DOH chief admits part of 2012 budget will be for contraceptives

Health Secretary Enrique Ona on Wednesday confirmed that part of their proposed P43-billion budget for 2012 will essentially be used to purchase contraceptives, the use of which is still hotly debated in the predominantly Catholic society. "Meron, kasama doon... in essence yung condoms kasama doon (That is included there. In essence the purchase of condoms is included in the budget)," Ona told reporters in an interview after a budget hearing at the Senate. He said the contraceptives will be purchased under the Department of Health’s family health and responsible parenting program, which has a budget of P2.5 billion. He could not, however, indicate how much of this amount will be spent on contraceptives. "If we talk of responsible parenthood, there are many aspects, so we did not specifically put in a percent or even an amount. But there will be contraceptives for those who need it," he said. But the DOH chief noted that this budget will also be used for the purchase of vaccines against pneumonia and influenza. DOH supplies During Wednesday's Senate finance committee hearing, Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III asked Ona whether the DOH's proposed P2.41-billion budget for supplies included contraceptives. Ona explained that the budget for supplies has been allocated for the procurement of micro-nutrients, antibiotics, and whatever is needed for their program on maternal health and child nutrition. Sotto, however, still asked Ona to submit a list of the supplies that the DOH plans to buy with their budget next year. "The DOH is one of my favorite departments... isa lang naman kalaban ko alam naman ninyo yun (I have only one enemy, you know what that is)," he said. Sotto is one of the major oppositors of the use of contraceptives and the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the Senate. "As of today, the best argument against RH Bill is the DOH. The family planning program, the maternal health program, the health care assistance program, ‘yon mga immunization and everything under the umbrella of health," he said. DOH budget The DOH's proposed budget for 2012 is P42.8 billion, which is a huge leap from its budget in 2011 P32.7 billion. Ona said that the department's budget for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) was increased from P15.2 billion to P26.2 billion; personnel services from P7.7 billion to P7.6 billion; and capital outlay from P8.9 billion to P8.2 million. Last year, part of the DOH's P931-million budget for the family health program was supposed to be used to purchase birth control pills, injectables, condoms, and cycle beads. However, the Senate and the House of Representatives scrapped the funding for the purchase of contraceptives. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had earlier said that they did not want to approve the budget for the purchase of contraceptives because it might seem like they were in favor of the RH bill. The Catholic Church has consistently opposed the use of artificial birth control methods like condoms and birth control pills, saying it only supports "natural" family planning methods for married couples. - KBK, GMA News