Muntinlupa council says Alabang's revised anti-condom ordinance still contrary to law

Manila, Philippines - The city council of Muntinlupa will remand back to Barangay Ayala Alabang its amended version of a controversial ordinance on contraceptives.

In a special hearing held Thursday, the city councilors agreed that Ayala Alabang’s Ordinance 2 needs “fine tuning” to make it a “better ordinance.” Councilor Amy Patdu Labios told The STAR that the councilors “saw another flaw” in the amended version and the flaw is in conflict with the law.

Labios explained that the barangay cannot regulate or set a legal age for those who wish to buy condoms and other contraceptives because the permission should rest on the parents.

“Parental authority shall prevail and it’s not the barangay that has the say on such issues. Those are the reasons why we feel we need to return the ordinance to them,” Labios said.

She added that only the Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration are the agencies that have a say on whether condoms and pills are harmful to a person’s health.

Aside from setting a legal age, the amended ordinance also required drug stores and retail outlets selling contraceptives to post the following statement: “It is unlawful for condoms and... contraceptives to be sold (or) distributed to persons below 18 years of age unless otherwise provided by existing laws.”

In case retailers are in doubt, the ordinance proposed that they ask the buyer for any valid form of “photographic identification” that contains buyer’s birth date. Establishments caught violating the ordinance will be fined P1,000 for each violation.

“It shall not be a defense of a drug store and retail outlet...that it did not know or was not aware of the real age of the minor,” the ordinance read.

Condom vending machines or self-service facilities are prohibited unless “the machine has a mechanism for age verification.”