Women in, Postinor still out

The good news about Filipino women in this year’s celebration of Women’s Month is that more of them are in public service. This has been the gist of Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes’ talks in meetings with women. He is not mentioning President Macapagal-Arroyo, as her position is quite obvious, nor of the smart female members of the Senate and the House, and the Cabinet, but he keeps talking about the gains made in the involvement of women in local governance.

At the local hierarchy level, he says, there are 15 lady governors, eight vice-governors, 97 board members, 14 city mayors, nine vice mayors, 225 municipal mayors, 144 municipal vice mayors and 1,731 councilors.

At the barangay level, a total of 88,286 women are occupying various positions. Of that number, 5,350 are elected punong barangays, 64,142 are council members, and 18,794 are Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons.

Reyes said that those appointed to the position of barangay secretaries number 23,983 as against their male counterpart of 15,350. There are also 25,190 female barangay treasurers as against 14,794 male treasurers.

Reyes says the Philippine Constitution "clearly provides for the development of our women to make them potential partners in the development process. That is the reason why in almost all national and local endeavors, their participation is inevitable."

He notes that many of the positions traditionally occupied by men are now held by women. "This is a healthy sign, as even in the military and police service, we see women." Records at the Philippine National Police, he says, show that of the 120,000 police force, over 7,000 are women.

Also, at the Philippine Public Safety College, the training arm of the DILG for the police, fire and jail personnel, quite a number of trainees are women.

Two more pieces of good news: Four of the 2005 Philippine Military Academy graduates are women. And a recent survey which we shall tackle later claims that women make better public servants than men.

The United Nations target for gender equality is the participation of women in decision-making and high positions in government and private sectors is 50 per cent. So we still have a long way to go before women’s participation is fully realized. The good news is that we’re inching our way in that direction.

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>But here’s bad news.

Women’s groups continue to be up in arms against Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit’s obstinate position on Postinor, the Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP) which, according to Womenlead Executive Director Carolina S. Ruiz Austria, "is a sure way of helping women, especially those who were abused and would like to avoid unplanned pregnancy."

The Secretary does not agree. He takes on the: Pro-Lifers’ insistence that the ECP is an abortifacient, which the women says is not. Below is an account of the DOH’s urong-sulong position towards the ECP, as related by Baj Cruz, Womenlead Foundation information officer.

"As early as December 1, 2003, five out of the seven voting members of the special committee created by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) in 2002, came to the conclusion that the Emergency Contraceptive Pill is not an abortifacient.

"In a 563-page recommendation, the four doctors in the majority of the Special Committee noted that ‘Postinor is not an abortifacient because medically/scientifically, conception starts from implantation of the fertilized ovum in the uterus of the woman and not from fertilization.’

"Likewise, the legal expert noted that the Constitutional provision reflecting a policy against abortion cited by the Department of Health as the basis for banning Postinor, is not applicable in the case of the Emergency Contraceptive Pill.

"The majority was composed of four physicians and one constitutional law expert from the University of the Philippines, College of Law.

"However, despite the majority’s recommendation, the DOH Secretary refused to take a position on the merits of the case, deciding instead to dismiss the case on the basis of the original importer’s lack of interest in reapplying for a permit to import Postinor.

"Apart from Postinor, another brand of ECP is Norlevo which is now also available over the counter in parts of South East Asia.

"In December 2001, Secretary Manuel Dayrit withdrew the registration of the Emergency Contraceptive Pill even after it was certified safe as a contraceptive by the Department of Health in 1999.

"Postinor, also known as levonorgestrel 750 mcg, is a brand of emergency contraception which can be taken between 72 hours and even up to a week after unprotected sexual intercourse, sexual abuse and rape to prevent unplanned and unwanted pregnancy.

"ECP was already directed to be made available in women’s protection units in public hospitals when the DOH overturned its own findings, upon a Petition filed by Abayfamilya in May of 2001.

"Abayfamilya claims that all forms of modern contraception are abortifacients and has called for the ban of modern contraceptives alongside the conservative factions of the Catholic hierarchy.

"In May 2002, Womenlead Foundation, Inc. filed a petition to re-open the case of ECP on the ground that there were no public hearings conducted on the matter. This prompted the DOH Secretary to convene a special committee of experts to conduct hearings and make a recommendation on the matter of ECP.

"As early as November 2003, women’s groups were already receiving information that the recommendation was already about to be submitted to the DOH Secretary who would make the decision.

"Despite numerous requests however, there was no official word on the matter until late 2004. By October 2004, Undersecretary Alex Padilla of DOH informed Womenlead’s Counsel that the Secretary was about to issue a resolution and that it would be out before the end of 2004.

"In their statement aptly entitled ‘ECP: Ligtas sa di Planadong Pabuntis,’ Womenlead vowed to pursue the case of ECP, noting that the overwhelming majority opinion of the experts’ committee is a vindication of the reproductive rights of Filipino women.

"It is a pity that the DOH Secretary does not have the guts to stand by the well-crafted and substantive position of the experts’ committee not only in the name of science and in the realm of legal rights, but also in the name of social justice for women."

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