TWO senators have expressed dismay on Friday over the removal of the P1-billion allocation set to finance the procurement contraceptives for the Department of Health's (DOH) family planning program.
Last Wednesday, Health Secretary Janette Garin said that their expected P1 billion allocation to procure contraceptives for the year 2016 was taken off the national budget to augment the funds of other agencies.
In a statement, Senator Pia Cayetano said the P1-billion cut was "totally unacceptable."
"As the principal sponsor of the RH (reproductive health) Law, I am shocked that the RH budget was slashed by P1 billion. At every stage of the 2016 budget process, I had asked for details," Cayetano said.
"This was work in progress and the detailed amendments were not readily available. Thus, we work on a basis of trust – that the chair of the finance committee would not make significant changes without informing the body, or in the case of RH, no major changes will be made without informing me, knowing that I sponsored the measure,” she added.
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in a separate statement, said the RH Law, which should have been "fully and conscientiously implemented," appeared useless after the government decided to cut the budget.
"The P1-billion budget cut threatens to deprive some seven million women of reproductive health services. This abandonment is immoral in a country where some 200 out of 100,000 women who give birth die," Santiago said.
"It is irreconcilable that Congress, which enacted RH Law after much hardship in 2012, would three years later render that same law inutile," said Santiago, a co-author of the RH Law.
Senate finance committee chair Loren Legarda defended the budget cut, saying it was meant to increase the budget of other agencies.
"The cut of P1 billion for the Department of Health's family health and responsible parenting (FHRP) was a source for the increases in other agencies, including the Department of National Defense' air assets upgrading, which is timely and equally important given the West Philippine Sea issue," Legarda said in a statement.
"Part of it was also used for the increase in the state universities and colleges’ budget. A portion of the P1 billion was realigned within DOH to provide for the health facilities and medical assistance to indigent patients," she added.
Legarda said the decision to cut the allocation for FHRP was done after assessing its possible impact on the program.
The senator further said that as of June 2015, the DOH status of funds showed that of the P3.27 billion allocation, only P955 has been obligated or 29 percent.
She also noted that for the remaining six months, P2.3 billion or 71 percent has yet to be obligated.
"The unused 2015 budget is still available in 2016 and the agencies may augment deficient items from their savings," she said.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also expressed concern over the budget cut on the DOH's family-planning program.
In a statement, UNFPA Philippines Representative Klaus Beck warned that there could be adverse implications of the budget cut on the poor families' access to much-needed family planning supplies.
"The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RH Law) has solidified the foundation of reproductive health and rights in the Philippines, but without funding for contraceptives, an essential element of any family planning program, the law will be ineffective," said Beck.
The UNFPA official noted that the budget deletion comes at an "especially critical time" when the country is seeking to strengthen efforts to combat the growing incidents of teen pregnancy, which consequently contributes to maternal deaths.
"Failure to sustain this commitment can swiftly reverse gains and put the country in a more difficult position to achieve its vital development target to reduce maternal deaths," said Beck.
For her part, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Yoriko Yasukawa said the organization is hopeful that the absence of allocation for an integral aspect of the family planning program would be addressed.
This, Yasukawa added, is necessary since important investments should be made in a country with a large population of young people, such as the Philippines.
"Access to contraceptives is an essential condition for exercising the basic human right to health as well as the right to reproductive choices... We strongly encourage the reversal of the budget deletion," said Yasukawa.
Under the RH law, all accredited public health facilities shall provide a full range of modern family planning methods, including medical consultations, and supplies and necessary and reasonable procedures for poor and marginalized couples for free. (With HDT/Sunnex)