DOH to disseminate Implanon, Implanon NXT, other contraceptive implants

The national implementation team of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law of the Department of Health (DOH) has vowed to distribute and replenish their supply of contraceptives as soon as possible.

According to a report on 24 Oras on Tuesday, the DOH believes that the 2015 temporary restraining order on the distribution and procurement of contraceptive implants Implanon and Implanon NXT was automatically lifted the moment the Food and Drug Administration certified them as non-abortifacent.

GMA News Online has sought clarification from the Supreme Court on the issue.

The DOH was barred from distributing and buying these contraceptives as part of the Responsible Parenting and Reproductive Health Law after the Supreme Court issued the TRO in response to a petition filed by the Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines Inc. (ALFI).

A lengthy reevaluation and re-certification process for Implanon and Implanon NXT and 49 other contraceptives to prove that they were not abortifacient was set as a requirement for the lifting of the TRO.

The Supreme Court has yet to act on the FDA's report though the DOH, the Commission on Population, and reproductive health and family advocates lauded the lifting on the ban on the family planning products.

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman on Monday called for a higher budget for family planning in light of the re-certification of the 51 contraceptives. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News