MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday, May 26, announced it will not lift the 2015 temporary restraining order (TRO) that stopped the health department from distributing and selling implants. 

Reacting to the news, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said she has yet to read if the High Court modified its decision on the TRO.

“If not, then Filipino women and couples are facing limited choices for reproductive health. Much worse, the reproductive health of millions of Filipinos are at risk,” she said in a statement on Friday.

According to the Commission on Population (PopCom), only 23 contraceptives remain available for the public this year as a result of the TRO. It said 15 certificates of product registration expired in 2016, while 10 expired as of this month.

“By 2020, no contraceptives can be procured from the market,” the PopCom said in a statement on Friday.

Ubial said this is an “unprecedented challenge” to health workers as they deal with “increased maternal deaths, abortions, and increased burden on maternal and child health services.”

“Nevertheless, the agencies working on [reproductive health] will not falter and will increase efforts to meet [the] challenge. We still believe allowing women the widest options for birth spacing methods is a genuine health intervention that saves lives,” Ubial added.

The health secretary said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will craft guidelines on consulting stakeholders before the certification of family planning commodities.

In its recent decision, the SC said the Department of Health (DOH) is to blame for the supposed delay in the distribution of contraceptive implants. 

According to the SC, it is the FDA under the DOH that “can resolve the controversy” on whether the hormonal contraceptive “Implanon” and “Implanon NXT” are abortifacients or not. – Rappler.com