Sotto hits int’l donor agencies for promoting condoms

MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine senator has dragged international donor agencies into the debate on reproductive health in the Senate, accusing them of promoting condoms and backing projects that support abortion.

In the second part of his privilege speech Wednesday, August 15, Sen Vicente Sotto III accused the USAID, for example, of being the “principal instrument [of the United States] to control, reduce population through birth control worldwide.”

USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, was created 50 years ago and consolidates US socio-economic assistance to other countries. Its aid is focused on food and nutrition, population planning, health and education.

Sotto accused USAID of funding the distribution of condoms in the Philippines.

In the past, USAID helped fund family planning projects of key local communities in the Philippines, such as Marikina, that were geared toward maternal health. It stopped its support for the distribution of contraceptives in 2003, however.

Sotto accused USAID of funding research on family planning. “It is likely that they also skewed the results [of the research] in their favor,” Sotto said, without citing data.

A staunch opponent of a bill that seeks to mandate government to promote family planning and educate communities on it, Sotto has pledged to stop the approval of the bill in the Senate. The bill has reached the period of amendments. A counterpart bill is also in the same stage in the House of Represenatatives.

Sotto was still delivering his privilege speech as of posting. He also accused the World Health Organization and United Nations agencies of funding programs that promote contraceptives. – Rappler.com

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