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To combat high birth rates in Philippine slums, the Health Ministry is seeking 400 million pesos (US $9 million) for condoms and other contraceptives. During testimony Wednesday at a public hearing about the 2011 national budget, Health Secretary Enrique Ona supported the plan and added that condoms could help prevent the spread of HIV. After the hearing, however, top senators quickly criticized the proposal.
"If you want to use a condom, buy your own. Why let the government pay for it?" Vicente Sotto, senate majority leader, said after the hearing. "I will move for the [budget] cut of the contraceptives. All of it."
"I might have to cut that," said Juan Ponce Enrile, senate president. "I will cut family planning . condoms, pills, and injectable material. We will remove all of that." Instead, he said, the money should be used to support hospitals and disease control.
Last month, President Benigno Aquino said his government would provide contraceptives to poor couples who need them - prompting warnings from Roman Catholic officials. Bishops threatened street protests and suggested that Aquino, a practicing Catholic who took office in June after a landslide electoral victory, could be excommunicated.
Though the nation is 80 percent Catholic, an independent national survey in January found that up to 68 percent of voters want the government to provide all legal means of family planning. In 2010, the nation's population was 94.01 million, up from 76.5 million in the 2000 census.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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