Saturday, August 27, 2005

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!

STOP OUR RUNAWAY POPULATION GROWTH RATE FOR ONLY Php1.00 A DAY...
Silently, and while the Catholic Church of the Philippines wasn't looking, the Trust Pill hit the nation's drugstore counters and sari-sari store shelves in major way. Also known as Ethinyl Estradiol + Levonorgestrel + Ferrous Fumarate, or "Birth Control Pills", Trust Pills come in a bright pink package complete with bi-lingual instructions and an illustrated cycle chart. It is similar in almost every way to more upscale counterparts like Marvelon but it's retail cost of Php30.00 + per cycle as opposed to Marvelon's Php190.00, finally brings sensible birth control methods within reach of the Philippine masses. And at such a cheap cost, it should come as no problem for individuals, government units, and non-government agencies to give samples away to women who seek means to plan their families. Of course, having the pills given away free of charge by the government would be the most ideal situation, but for ultra Catholic Philippine society, this is still a heartening start. It's a small ray of hope in the dark abyss that is the Philippine runaway population growth rate. And that's better than nothing at all.

Photo of Trust Pills bought on August 29, 2005 at a sari-sari store in Balaytigue, Batangas.