A new version of the “anti-condom ordinance” submitted

Manila, Philippines – Officials of Ayala Alabang village in Muntinlupa City submitted to the city council yesterday a revised version of its proposed ordinance seeking to ban the purchase of contraceptives without a doctor’s prescription.

Rather than a total ban, the amended version set a legal age for those who wish to buy condoms and other contraceptives.

Drug stores and retail outlets selling contraceptives are also required 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 drugstore 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.”

The Jan. 3 ordinance of Barangay Ayala Alabang, crafted for the “protection of the unborn child under its jurisdiction,” has divided residents.

Under the previous version of the ordinance, the purchase of contraceptives without a medical prescription and any form of contraceptive advertisement under its jurisdiction are not allowed.