an annual one thousand maternal deaths will not be realized.
