EnGendeRights, Inc.
88-A Calumpit St., Veterans Village, Quezon City, 1105, Philippines
Telefax. no. (+632) 376-2578, engenderights@pldtdsl.net, www.engenderights.org
September 3, 2009
The Committee on the Rights of the Child
Re:
Supplementary information on the Philippines
Scheduled for review by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on 15
September, 2009
Dear Committee Members:
This letter is intended to provide supplemental information regarding the
Philippines, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the Committee on the Rights of the
Child (“the Committee”) during its 52nd session. EnGendeRights hopes to further the
work of the Committee by providing independent information concerning the rights
protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the Convention”).
The Convention, by its own terms, protects both children and adolescents – under
Part I, Article 1, “a child means every human being below the age of eighteen unless
under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.”1 In addition, the
Committee issued General Comment No. 4 in 2003, which directly addresses adolescent
health and development.2 According to General Comment No. 4, adolescence is a time of
great change, with regard to one’s “individual identity and… one’s sexuality.”3 This
report deals directly with the issue of adolescent health in the Philippines.
During the Committee’s thirty-ninth session, in 2005, the Concluding
Observations on the Philippines stated the Committee’s concerns on adolescent health,
including “early pregnancies and in this respect adolescents’ limited access to
reproductive health counseling and accurate and objective information about, for
example, contraception.”4 In addition, the Committee expressed “concern about the lack
of measures to prevent suicide among adolescents.”5 With regard to HIV/AIDS, the
Committee expressed “its concern about the inadequate level of HIV/AIDs awareness
among Philippine adolescents.”6
Among the Committee’s recommendations were that the Philippine government
“ensure access to reproductive health counseling and provide all adolescents with
accurate and objective information and services in order to prevent teenage pregnancies
and related abortions.”7 In addition, the Committee recommended that children and
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adolescents be allowed access to “adequate social and health services,” adequate sexual
health education, and HIV/AIDS counseling.8
Despite the Committee’s concerns and recommendations, many issues of concern
remain. Below are issues of concern for the Committee to address with regard to
adolescent health in evaluating the Philippines during its 52nd session.
1. Access to Contraception and Family Planning (Article 24)
Article 24 of the Convention “recognize(s) the right of the child to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and
rehabilitation of health.”9 In addition, General Comment No. 4 states that “state parties
should take measures to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in adolescent girls,
particularly caused by early pregnancy and unsafe abortion practices.”10 The General
Comment also urges states to provide services to young women, “including family
planning, contraception and safe abortion services where abortion is not against the law,
adequate and comprehensive obstetric care and counseling.”11
Furthermore, General Comment 3, dealing with HIV and AIDS, lists among the
rights guaranteed to children and adolescents, which must be upheld to address
HIV/AIDS, “sex education and family planning education and services.”12 In addition,
“free or low-cost contraceptive, methods and services” are to be provided to adolescents
by State parties.13
Filipino adolescents are, as a result of national policy and local laws, denied
access to medicines included on the WHO List of Essential Medicines such as
contraceptives, including oral contraceptives, injectables, IUDs, and barrier
contraceptives including condoms and diaphragms.14 This denial of access is in violation
of their basic rights under the Convention.
A. Access to Contraception
In the Philippines, there is a 51% contraceptive prevalence rate with only 36%
using modern methods.15
Access to modern contraceptives in the Philippines has been drastically curtailed
by the current administration through an official policy shift based on political
expediency and religious ideology as opposed to women’s health interests and basic
human rights. The Department of Health (DOH) issued an order in 2002 to mainstream
natural family planning (NFP) on the ground that “NFP is the only method acceptable to
the Catholic Church.”16 The DOH succumbed to the pressures of the administration of
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and has made it a policy to push only for NFP while
leaving the task of promoting modern methods of contraception to the Population
Commission17 (POPCOM) totally disregarding their obligation to provide full access to
the full range of contraceptive methods. Furthermore, significant funds have been
devoted to the promotion of NFP methods without continuing support for modern
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methods despite the fact that the former are less effective. According to the NDHS 2003,
high pregnancy rates result from the use of NFP methods such as withdrawal and periodic
abstinence.18 Three specific barriers prevent effective fertility management in the
Philippines: “1) Misperceptions about health concerns and side effects, 2) Use of
traditional methods with high failure rates, and 3) Unacceptably high failure rates of Pills
and LAM, suggesting incorrect usage”.19 In 2004, DOH diverted funds that had
previously been allocated for family planning20 to a Php50 million [1.14 million USD or
725,000 Euros] contract with Couples for Christ, a Catholic church-backed group, to
promote natural family planning methods.21 These measures contradict the contraceptive
preferences of women in the Philippines. In fact, the government has acknowledged in
its report to the CEDAW Committee that the pill is the most preferred method among
women, as opposed to traditional methods that are increasingly becoming unpopular.22
The government’s active discouragement of modern contraceptive methods has
had a devastating impact on access to family planning information and services,
especially because the government is the main family planning service provider in the
country.23 Although services are available in the private sector, individuals depend upon
the public sector for contraceptives due to a range of factors including the high price of
contraceptives and official restrictions on advertising in the private sector, with the
exception of condoms.24 The Committee expressed concern in its 1995 Conclusions and
Recommendations regarding the privatization and decentralization of the Philippine
government’s health program, emphasizing that “such an approach does not in any way
relieve the Government of its Covenant-based obligation to use available means to
promote adequate access to health care services, particularly for the poorer segments of
the population.” Thus, the government cannot absolve itself of responsibility for
providing family planning services by delegating responsibility to the private sector.
Furthermore, decentralization has made access to family planning information and
services precarious in the Philippines. The 1991 Local Government Code and the 1996
executive order that made local government units (LGUs) responsible for ensuring the
availability of family planning information and services have empowered local officials
to an unprecedented degree.25 Several local officials have used their administrative
powers to completely prohibit the delivery of modern methods of contraceptives and to
instead promote natural family planning. Despite that, the Philippine government cites
the devolution of reproductive health policy to LGUs as a measure that promotes
reproductive health.26 The promotion of “contraceptive self reliance” has resulted in the
complete breakdown of reproductive health services, particularly in municipalities where
the administration has taken an anti-family planning stance and refuses to purchase
contraceptives for LGU clinics.27
In recent years, policies banning all “artificial” birth control methods, including
condoms, pills, intra-uterine devices and sterilization, were introduced in Laguna, Manila
City, and Puerto Princesa in 1995, 2000 and 2001 respectively.28 The policies introduced
in Laguna and Puerto Princesa have since been overturned by subsequent local
administrations, but the Manila City Policy still prevails.29
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On 29 February 2000, then-Mayor Jose L. Atienza Jr. unilaterally issued
Executive Order No. 003, Declaring Total Commitment and Support to the Responsible
Parenthood Movement in the City of Manila and Enunciating Policy Declarations in
Pursuit Thereof (“the EO”), instructing the City Health Department to “promote
responsible parenthood and uphold natural family planning not just as a method but as a
way of self-awareness in promoting the culture of life while discouraging the use of
artificial methods of contraception like condoms, pills, intrauterine devices, surgical
sterilization, and other [sic].”30 The wording of the EO in itself does not explicitly ban
modern contraceptives; however, in practice, since the issuance of the EO, the policy has
been to withdraw the supplies of modern contraceptives from city public health facilities
and to deny women any referral or information on family planning services. Thus,
women who for many years had relied on city public health facilities for modern
contraceptives were suddenly left without their main source of supplies. Furthermore,
these women cannot afford to buy these contraceptives in private facilities or in other
cities.
For nine years women, especially those from low-income households, have been
arbitrarily denied access to a full range of modern contraceptives in blatant violation of
their right to access the full range of family planning methods and services as recognized
in international law.31 The withdrawal of modern contraceptives from clinics funded by
the local government in Manila City has left low-income women of child bearing age
residing in Manila City without access to their main source of family planning methods,
information and services, thereby significantly increasing the risk of unplanned and
unwanted pregnancy among these women. Examples of the devastating impact of the EO
and its implementation on women have been documented in Imposing Misery: The
Impact of Manila’s Contraception Ban on Women and Families.32
Mayor Atienza’s successor, Alfredo Lim, has not repealed the contraception ban,
despite requests for him to do so.33 He has not allocated funds for the purchase of
contraceptives in LGU clinics.34 Mayor Lim does not appear to actively discourage
contraceptive-use as Mayor Atienza did, however his family planning policy is at best
one of inaction. At worst, he is using the legacy of Mayor Atienza as a shield to avoid
criticism from reproductive health activists while continuing to restrict access to
contraceptives in Manila City.
The lack of access to contraceptives in the Philippines has resulted in rapid
population growth over the past decades. Each year the population grows by two percent,
with a projected 2008 population of 90.46 million.35 The rapid population growth has
detrimental effects on the health of Filipinos, causing poverty, hunger, and low quality of
life for millions. Curtailing the incidence of unwanted pregnancy would address the
population growth problem, and in turn the health problems it causes. While the
government claims to be addressing such growth though “responsible parenthood and
better health services, including reproductive health services,”36 such “responsible
parenthood” programs have resulted in policies such as EO No. 003, which only
exacerbates the population growth problem.
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The Philippine government asserts that it has implemented a low cost medicine
provision program that provides subsidies to address the rising cost of medicine,37 yet at
the same time has stopped providing subsidies to healthcare centers for contraceptives.38
For example, in June and October of 2008, EnGendeRights asked the Manila City
government for PhP5250 and PhP4500, respectively, to cover costs of medicines women
would need for tubal ligation, a minor procedure with minimal side effects. The
government denied the meager request for funds, claiming that there was no budget
allotted for family planning. Additionally, funds for modern contraceptive methods are
still being denied to the poor of Manila and LGU-run hospitals such as Ospital ng
Maynila still only promotes NFP. The government has failed to address the high cost of
contraceptives, which is a problem primarily for poor women who are in greatest need of
such supplies.
B. Lack of Access to Emergency Contraception
Emergency contraception (EC) has been a specific target of the Philippine
government’s crusade against modern methods of contraception. The Philippines is in
the minority of countries in the world where the emergency contraceptive Postinor
(levonorgestrel 750 mcg), is denied to women, even as over 100 countries worldwide
have registered dedicated emergency contraceptive products.39
Postinor serves as an important ‘back-up’ method for avoiding an unintended
pregnancy in the event of unplanned/unwanted sexual intercourse. Nationwide, almost
half of all pregnancies are unintended.107 In April 2000, the Bureau of Food and Drugs
(BFAD) approved Postinor in accordance with the bureau’s standard rules of evaluation
and testing procedures40 and based on the DOH Position Paper citing the World Health
Organization (WHO) opinion on the safety, effectiveness and convenience of the drug.41
The 1999 DOH policy made Postinor available to victims of rape and incest in clear
recognition of its importance in preventing unintended pregnancies, abortions and
maternal deaths.42 However, in December 2001, the BFAD issued a circular delisting
Postinor from the registry of drugs.43
BFAD’s explanation for the ban was that Postinor “has abortifacient effect and
contravenes existing provisions of law on the matter.”44 This decision has been heavily
criticized by women’s groups in the Philippines who have formally petitioned the
government for a withdrawal of the ban.45 The ban was prompted by an application
submitted by a private foundation with the support of “pro-life” groups.46 They claimed
that the registration of Postinor by the government violated the constitutional provision
protecting the life of the “unborn” from “conception” which they erroneously define as
beginning from fertilization.47 Opponents to EC made similar claims in Peru and Chile
where, like in the Philippines, the Constitution protects life from the moment of
conception.48 These claims were rejected by the Peruvian Society for Obstetrics and
Gynecology and the Supreme Court of Chile respectively when they were called upon to
adjudicate the matter.49
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The ban on Postinor contradicts the position of the WHO and of over 100 nations
worldwide, which have endorsed EC as a proven safe and effective method of modern
contraception.50 On December 1, 2003, five members out of the seven-member Special
Committee created by BFAD recommended the re-listing of Postinor on the basis that it
is not an abortifacient.51 The DOH Secretary refused to re-list Postinor and instead took
advantage of Schwarz Pharma Philippines’ withdrawal of its application to distribute
Postinor by issuing an order stating, “[the] re-listing or delisting [of Postinor] has become
moot and academic.”52
Over 700,000 women experience unintended pregnancies in the Philippines every
year. Lack of access to EC unnecessarily exposes women to the multiple risks
associated with unintended pregnancy; in the Philippines, the prevalence of laws
criminalizing abortion compounds these risks. At the very least, EC must be made
available as part of routine emergency health care for victims of sexual violence.
Considering the nature and scope of the public health crisis created by unintended
pregnancy, it should also be made available more generally to women without
discrimination on the basis of age and income. The immediate re-listing of Postinor in
the registry of available drugs would be an important first step toward preventing
unwanted pregnancies and abortions, and reducing maternal mortality. Furthermore, the
amendment of outdated and restrictive laws such as Republic Act 4729 prohibiting
dispensation of contraceptive drugs unless such dispensation is by a duly licensed drug
store or pharmaceutical company and with the prescription of a qualified medical
practitioner54 and Section 5 of Presidential Decree 79 employing physicians, nurses,
midwives that have been trained and authorized only by POPCOM to provide, dispense
and administer contraceptive methods is imperative in light of the recognized importance
of EC provision without prescription.
53
2. Education on Sexuality and Family Planning (Article 24)
In addition to failing to provide adequate access to contraception and family
planning, the Philippine government has also failed to provide adequate sexual education
to its youth. The Committee has encouraged “States to refrain from censoring,
withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information including sexual
education and information,” so that “children have the ability to acquire the knowledge
and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality.”55
General Comment No. 3 states that, within the context of HIV/AIDS, “education
plays a critical role in providing children with relevant and appropriate information on
HIV/AIDS,” and that “education can and should empower children to protect themselves
from the risk of HIV infection.” In addition, General Comment No. 4 states that “State
parties should provide adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive information,
including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy, the
prevention of HIV/AIDS and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted
diseases.”56
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The Philippines’ educational system, however, has not adequately equipped
Filipino adolescents to “protect themselves and others as they begin to express their
sexuality.” 57 According to the 1998 NDHS, an estimated 10.8% of rural girls and 4.7%
of urban girls aged 15–19 had already begun childbearing.58 According to the 2008
UNFPA State of the World Populaltion Report, adolescent Filipino girls aged 15-19 are
already giving birth at 47 births per 1,000 women of their age.59 According to the
National Statistics Office, in 1998, 6.3% of reported maternal deaths were the deaths of
girls aged 15–19.60 The 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS 3), a
periodic survey of young people’s sexuality and fertility behavior, revealed that 31% of
young adult males and 15% of young adult females had already engaged in premarital
sex.61
Despite becoming sexually active, however, Filipino adolescents show very low
rate of contraceptive use. Approximately 70% of young adult males and 68% of young
adult females reported not using any method of protection against pregnancy or STIs the
last time they had sex.62 The YAFS 3 also showed that dangerous misconceptions about
HIV/AIDS abound, with 28% of young adults believing that HIV/AIDS is curable, and
73% thinking that they are immune to HIV.63 A 2004 National Survey of Women
revealed that close to 50% of abortion attempts occur among young women.64
STI prevalence is quite high among young females and males compared to the
general population, being highest among youth in the 18-24 age groups.65 Among
registered HIV/AIDS cases in 2005, 1.5% of those infected were below age 10,66 1.9%
were aged 10-19, and 30% were aged 20-29.67 Of those aged 29 and below, 53.9% were
female.68 More young women ages 19 to 29 are becoming more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS
because of the high probability of getting infected during rough sex and their inability to
negotiate for safe sex.69
Indigenous youth face even greater barriers than others in access to basic social
services, including health-care, since they generally live in remote areas that have poor
infrastructure and often lack facilities. The inadequacy of data on indigenous youth has
been identified by the government as a problem.70
Adolescents in the Philippines continue to face discrimination and neglect despite
constitutional recognition of “[t]he vital role of the youth in nation-building” and official
commitment to “promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and
social well-being.”71 Despite the existence of the Adolescent and Youth Health and
Development Program (AYHDP) of DOH, Filipino adolescent youth do not receive
evidence-based information and education on sexuality and reproductive health and
services.72 Religious interference has undermined their access to reliable information
about reproductive health care. In fact, the Department of Education (DEPED) lesson
guide on adolescent reproductive health was recently recalled because of objections the
department received from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.73
The Philippine government also substantially restricts access to information about
contraceptives. The Bureau of Food and Drug Administration (BFAD) of the Philippines
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prohibits advertisement in the mass media of any prescription drug, including
contraceptives.74 The only modern method of contraception that can be advertised are
condoms, as they are available without a prescription.75 Even so, often there are
restrictions placed on the advertisement of condoms as well.76 The Advertising Board of
the Philippines, AdBoard, often uses obscenity laws to restrict public service
announcements shown on television that promote the use of condoms.77
In addition to failing to provide comprehensive sexual education, the government
has also misinformed people about the efficacy of modern methods of contraception. For
example, in March 2003, then Philippine Health Secretary, Manuel Dayrit urged the
Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to take intra-uterine devices (IUDs) off the drug
registry, contending that IUDs were abortifacients that caused miscarriages.78 A
Catholic Church-backed group supported this move by filing a petition with the BFAD to
ban IUDs.79 Due to the heavy influence of the Catholic Church over the current
administration, there is a growing concern that the BFAD might ban IUDs by erroneously
finding that they have abortifacient effects without any scientific evidence. The claims of
the health secretary and the group seeking the ban directly contradict the international
medical community’s position that IUDs are one of the most effective and safest methods
of contraception.80 A new study shows that IUDs have a failure rate of only 2% whereas
withdrawal has a failure rate of 26% and periodic abstinence, 20%.81 Similarly, the
President has made inaccurate and misleading statements about the efficacy of the rhythm
method, claiming that it is 99% effective.82
Adolescents must be provided with information and services necessary to enable
them to protect themselves from unwanted or coerced sex, unplanned pregnancy, early
childbearing, unsafe abortion, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
This requires full government support through policy, services, programs, and activities
that are youth-friendly, rights and evidence-based, confidential, and participatory.
3. Abortion (Articles 6 and 24)
The current legal restriction on abortion derives from the Philippine Revised
Penal Code of 1932, which was a direct translation of the Spanish colonial Penal Code of
1870.83 The Philippines has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world—
penalizing the woman who undergoes abortion and the person assisting the woman
without providing clear exceptions even when the woman’s life or health is in danger, the
pregnancy is the result of rape, or in cases of fetal impairment.
The Revised Penal Code imposes a range of penalties for women undergoing
abortion and for providers of abortion services including imprisonment for 2 years, 4
months and 1 day to 6 years.84 Health professionals (e.g., doctors, midwives, or
pharmacists) who are caught providing abortion services or dispensing abortive drugs
also run the risk of having their license to practice suspended or revoked.85
The Philippine Constitution of 1987 provides that “[the state] shall equally protect
the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception”.86 The constitutional
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provision on equal protection of life of the unborn from conception is used in the
Philippines to advances the beliefs of the Catholic Church. This provision was not present
in the 1935 and 1973 constitutions. While the current constitutional provision does not
explicitly prohibit abortion, it has been interpreted to do so by conservative groups. This
trend continues despite the provision under Article 41 of the Philippine Civil Code stating
that a fetus must be born alive and completely delivered from the mother’s womb in
order to acquire legal personhood.87 The constitutional provision equally protecting the
unborn from conception, however, does not prohibit abortion. Hungary also has a
constitutional provision protecting life from conception but still permits abortion up to 12
weeks of gestation.88 The life of the unborn is protected in many countries but is not
placed on the same level as the life of the woman,89 as shown by laws and jurisprudence
of countries worldwide allowing abortion on various grounds.90 Furthermore,
international legal norms established by treaties and interpreted by human rights bodies,
including the Human Rights Committee, provide tremendous support for the right to safe
and legal abortion.91
An Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) study analyzing the prevalence and effects of
abortion in the Philippines reveals a shocking picture: despite the illegality of abortion, in
2000, approximately 473,000 women had abortions;92 an estimated 79,000 women were
hospitalized for complications due to abortion; 93 the abortion rate was 27 per 1,000
women aged 15-44 while the abortion ratio was 18 induced abortions per 100
pregnancies;94 only 30% of women who attempt an unsafe abortion succeed the first time
leading to repeated attempts which increase the risk to their health and lives each time;
and, approximately 800 women die every year due to complications resulting from unsafe
abortion.95 According to the DOH, complications associated with unsafe abortion were
the third leading cause of hospital admissions from 1994-1998.96
In 2000, the DOH introduced the Prevention and Management of Abortion and its
Complications (PMAC) policy97, which aims to improve the health care services for
women suffering complications from induced abortion. However, not all women who
need post-abortion care are able to obtain it.98 The criminalization of abortion has
created an extremely prohibitive environment leading to discriminatory and inhumane
treatment of women seeking medical attention after having undergone an unsafe abortion.
Punitive attitudes and actions such as verbal abuse and slapping by health care providers
have been documented.99 Certain hospitals have been known to refuse to admit women
who are already profusely bleeding as a result of unsafe abortion and in need of
immediate medical attention.100 Other prevalent forms of abuse that have been
documented include withholding use of anesthetics during Dilation & Curettage (D&C)
procedures, withholding or delaying proper management of abortion complications,
threatening to report women to the authorities, and placing signs labeling women as
“criminals/murderers” for having resorted to induced abortions.101 These practices have
deterred women who need post-abortion care from seeking medical help.
Although the PMAC policy was enacted in 2000 it has only been implemented in
pilot hospitals.102 Even forgoing a change in the legality of abortion, there is an urgent
need to broaden this harm reduction policy to include more hospitals and to support it
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with enforceable guidelines and mechanisms to protect women from discrimination by
health care providers.
Safe abortion providers who provide the much-needed services that only women
seek have been subjected to harassment by police operatives with some even facing
baseless criminal charges.103
Studies show that low-income women are disproportionately impacted by the ban
on abortion. It is estimated that around two-thirds of women who undergo abortion are
poor.104 Due to the relatively high cost of safer methods such as manual vacuum
aspiration (MVA) and dilation and curettage (D&C), low income women are compelled
to opt for cheaper methods which tend to be unsafe such as herbal drinks purchased from
street vendors, self-medication (cytotec) and the insertion of objects into the cervix.105
A leading cause of unsafe abortion is the lack of access to modern contraceptives.
One study shows that 54% of women who have undergone abortion in the Philippines
were not using any family planning method when they conceived and three-fourths of
those using contraception resorted to traditional means.106 This, in turn, has led to a high
maternal mortality ratio in the Philippines, which stands at 230 maternal deaths for every
100,000 live births, one of the highest rates in the East and South-east Asia region.107
This 2008 ratio has increased since 2005 to 2007 in which the maternal mortality ratios in
the Philippines were 200 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births.108 This translates
to eleven women dying per day while giving birth. Not a single death should happen due
to pregnancy and childbirth; these are preventable deaths. Furthermore, this is extremely
high when compared with other countries such as Spain (4, with modern method
contraceptive prevalence rate of 62%), Italy (3), Canada (7), United States (11, with
modern method contraceptive prevalence rate of 68%), Japan (6), South Korea (14),
Singapore (14, with modern method contraceptive prevalence rate of 53%) and Thailand
(110).109 Across Europe, with the exception of Albania, Romania, and Estonia, the
maternal mortality rate is below 15.110
In addition, the Philippines also has a high infant mortality rate – 23 deaths out of
1,000 live births, compared with 10 deaths in Thailand, 4 in Spain, 5 in Italy, 5 in
Canada, and 6 in the United States.111
It is pertinent to note that several predominantly Catholic countries now allow
safe and legal abortion. For instance, Belgium, France, and Italy permit abortion upon a
woman’s request.112 Colombia recently liberalized its law to allow abortion in cases
where the woman’s life or health is in danger, the pregnancy is the result of rape, and/or
when the fetus has malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus.113 Spain, on
whose laws the Philippine abortion law is based, permits abortion on grounds of rape and
fetal impairment.114
The law criminalizing abortion does not eliminate abortions; it only makes it
dangerous for women who undergo clandestine and unsafe abortion. The criminal
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provision penalizing the woman and the physician for self-induced abortion must be
repealed.
During the last Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines, various stakeholders
expressed concern at the lack of access to safe and legal abortion, citing the lack of
exception to the criminal abortion law for rape or incest and the high maternal mortality
rate as principal causes of concern.115
4. Safe Pregnancy and Childbirth
Access to quality healthcare facilities is a major barrier facing pregnant Filipino
adolescents, especially in rural areas. UNFPA states that for every 500,000 people, there
should be at least four facilities offering Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmOC) and
at least one facility offering Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC), which
should be appropriately distributed. In the Philippines, only 60% of the births are
attended by skilled birth attendants.116 Maternal and infant deaths can be prevented with
access to the full range of contraceptive methods, pre-natal care, emergency obstetric
care, skilled birth attendants117, and access to safe and legal abortion. For poor women
and adolescents, they are the ones least likely to practice effective fertility management
methods, deliver in a health facility, or have access to emergency obstetric care.118
5. HIV/AIDS
Although HIV/AIDS has been touched upon in the previous sections with regard
to access to contraception and sexual education, its importance as an issue facing
adolescents is worth emphasizing here. The Committee, in General Comment No. 3,
noted the importance of HIV/AIDS, calling it a “problem not of some countries but of the
entire world,” and pointed out the alarming trend of new infections occurring among
young adults between the ages of 15 and 24.119
These same trends hold true in the Philippines, where, among HIV/AIDS cases in
2005, 1.5% of those infected were below age 10, 120 1.9% were aged 10-19, and 30%
were aged 20-29.121 Of those aged 29 and below, 53.9% were female.122 As of 2006, the
cumulative total HIV cases in the Philippines since 1984 is 2,499. 123 According to data
based on a cumulative index, the largest age group of women infected with HIV is
between 20-29 years while124 the largest male age group is between the ages of 30-39
years.125 This data underscores the vulnerability of young women in the context of HIV
where many of them are unable to negotiate safe sex and have no access to information
about protection.
Prevention Indicators also show no increase in knowledge among those in the
high-risk groups.126 Low condom use continues to be seen among these groups.127 The
natural family planning-only stance of the Catholic Church plays an active role in
discouraging the use of condoms. One bishop even went so far as to say that “it is not
true that condoms prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).”128 He
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said that there are no studies proving the efficacy of condoms in reducing the
transmission of STIs.129
The spread of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines could easily be curtailed by a
comprehensive national reproductive health policy that increased knowledge and use of
contraceptives, including condoms. Yet, the Philippine government has no such policy
and allows the Catholic Church to continue to deceive the Philippine public about the
efficacy of condoms in preventing the spread of disease.
6. Forced and Early Marriages
Because forced and early marriages are often undocumented, it is difficult to
determine precisely how many girls wed before the legal age of consent, 21 (or 18 with
parents’ consent) in the Philippines. However, the International Center for Research on
Women (ICRW) estimates that approximately 15% of women aged 20-24 in the
Philippines were married before they were 18 years old.130 Under Muslim law, girls are
allowed to marry at age 15 rather than age 18. By allowing girls in the Philippines to
marry at such a young age, the Philippine government is perpetuating a harmful practice
to girls that violates their economic, social, and cultural rights.
7. Sexual Violence (Article 19, 34, and 39)
The Committee has instructed State parties to “take effective measures to ensure
that adolescents are protected from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and
exploitation.”131 While the Philippines has enacted laws that attempt to protect women
and children victims of violence,132 the incidences of such violence remain high, and
many women and children are continuously exposed to it.133 In addition, the Committee
has expressed concern over the rights of adolescents who are sexually exploited, because
of their exposure to “significant health risks, including STDs, HIV/AIDS, unwanted
pregnancies, unsafe abortions, violence and psychological distress.”134 With specific
regard to trafficking victims, the Committee has instructed States to ensure that the
adolescents involved “are treated as victims and not as offenders.”135
A. Rape
Incidences of rape remain high, with an average of eight women raped every
day136 and an average of nine children raped daily.137 The Anti-Rape Law of 1997
(Republic Act 8353) brought positive changes, such as the reclassification of rape as a
crime against persons, the broadening of the definition of rape to include acts other than
penile penetration, and the recognition of marital rape. The law, however, imposes a
lighter penalty for "rape by sexual assault" committed with the insertion of an object or
instrument into the vaginal orifice, as opposed to rape by penile penetration.138 Implicit
in this provision is a disregard for the traumatic effects of an assault of this nature.139 The
enactment of the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998 (Republic Act
8505) provides support to rape victims through psychological counseling, medico-legal
examinations, free legal assistance and training programs for handling rape cases. Its
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rape shield provision prohibiting admissibility of past sexual conduct of the rape victim,
however, is subject to judicial interpretation that may undermine its protection since it
provides that such evidence is admissible if found "relevant by the court."140
Despite the enactment of both R.A. 8353 and R.A. 8505, numerous complaints for
rape are dismissed at the preliminary investigation level and in the Regional Trial
Courts.141 Definitive data on the number of dismissals and acquittals among rape
complaints are unavailable from the Department of Justice. Many judges and public
prosecutors still do not understand the realities of rape as gender-based violence, ignoring
the fact that rape is life threatening.142 Nor do they recognize that the demeanor of rape
victims during investigations while testifying may vary. They also fail to receive reports
of rape with credulity.143 Often they do not take seriously findings of post-traumatic
stress disorder among victims of sexual violence.144 Crucial forensic evidence such as
DNA analysis of the perpetrator’s semen, hair and skin samples are not widely
available,145 hematomas on the neck and arms of the victim's body and samples from the
crime scene may be left out in medico-legal examinations. Although medico-legal
certificates for child abuse victims were standardized in 2002,146 this has yet to be
practiced throughout all the medico-legal units in the country. Standard medico-legal
certificates for adult sexual assault victims are yet to be introduced. Although the
Supreme Court ruled that, “the absence of hymenal lacerations does not disprove sexual
abuse,”147 due to deeply entrenched personal beliefs and lack of sensitization, it is
possible that many judges and public prosecutors may continue to mistake the absence of
hymenal lacerations as conclusive proof that rape did not occur.
B. Domestic Violence
Violence against women (VAW) is prevalent in the Philippines. Studies show
that three out of five women in the Philippines have experienced some form of battery
and other physical abuse.148 The Philippine National Police (PNP) documented a total of
7,204 cases of VAW in 2004, a seven-fold increase from 1,100 cases in 1996.149 The
highest record in the police department was in 2001 at 10,343.150 Cases reported included
physical injuries, wife battering and rape: incestuous and attempted.151
The “Anti-Violence against Women and Their Children Act of 2004” or RA 9262
took effect on March 27, 2004. It defines violence against women and children (VAWC)
as any act or series of acts committed by any person against a women who is his wife or
former wife, or with whom the person has or had a sexual dating relationship, or with
whom he has had a common child.
Although RA9262 is a very potent law, there is still an ongoing disjunct between
the law and how the law is being implemented in barangays, police stations, and courts.
Certain judges are hesitant to issue contempt orders against respondent husbands who
clearly violate the provisions of Protection Orders (POs).152 Thus, this is an important
issue for the Philippine government to address.
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C. Human Trafficking
The estimated figure of women and children in forced prostitution in 2005 was
about 800,000.153 The passage of the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003”
(Republic Act 9208) is significant in the effort to fight against trafficking.
It is significant that Republic Act 9208 accords legal protection to trafficked
persons by recognizing them as victims who should not be penalized for crimes directly
related to the acts of trafficking or in obedience to the order made by the trafficker.154
Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-1516 also recognizes persons in prostitution as victims,
thus, imposing penalties only on the perpetrators (pimps, recipient of the sexual act, etc.)
while providing services to persons in prostitution. Various services range from education
campaigns against prostitution, crisis intervention service, education and socio-economic
assistance, sustainable livelihood skills training, financial support for scale businesses,
and integration and complete after-care programs, to health services, counseling, and
temporary shelter.155
Although the Committee noted the adoption of Republic Act 9208 as a law
“aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of children,” trafficking victims still face
significant challenges in the Philippines.156 For instance, provisions of the Revised Penal
Code continue to focus law enforcement attention on women in prostitution, rather than
on their exploiters. Article 341 on prostitution and Article 202 on vagrancy are still being
used to round up and imprison women in prostitution or are sometimes used to extort
money or sexual favors.157
The existing criminal law imposing imprisonment on women in prostitution
disregards the fact that many are lured to prostitution because of the desperation due to
poverty and lack of alternative sources of income. The discriminatory provisions
imposing penalties on women in prostitution should be repealed.
In order to better protect women’s economic, social and cultural rights, the
Philippine government must better address problems associated with women in
prostitution and trafficked women.
8. Discrimination against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals
There is widespread discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
individuals in the Philippines, yet no national law explicitly protects homosexuals from
discrimination nor promotes their rights. While a Quezon City ordinance prohibits
discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation,158 in Makati City, a
dress code is imposed on gay men working for the city government.159 There are antidiscrimination bills based on sexual orientation pending in the 14th Congress, but none
has yet been passed into law.160
Furthermore, the Philippine justice system still blatantly discriminates against
lesbians. In Court of Appeals Amparo Case No. 00016 multiple Court of Appeals
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justices suggested that petitioner A.L. was an immoral person because she is a lesbian,
and went so far as to suggest that consequently, A.L.’s mother was justified in
kidnapping, holding hostage, and beating her. In the first hearing of the case Justice
Roxas of the Court of Appeals stated, “The main problem that we are confronted here, as
the RTC [Regional Trial Court] judge sees it, …that this is not the case of a restrained
liberty. The problem that the TC sees is that this is the problem of morals.”161 Further,
Justice Roxas suggests that it is A.L.’s mother’s role to keep her from living as a lesbian:
“That your mother and her brothers, who are your family and act as your parents, would
be frank about it. They tried to prevent anything immoral being committed in the
society….”162 While A.L. is a twenty-eight year-old woman, in the second hearing of the
case, Justice Garcia of the Court of Appeals reduces her to a mere child by saying that the
“scolding, spanking that [A.L] received from [her] mother…is but part actually of
disciplinary action exercised by parents over their children.”163
Both the first and second hearings of Amparo No. 00016 are laced with explicit
references to the immorality of lesbianism. Justices Roxas and Garcia in particular
continuously chastise A.L. for her lifestyle choice, and then go on to scold her priest
(charged with her protection) for failing to persuade her to change her lifestyle. Finally,
the case was dismissed by the Court of Appeals forcing petitioner A.L. to live in fear for
her life and liberty. In the decision, the Court of Appeals stated, “To Our mind, the case
involves a domestic quarrel between mother and daughter pertaining to family issues on
morality. [Petitioner] is a lesbian involved in a lesbian relationship which is vehemently
against respondent[’s] will and morals.”164 The Court of Appeals in this case clearly
made its decision based on biases and discriminatory beliefs against lesbians.
In a case on discrimination of a lesbian mother with regard to the custody of her
children, one Regional Trial Court judge made pronouncements in open court that the
lesbian woman’s relationship with her lesbian partner was “abnormal”.165
In the recent Philippine Supreme Court case of Rommel Jacinto Dante Silverio vs.
Republic of the Philippines (G.R. No. 174689, October 22, 2007), a male to female
transgendered person was denied her petition to change her sex and name in her birth
certificate.
In the Philippines, there is no legal recognition of marriage or partnership with
regard to lesbians and bisexual and transgender individuals. It is significant, however,
that women victims of abuse in lesbian relationships are accorded the same protection
under the Anti-VAWC since Sec. 3 includes “any person with whom the woman has or
had a sexual dating relationship.”
9. Suicide among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents (Article 24)
In its Concluding Observations regarding the Philippines, in 2005, the Committee
expressed its concern regarding “the lack of measures to prevent suicide among
adolescents,” and recommended that the Philippines “establish adequate mental health
services tailored for adolescents.”166 However, suicide remains a problem among Filipino
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adolescents, particularly lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents. Adolescence is a time of
great change in any person’s life, particularly as one discovers and navigates his or her
own sexuality and sexual orientation.
According to a study analyzing data from YAFS 3, when compared to
heterosexual males of the same age, 15.80% of gay and bisexual young men reported
suicide ideation, compared to 7.50% of heterosexual young men.167 This elevated suicide
risk among young men could be partly explained by risk factors outside of sexual
orientation, such as peer suicide attempt, experience of threat, victimization, and
depression.168 Similarly, while 18% of heterosexual young women reported suicide
ideation, 27.60% of lesbian and bisexual young women reported suicide ideation.169
Although the young adults studied were between the ages of 18 and 24, the data can
easily be extrapolated to those below 18, discovering their own sexuality in high school
environments.
This elevated suicide risk among gay, lesbian, and bisexual young adults is related
to issues ranging from experiences of discrimination, experiences of sexual-orientation
related violence, perceived stigma, and internalized homophobia.170 As a result of
prevailing cultural attitudes towards homosexuality, including one out of four Filipinos
not wanting lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals as neighbors, Filipino adolescents may
encounter several of the aforementioned issues that could contribute to suicide risk.171
9. Conclusion
Although the Philippines is a State party to the Convention, there are a number of
shortcomings in the rights promised to and protected for its children and adolescents.
Among the problems faced by Filipino adolescents are limited access to contraception,
sexual education, and abortion; higher rates of HIV/AIDS compared to the general
population; sexual violence and trafficking; as well as discrimination against gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgendered individuals, and the corresponding higher suicide risk among
adolescents identifying with those groups.
Within the Philippines, reproductive rights laws are severely restrictive, denying
young women access to contraception, emergency contraception and abortion. The rate
of maternal mortality is extraordinarily high, and the Philippines will more than likely fail
to meet its Millennium Development Goal of reducing that rate by 2015. Women and
children frequently suffer from violence, particularly in their homes, are often forced into
prostitution and trafficked within the Philippines and abroad, and become victims of rape.
Finally, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is common and allowed by the
Philippine government.
Despite being aware of each of these instances of discrimination against women
and the pervasive and devastating effect it has on women’s lives, the Philippine
government continues to employ policies that allow the discrimination to continue. By
doing so, the Government violates numerous provisions of the Convention, and we urge
the Committee to take note of these facts in their upcoming review of the Philippines.
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We hope that the Committee will consider addressing the following questions to
the Philippine government:
1) What actions is the government taking to provide comprehensive reproductive health
services, including family planning and contraceptive services and information, to all
women?
2) What measures are being taken to redress discriminatory coverage of health services,
and, in particular, the lack of subsidy for contraceptives, especially for low-income
women?
3) What measures are being taken to make EC available and to re-list Postinor in the
registry of drugs? What guidelines have been made to make EC available as part of
routine emergency health care for victims of sexual violence? What measures are
being taken by the government to amend the provisions of Republic Act 4729 and
Presidential Decree 79 limiting dispensation of contraceptive drugs in light of the
recognized importance of EC provision without prescription?
4) What measures are being taken to abolish criminal abortion laws and legalize
abortion?
5) How has the government addressed complications arising from unsafe abortion? How
has the PMAC Policy been implemented? Are there measures to broaden the
implementation of the policy and support it with enforceable guidelines and
mechanisms to protect women from discrimination and abuse by health care
providers?
6) How is the government working to decrease the rate of HIV/AIDs and STIs amongst
vulnerable young people? What are the programs and interventions to address the
need for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, education and
information of adolescents and young people?
7) What steps is the government taking to reduce the maternal mortality of women?
8) What steps is the government taking to enact specific sexual and reproductive rights
legislation?
9) How is the criminal justice system ensuring the successful prosecution of rape
complaints?
10) What measures are being taken to repeal existing prostitution provisions in criminal
law, prosecute perpetrators of forced prostitution (e.g. pimps, bar managers/owners)
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and to provide women in prostitution education, skills training, employment and
access to reproductive health care services and information?
11) What measures are being taken in the criminal justice system to ensure the successful
prosecution of domestic violence complaints, to popularize the new domestic
violence law, and to monitor the issuances of court and barangay protection orders?
12) What steps is the government taking to enact specific divorce legislation?
13) What steps is the government doing to repeal existing criminal and family provisions
that are discriminatory against women?
14) What measures is the government taking to stop the incidence of
forced/arranged/early marriage among women and remove discriminatory traditional
and customary practices that undermine women’s assertion of rights?
15) What steps is the government taking to enact legislation that will not only prohibit
discrimination against lesbians, and bisexual and transsexual women but also
affirmatively promote their rights?
16) What are the monitoring and survey mechanisms used by the Philippine government
to assess the effective implementation of current laws and policies?
We appreciate the active interest that the Committee has taken in the reproductive
health and rights of women in the past, stressing the need for governments to take steps to
ensure the realization of these rights.
We hope that this information is useful during the Committee’s review of the
Philippine government’s compliance with CRC. If you have any questions, or would like
further information, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.
Very truly yours,
Clara Rita A. Padilla
Executive Director
EnGendeRights, Inc.
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1
Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted Nov. 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, Article 1,
available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm (last accessed June 26, 2009) (hereinafter “the
Convention”).
2
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment 4, Adolescent Health and
Development in the Context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, generally, U.N. Doc.
CRC/GC/2003/4 (2003). (hereinafter “General Comment 4”).
3
Id. at ¶ 2.
4
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Thirty-ninth session, Consideration of Reports Submitted by
States Parties under Article 44 of the Convention, Concluding observations: Philippines (2005);
CRC/C/15/Add.259, ¶ 62, p15. 9 (hereinafter “Concluding observations: Philippines”).
5
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶ 62.
6
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶ 64.
7
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶ 63.
8
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶ 65.
9
The Convention, art. 24.
10
General Comment 4, ¶ 31.
11
Id.
12
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment 3: HIV/AIDS and the Rights of the Child,
¶ 6, U.N. Doc. CRC/GC/2003/3 (2003) (hereinafter “General Comment 3”).
13
Id. at ¶20.
14
WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, 15th List, March 2007, available at
http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/08_ENGLISH_indexFINAL_EML15.pdf.
15
UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION, REACHING COMMON GROUND: CULTURE,
GENDER, AND HUMAN RIGHTS, p87-89 (2005) [hereinafter UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION].
16
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS (CRR) & ASIAN-PACIFIC RESOURCE AND RESEARCH CENTER
FOR WOMEN (ARROW), WOMEN OF THE WORLD (WOW): LAWS AND POLICIES AFFECTING THEIR
REPRODUCTIVE LIVES (EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA), New York, 2005, 123, 136 (citing the Department of
Health, Office of the Secretary, Administrative Order No 125 S. 2002 National NFP Strategic Plan Year
2002-2006) [hereinafter as CRR & ARROW, WOW--EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA 2005].
17
Undersecretary Ethelyn Nieto of DOH, Statement at the 2nd National Program Management
Committee Meeting, UNFPA/UNDP Conference Room, RCBC Plaza, Makati City (June 16, 2006).
18
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND
HEALTH SURVEY
(NDHS) Implications of the NDHS 2008 Preliminary Results for Family Health, Powerpoint
presentation, (2008).
19
Id.
20
Interview by Elisabeth Owen with Dr. Alberto Romualdez, former Secretary, Philippines
Department of Health, in Manila, Phil. (July 15, 2008).
21
Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Health with Manual Dayrit, MD as
Secretary and the Couples for Christ-Medical Missions Foundation, Inc., with Dr. Jose Yamamoto as
President for the Couples for Christ to Organize a Nation-wide Movement to Advocate for Responsible
Parenthood and Natural Family Planning in All Parts of the Country, page 4 (September 12, 2003); See also
Couples for Christ’s Accomplishment Report submitted to the Department of Health for the Mainstreaming
of Responsible Parenthood-Natural Family Planning (June 18, 2004) (on file EnGendeRights)
22
Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic
Reports of States Parties, Philippines, CEDAW Committee, para. 446, 481 U.N. Doc.CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6
(August,2 2004), available at
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/459/70/PDF/N0445970.pdf?OpenElement [hereinafter
Philippine 5th and 6th Country Report to CEDAW].
23
PHILIPPINES NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, 2001 FAMILY PLANNING SURVEY, FINAL REPORT, at 30
(2002).
24
Id. at 138.
25
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160, Sec. 17 (b) (2) (iv); see also
Exec.Ord. No. 307, Implementing a Family Planning Program at the Local Government Level (1996).
26
Philippine National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, ¶ 77, UPR Working Group Session
Apr. 7-18, 2008, on file with EnGendeRights [hereinafter Philippine National Government UPR Report].
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27
Id. at ¶ 78. Where LGUs fail to provide funding for the provision of family planning services,
hospitals that are forced to maintain “contraceptive self reliance” are unable to procure the funding necessary
to provide family planning services. See Interview with Dr. Santos.
28
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, THE PHILIPPINES-UNPROTECTED: SEX, CONDOMS, AND THE HUMAN
RIGHT TO HEALTH, 28-31, Vol. 16, No. 6 (C) (2004) available at http://hrw.org/reports/2004/philippines0504/;
Manila, Declaring Total Commitment and Support to the Responsible Parenthood Movement in the City of
Manila and Enunciating Policy Declaration in Pursuit Thereof, Policy Declaration (February 29, 2000) (on
File at EnGendeRights); Laguna, Memorandum dated August 25, 1995 issued by the Medical Chief of
Clinical Services (on file at EnGendeRights); Jofelle P. Tesorio, Natural Family Planning, PHILIPPINE DAILY
INQUIRER, 16 (November 25, 2001) (on file at EnGendeRights)
29
Clara Rita Padilla, Local Policies Deny Women’s Rights to Health, RRIGHTS NOW! Jul.-Dec. 2001
& Jan-Jun 2002, 18-19 [hereinafter RRIGHTS NOW 2001]; See also: E-mail from Clara Rita Padilla, Executive
Director, EnGendeRights, to Nile Park, Center for Reproductive Rights (Nov. 3, 2004, 13:50:00 EST) (on file
with the Center for Reproductive Rights); but see, Aurora, The Aurora Reproductive Health Care Code of
2005, Provincial Ordinance No. 125 (2005) (enacting the only provincial ordinance supporting increased
reproductive health care services, including mandatory sexuality education, responsible parenthood
counseling, and other services), pages 1-8.
30
Declaring Total Commitment and Support to the Responsible Parenthood Movement in the City of
Manila and Enunciating Policy Declarations in Pursuit Thereof, Executive Order No. 003 (2000) [hereinafter
Executive Order No. 003].
31
The Committee Gen. Comment 14, ¶ 14; See also the 1994 Cairo Declaration’s guiding principle
that “[r]eproductive health-care programmes should provide the widest range of services without any form of
coercion.” (emphasis ours). ICPD Programme of Action, supra note 30, para. 7.3.
32
See generally CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS (CRR), LINANGAN NG KABABAIHAN, INC.
(LIKHAAN), AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, RIGHTS AND ETHICS CENTER FOR STUDIES AND TRAINING
(REPROCEN), IMPOSING MISERY: THE IMPACT OF MANILA’S CONTRACEPTION BAN ON WOMEN AND FAMILIES,
2007 [hereinafter IMPOSING MISERY], at 17-24.
33
Letter from WOMENLEAD to Office of the Mayor of the City of Manila, August 2, 2007, on file
with authors.
34
Interview by Atty. Claire Padilla with Dr. Criselda ‘Ada” M. Vergel de Dios-Coroza, Chief
Officer, Family Planning Services, Manila Health Department, in Tondo, Manila (July 11, 2008).
35
PHILIPPINES IN FIGURES, available at http://www.census.ph.gov (last accessed July 28, 2008).
36
UPR Philippine Government Report, para. 55.
37
Philippine National Government UPR Report, supra note 27 at ¶ 45.
38
Interview by Elisabeth Owen with Dr. Ronaldo Santos, member Philippine Obstetrics and
Gynecological Society, in Makati City, Philippines (July 15, 2008).
39
International Consortium on Emergency Contraception (ICEC), ECs Status and Availability,
available at http://www.cecinfo.org/database/pill/pillData.php visited July 31, 2006; The Emergency
Contraception Website, available at http://ec.princeton.edu/worldwide/ last visited July 31, 2006;
International Planned Parenthood Federation, Directory of Hormonal Contraceptives, available at
http://contraceptive.ippf.org/(5ur05k45ecsw51552yxji355)/Default.aspx last visited July , 2006.
40
PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH, POSITION PAPER IN THE MATTER OF BUREAU CIRCULAR
NO. 18, 1 (2001) [hereinafter PIWH POSITION PAPER].
41
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ADVOCACY NETWORK, POSITION PAPER IN RE: WITHDRAWAL OF
REGISTRATION AND PROHIBITION OF IMPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF POSTINOR THROUGH MEMORANDUM
CIRCULAR NO. 18, 5 (December 2001) [hereinafter RHAN POSITION PAPER].
42
DOH, POSITION PAPER ON EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS, page 1 (1999).
43
Bureau of Food and Drugs, Bureau Circular No. 18 s. 2001, December 7, 2001.
44
Id.
45
RHAN POSITION PAPER, supra note 42.
46
PIWH POSITION PAPER, supra note 41, at 12.
47
RHAN POSITION PAPER, supra note 42, at 2.
48
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE PUT EMERGENCY
CONTRACEPTION INTO WOMEN’S HANDS, 5 (2004) available at
http://www.crlp.org/pdf/pub_bp_govtswwec.pdf [hereinafter CRR, EC briefing paper] .
49
Id.
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50
See WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION, A GUIDE FOR SERVICE
DELIVERY, GENEVA, WHO/FRH/FPP/98.19 (1998); see also ICEC, supra note 40.
51
Recommendation of the Special Committee on Formed by the Bureau of Food and Drugs on the
Evaluation of the De-listing of Postinor dated December 1, 2003, pg. 62; In the 63-page recommendation,
the four doctors in the 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." The
legal expert, a University of the Philippines Constitutional law professor, noted that the Constitutional
provision reflecting a policy against abortion cited by the DOH as the basis for banning Postinor is not
applicable in the case of the Emergency Contraceptive Pill.
52
Office of the Secretary DOH, Order re: Petition to Reconsider Cancellation of Product Registration
of “Postinor”, Page 4 (October 26, 2004).
53
S. Singh et al, ALAN GUTTMACHER INSTITUTE (AGI), Unintended Pregnancy and
Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences 4 (2006).
54
Presidential Decree 79, Revising the Population Act of 1971, Sec. 5 (a) and Republic Act 4729, An
Act to Regulate the Sale, Dispensation, and/or Distribution
of Contraceptive Drugs and Devices, Section 1 (June 18, 1966)
55
General Comment 3, ¶ 16.
56
General Comment 4, ¶ 27.
57
General Comment 3, ¶ 16.
58
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND
HEALTH SURVEY (NDHS)1998, at 45 tbl.3.10 (1998) available at
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=67&PgName=country&ctry_id=34. The
2003
National Demographic and Health Survey shows that among young women aged 15–24, 23.3% in
urban
areas and 31.3% in rural areas have begun childbearing. NDHS 2003, supra note 34, at 51 tbl.4.9.
UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION, REACHING COMMON GROUND: CULTURE,
GENDER, AND HUMAN RIGHTS, p87-89 (2005) [hereinafter UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION].
60
NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, VITAL STATISTICS REPORT 1998, 24 (2002) Of the 1,579
reported cases
of maternal death in 1998, 99 (6.3%) were girls aged 15-19. Id.
61
Press Release, Demographic Research and Development Foundation & the UP Population
Institute,
2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS 3): The Youth are Not Alright (Dec. 12,
59
2002),
http://www.yafs.com/downloads/youth.pdf (last visited July 4, 2006). The Young Adult Fertility
and
Sexuality Survey refers to those between 15–24 years old as young adults [hereinafter Press
Release, YAFS
62
63
64
3].
Press Release, YAFS/Demographic Research and Development Foundation & the UP Population
Institute, 4.9 Million Young Adults Have Engaged in Premarital Sex (Feb. 12, 2003),
http://www.yafs.com/downloads/pms.pdf (last visited May 17, 2005).
Press Release, YAFS/Demographic Research and Development Foundation & the UP Population
Institute, Filipino Youth Think They Have Immunity from HIV/AIDS (Nov. 26, 2004),
http://www.yafs.com/downloads/aids.pdf (last visited May 17, 2005).
Juarez F. Cabigon J &S. Singh, Unwanted Pregnancies in the Philippines: the Route to Induced
Abortion and Health Consequences, paper presented at the 25th International Union for the
Scientific Study
of Population General Conference, Tours, France (July 18-23, 2005) (citing the 2004 National
Survey of
65
Women)
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL (FHI), 2002
66
PREVALENCE SURVEY IN SELECTED SITES IN THE COUNTRY, 50 (2002).
Id.
Id.
RTI/STI
67
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68
Id.
Marites Sison, Younger Filipino Women at Risk from HIV/AIDS, INTER PRESS SERVICE, (May
31, 2002) through CyberDyaryo, Manila, available at http://www.aegis.org/news/ips/2002/IP020511.html
(Last
visited August 1, 2006).
70
Working draft of WOMEN OF THE WORLD: EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA, Philippines, sec.
II.B. at 39
(peer reviewed by Dr. Junice L. Demeterio-Melgar, Likhaan, drafted by the Institute for Social
Studies and
Action, Inc. (ISSA), received on May 10, 2005 (on file with the Center for Reproductive Rights).
71
CONST. (1987), art. II, § 13, (Phil.).
72
See CRR and ARROW, WOW--East and Southeast Asia, 2005, supra note 17, at 143.
73
Rio N. Araja, Bishops Oppose Safe Sex Lessons, Manila Standard Today, June 10-11, 2006,
available at http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics01_june10_2006 . See the DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION (PHIL.), LESSON GUIDES ON ADOLESCENT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: A POPULATION AND
EDUCATION CONCEPT, (2005) (on file at EnGendeRights);
74
WOMEN OF THE WORLD: LAWS AND POLICIES AFFECTING THEIR REPRODUCTIVE LIVES, SOUTH ASIA
137 (Center for Reproductive Rights 2004) [hereinafter WOMEN OF THE WORLD].
75
Id.
76
Id.
77
Id.
78
Center for Reproductive Rights, New Moves to Limit Reproductive Health Care in the Philippines,
XII (4) REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM NEWS, (April 2003) available at
http://www.reproductiverights.org/rfn_03_04_1.html; see also Niel Mural, IUD Use Could Result in
Miscarriages - DOH, THE MANILA TIMES, March 4, 2003.
79
Letter of Petition of Abay Pamilya to Secretary of Department of Health Francisco Duque, “To
Cancel the Registration, De-list, Ban, and Prohibit the Importation, Distribution and Sale, Prescription,
Dispensing, and the Use of Intra-uterine Device, (October 7, 2005) (on file at EnGendeRights).
80
The Intra-Uterine Device (IUD) Worth Singing About, PROGRESS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
RESEARCH (World Health Organization)No. 60, 2002, at 1 available at: http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/hrp/progress/60/Progress60.pdf.; More than 100 million women worldwide use IUDs (Family Health
International, The Copper IUD,20 (1) NETWORK:,INTRAUTERINE DEVICES, (2000) available at
http://www.fhi.org/en/fp/fppubs/network/v20-1/nt2014.html. See generally, The American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) , TheIintrauterine Device, 104 ACOG Technical Bulletin
Washington, DC: ACOG, (May 1987) (definitively stating that an IUD is not an abortifacient); Family
Health International, Mechanisms of the Contraceptive Action of Hormonal Methods and Intrauterine
Devices, http://www.fhi.org/en/fp/fpother/mechact.html (last visited July 31, 2006) (showing that
prevention of fertilization is the dominant mode of action of IUDs); WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION,
SCIENTIFIC GROUP, MECHANISM OF ACTION, SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF INTRAUTERINE DEVICES. Number 753.
TECHNICAL REPORT SERIES (1987) (stating anti-fertility effects of IUD”take place before the ova reach the
uterine cavity.”); Family Health International, IUDS Block Fertilization, 16 NETWORK 1 (1996) available at
http://www.fhi.org/en/fp/fppubs/network/v16-2/nt1623.html. (showing evidence that the prefertilization action of IUDs interferes with sperm motility and survival, hindering ascent of sperm to the
fallopian tubes where fertilization occurs, and impeding egg development).
81
SINGH ET AL, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, supra note 54, at 4, fn. 16 (citing J. CLELAND AND M. ALI,
DYNAMICS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN LEVELS AND TRENDS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AS ASSESSED IN 2002,
United Nations (forthcoming).
82
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Speech During the Celebration of National Women’s Day
and Women’s Month (March 8, 2003).
83
The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, as amended, arts. 256-259 [hereinafter The Revised
Penal Code]; Pacifico Agabin, The Legal Perspective on Abortion, II (1) J. REPROD. HEALTH, RTS. AND
ETHICS 2 (1995); The Philippine restriction on abortion, one of the vestiges of Spanish colonization in the
Philippines, was lifted directly from the old Spanish Penal Code of 1870.
84
Revised Penal Code,arts. 256, 258, 259.
85
The Medical Act of 1959, Republic Act No. 2382, art. III, § 24 (1959) (Phil.); The Philippine
Midwifery Act of 1992, Republic Act No. 7392, art. III, § 25 (1992) (Phil.); An Act Regulating the Practice
of Pharmacy and Setting Standards of Pharmaceutical Education in the Philippines and of Other Purposes,
Republic Act No. 5921, act. III, § 13 (1969) (Phil.).
69
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86
PHIL. CONST. (1987), art. 2, § 12.
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386 as amended, art 41.
88
Hungary, Law No. 79 of 17 Dec. 1992 on the Protection of the Life of the Fetus, translated in 44
INT’L DIG. OF HEALTH LEGIS. 249-50 (1993).
89
Certain cases do not try to answer the question of when human life begins but give answers that
human personhood begins with birth. See, e.g. Glanville Williams, The Fetus and the “Right to Life” 33
CAMBRIDGE L.J. 71, 78 (1994); see also R.J. Cook & B.M. Dickens, Human Rights and Abortion Laws, 65
INT’L J. OF GYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS 85 (1999) (citing Christian Lawyers Association of South Africa v.
The Minister of Health, Case No. 16291/97 (10 July 1998)). In that case a group sued the South African
Minister of Health to declare the 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act unconstitutional based on
section 11 of the 1996 Constitution providing that “everyone has the right to life” and on the argument that a
fetus is included in “everyone” since life of a human being starts at conception. The Court ruled that
“everyone” was a legal alternative expression to “every person,” and historically legal personhood
commences only at live birth. The Court ruled that it was not necessary to address the claim on the biological
beginning of human life, since it cannot be concluded that the human life that had begun was that of a legal
person. The Court followed the observation that “the question is not whether the conceptus is human but
whether it should be given the same legal protection as you and me.”; Under Article 41 of the Philippine
Civil Code, a fetus must be born alive (completely delivered from the mother’s womb) to be considered a
person endowed with legal personality.
90
See Center for Reproductive Rights, poster, The World’s Abortion Laws 2005,
91
K. Llantoy. v. Peru, Case No. 1553/2003, U.N. Hum Rts. Comm., 85th Sess., Annex, U.N. Doc.
CCPR/C/85/D/1153/2003 (2005); see also Bringing Rights to Bear, supra note 57, e.g., Argentina, Chile,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.
92
SINGH ET AL, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, supra note 54, at 4.
93
Id., at 5; The global statistics show that five hundred eighty five thousand women die annually
from pregnancy-related causes. See, e.g.. I.H. Shah et al., WHO Unsafe Abortion, Annual Technical Report
(1999),)(stating eighty thousand of these women die from unsafe abortion); WHO, Making Pregnancy Safer
in South-East Asia, 6(1)REGIONAL HEALTH FORUM, (2002.) (calculating that there are 20 million unsafe
abortions each year, 95% of which take place in developing countries with South-East Asia accounting for
about 40% of global maternal mortality).
94
Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh and Rubina Hussain, The Incidence of Induced
Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and Recent Trends, 31(3) INT’L FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES,
(September 2005) [hereinafter Juarez, et. al. , Incidence of Induced Abortion 2005].
95
SINGH ET AL, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, supra note 54, at 5
96
Department of Health, Prevention and Management of Abortion and Its Complications (PMAC)
Policy, Administrative Order No. 45-B, s2000, at 1 (May 2, 2000) [hereinafter PMAC Policy].
97
Id.
98
See SINGH ET AL, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, supra note 54, at 22.
99
Ermita Declaration, “Respect, Protect, and Fulfill SRHR for All,” adopted during the First National
Consultation Meeting Among Members and Partners of the Reproductive Rights Resource GroupPhilippines, May 27-30, 2003, Ermita, Manila.
100
Id.
101
Lina Reyes, Real-life Dramas in Uncharitable Wards,” WOMEN’S FEATURE SERVICE, November
22, 2002 (on file at EnGendeRights); Junice Melgar, Philippines: Barriers Impeding Reproductive Health and
Rights, available at http://www.remedios.com.ph/fhtml/mk1q2005_pbir.htm (Last visited August 1, 2006).
102
PMAC Policy, supra note 61, at 2. The Policy states that “[f]or the first year of implementation,
PMAC shall initially be implemented in four pilot hospital sites including two DOH retained hospitals, one
LGU hospital and one private hospital. By the end of the fifth year of implementation (end of 2004), 50
DOH-retained hospitals shall be providing quality PMAC services.”
103
Clara Rita Padilla, Gender Issues in Legal Ethics, powerpoint presentation before the Integrated
Bar of the Philippines Eastern Visayas Convention, Cebu, Philippines (April 28, 2006).
104
SINGH ET AL, UNINTENDED PREGNANCY, supra note 54, at 15.
105
Id. at 19.
106
Id. at 4.
107
UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION, REACHING COMMON GROUND: CULTURE,
GENDER, AND HUMAN RIGHTS, p87-89 (2005) [hereinafter UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION].
108
Id.
109
Id.
87
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110
Id.
Id.
112
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS VOICES WORLDWIDE SUPPORT CHOICE: PRO-CHOICE
PERSPECTIVES IN FIVE WORLD RELIGIONS. Briefing paper. (2005) available at
http://www.reproductiverights.org/pdf/pub_bp_tk_religious.pdf [hereinafter, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE
RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS VOICES]; see also Center for Reproductive Rights, The World’s Abortion Laws 2005,
supra note 69.
113
Press Release Women’s Link Worldwide, the Colombian Constitutional Court Decision (May 10,
2006) available at http://www.womenslinkworldwide.org/pdf/proj_news_051006releaseb.pdf .
114
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS VOICES, supra note 74; Center for Reproductive
Rights, The World’s Abortion Laws 2005, supra note 55.
115
U.N. Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Summary
Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, In Accordance with Paragraph 15 (C)
of Resolution 5/1 of the Human Rights Council, Advance Unedited Version, ¶ 32, U.N. Doc.
A/HRC/WG.6/1/PHL/3 (Apr. 7-18 2008) [hereinafter UPR Summary of Stakeholders’ Concerns].
116
UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION, REACHING COMMON GROUND: CULTURE,
GENDER, AND HUMAN RIGHTS, p87-89 (2005) [hereinafter UNFPA, 2008 STATE OF THE WORLD POPULATION].
117
Lilita Balane, RP Likely to Miss Target to Reduce Mother-Baby Deaths, Newsbreak, (August 26,
2009).
118
Id.
119
CRC comment 3, paragraphs 1-2.
120
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY HEALTH INTERNATIONAL (FHI), 2002
111
RTI/STI
121
122
123
PREVALENCE SURVEY IN SELECTED SITES IN THE COUNTRY, 50 (2002).
Id.
Id.
National Epidemiology Center, April 2006 Monthly Update, HIV/AIDS Registry, 2006,
http://www.doh.gov.ph/NEC/hiv/april_2006.pdf
124
Id.
Id.
126
Department of Health-NEC, HIV/AIDS 2003 TECHNICAL REPORT, page 18 (2003) available at
http://www.doh.gov.ph/NEC/HIV/2003%20HIV%20AIDS%20Tech%20Report.pdf. (on file at
EnGendeRights)
127
UNAIDS/WHO, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FACT SHEETS ON HIV/AIDS AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
INFECTIONS, 2004 Update. available at http://data.unaids.org/Publications/FactSheets01/philippines_EN.pdf.
128
Leslie Ann G. Aquino, Church Reiterates Stand vs. Contraceptives, MANILA BULLETIN, December
14, 2007.
129
Id.
130
Global Prevalence of Child Marriage, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN,
available at http://www.icrw.org/photoessay/pdfs/childmarriage_graph.pdf (last accessed July 28, 2008).
131
CRC Comment 4, paragraph 12
132
Philippine National Government UPR Report supra note 27 at ¶ 73.
133
Under international law and specific human rights covenants, States may also be responsible for
private acts if they fail to act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights or to investigate and punish
acts of violence, and for providing compensation.
134
CRC comment 4, paragraph 77
135
CRC comment 4, paragraph 77
136
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), VAW Statistics, Violent Crimes
Against Women and Children, (last viewed Oct.1, 2003) (copy on file at EnGendeRights).
137
Id.
138
Litigating for Sex Equality, supra note 101 at 18.
139
Women’s Legal Bureau, Women’s Health and the Law, 69-71 (1997).
140
Litigating for Sex Equality, supra note 101, at 18; See Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act
of 1998, RA 8505, Sec. 6 (1998).
125
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141
Litigating for Sex Equality, supra note 101, at 19 citing the case of People of the Philippines vs.
Eduardo Miranda (Crim. Case No. Q96-65569) dismissed at the Regional Trial Court level. See Soliman M.
Santos, Jr., Merci Llarinas-Angeles, Roberto M. Ador, JUSTICE AND HEALING: TWIN IMPERATIVES FOR THE
TWIN LAWS AGAINST RAPE (2001) (copy on file at EnGendeRights).
142
Id. citing the cases of People of the Philippines vs. Eduardo Miranda (Crim. Case No. Q96-65569)
and Cielo Castro; See id. Soliman M. Santos, Jr. et al, JUSTICE AND HEALING.
143
See, e.g.,People v. Salarza, Jr., 277 SCRA 578 (Aug. 18, 1997) which held that "…Rape is a
charge easy to make, hard to prove and harder to defend by the party accused, though innocent. Experience
has shown that unfounded charges of rape have frequently been proferred by women actuated by some
sinister, ulterior or undisclosed motive….On more than one occasion it has been pointed out that in crimes
against chastity the testimony of the injured women should not be received with precipitate credulity.”
144
Litigating for Sex Equality, supra note 101, at 19.
145
See The Advisory Board Foundation, Inc , CHILD MALTREATMENT MEDICO-LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
AND INTERPRETATION OF MEDICAL FINDINGS: A CONSENSUS OF MEDICAL AND LEGAL CHILD ABUSE
PRACTITIONERS IN THE PHILIPPINES, (2d Ed. 2002),. available at
http://www.childprotection.org.ph/monthlyfeatures/may2k3b.pdf for information regarding
interpretation of medical findings.
146
Id.
147
People v. Llanita, G.R. No. 134101 (September 5, 2001) available at
http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2001/sep2001/134101.htm (last viewed August 7, 2006).
148
Gina Mission, “The Economic Cost of Violence Against Filipino Women,” CyberDyaryo, 20 May
1999, available at http://gina.ph/CyberDyaryo/features/cd1999_0520_014.htm (Last visited August 2,
2006).
149
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE ROLE OF FILIPINO WOMEN (NCRFW), THE STATE OF FILIPINO
WOMEN 2001-2003, Chapter 3: Upholding Women’s Rights, NCRFW, 25 (2005) available at
http://www.ncrfw.gov.ph/insidepages/downloads/rsfw2001to2003/default.htm
150
Id,at 27.
151
Id.
152
Rethinking Policies on Women, supra note 162.
153
Alexander Martin Remollino, Palit-bigas Prostitution, TENAGANITA, (October 25, 2005), available
at http://geeklog.tenaganita.net/article.php?story=20051026001552759 (Last visited August 1, 2006).
154
RA 9208: AN ACT TO INSTITUTE POLICIES TO ELIMINATE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ESTABLISHING THE NECESSARY INSTITUTIONAL
MECHANISMS FOR THE PROTECTION AND SUPPORT OF TRAFFICKED PERSONS, PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR ITS VIOLATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, Section 17 (May 26, 2003).
155
Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-1516, S-2005, Section 6 (i) & (ii), (2005).
156
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶ 3.
157
Litigating for Sex Equality, supra note 101, at 20.
158
Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-1309, S-2003: An Ordinance Prohibiting All Acts of
Discrimination Directed Against Homosexuals in Any Office in Quezon City Whether in the Government or
in the Private Sector, and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof; effective March 26, 2004
159
Makati City Memorandum (August 16, 2000) cited in Clara Rita Padilla and Flordeliza C. Vargas,
“Lesbians and Philippine Law,” Women’s Journal on Law & Culture, July-December 2001, Vol. 1, No. 1, at
61; The policy imposes a dress code for gay men working for the city government “prohibiting wearing of
girl’s attire by gay employees including putting on make-up and lipstick.”
160
HB 956, 14th Congress.
161
C.A. Case Amparo No. 00016, p. 36.
162
C.A. Case Amparo No. 00016, p. 37
163
C.A. Case Amparo No. 00016, p. 43
164
Amparo No. 00016, Decision p. 13
165
Special Proceeding No. Q04-52635 with Regional Trial Court Branch 86, Quezon City for
Petition for Habeas Corpus with a subsequent application for a Temporary/Permanent Protection
Order (under RA 9262).
166
Concluding observations: Philippines, ¶¶ 62-63.
167
Eric Manalastas, Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Dyke
Dialogues/Rainboy Exchange Series, Filipino LGB Youth and SUICIDE RISK: Findings from a National
Survey (June 20, 2009).
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168
169
170
171
Id.
Id.
Id.
Id.
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