Sotto opposes gov't's P880-M fund for contraceptives

Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Friday expressed his opposition to the government's move to allocate P880 million for family planning, specifically for the purchase of articificial contraceptives. Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said they have allocated P880 million for natural family planning, family planning commodities, and essential drugs for mothers and children. However, during Friday's budget deliberations, Sotto said he is objecting to the purchase of artificial contraceptives using government funds because it is in violation of the Philippine Constitution. "Except for condoms, all the contraceptives... in my opinion and in the opinion of many Filipinos would be actually be a violation of the Constitution," he said. He cited article 2, section 12 of the Philippine Constitution which states that: "The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception." "All our contraceptives, except for condoms, violate the Constitution already because there is already conception," he said. Sotto said, "If you would want to use a contraceptive, bumili ka. Bakit hihingi ka sa gobyerno (buy one, why would you request that from the government)?" Enrile's stance He added that although they have not personally talked about it, he knows Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile shares his views. "I know I have the same point with the Senate President," he said. Earlier, Enrile specifically said that he plans to propose the slashing of the allocation for contraceptives, saying he doesn't want it to seem that the Senate has already accepted concept of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. Drilon, however, was confident that the P880-million allocation for family planning and essential drugs for mothers and children will be approved by the Senate. "Yes (it will be approved), but how the P880 million will be spent—whether or not it will include contraceptives—is something that is still the subject of debate," he said in an interview with reporters. During a Senate budget hearing, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said that P400 million from the Department of Health's 2011 budget would be used to purchase birth control pills, injectables, condoms, and cycle beads. He said that P280 million of the P400-million budget for family planning would be used to buy contraceptive pills; P100 million for injectibles; and P8 million for condoms. He did not mention, however, how much would be spent for cycle beads, which are rings of colored beads that help a woman keep track of her fertile and non-fertile days. Natural family planning Ona likewise said the DOH would still promote natural family planning methods and that the purchased condoms would also be used in the government's campaign against HIV/AIDS. Drilon said that the distribution of the contraceptives and other drugs would be implemented by the local government units. He said the budget will be given to the LGUs in cash and kind, depending on the area's level of poverty and infant and maternal mortality rate. The DOH has a proposed budget of P32.7 billion for 2011. - VVP, GMANews.TV