GOING, GOING, GONE . . .

With the Supreme Court’s 2015 temporary restraining order (TRO) on contraceptive implants still in place, at least 459,294 units of Implanon and Implanon NXT are set to expire in 2018. This would mean squandering some P261 million, the total cost of these contraceptive supplies.

A contraceptive implant is a small flexible tube, the size of a toothpick, placed subdermally in the upper arm. It releases progesterone hormone similar to the natural progesterone produced by women in their ovaries, which inhibits ovulation. The implant is highly effective up to three years.

Data from the Commission on Population show that with the expiration of the certificates of product registration (CPR) of 42 contraceptive brands between 2016 and 2018, about 90 percent of contraceptive brands would no longer be available in the market by the end of 2018, unless new CPRs are issued by then.

Without new CPRs, the number of registered contraceptive products available in the local market will go down from 32 this year, to 18 next year and 5 in 2019. By 2020, there will be zero contraceptive brands with a CPR. ( See table for infographic). —ANAROA, INQUIRER RESEARCH Sources: Commission on Population, Inquirer Archives