Free vasectomies at first Manila family planning fair

By Manny Mogato

MANILA (Reuters Life!) - Seven children and nearly a decade later, Filipino garbage dump worker Jose Pagunsan is finally getting access to contraception that is legal and that he can afford: a free vasectomy.

Pagunsan was among a few who volunteered for the procedure on Friday at the first event to promote family planning in the city of Manila after a nine-year ban which ended with the departure of its mayor, a staunch supporter of the Catholic Church.

Because of the ban, condoms and other contraceptives have been in short supply in Manila, the seat of the federal government and capital of the Philippines, unlike in other cities in the country or other developing nations.

But the new mayor, who was elected in 2007, supports family planning, making access to contraception in congested Manila, a city of 1.7 million residents, easier.

"I really wanted to do this a long time ago because my wife's health has suffered due to multiple pregnancies and births," the 41-year-old Pagunsan told Reuters, adding that his wife was pregnant with their eighth child.

"I don't know how and where to get this done. So, when social workers went to our house offering to do it free, I immediately jumped on the chance. I'm doing this for my family."

At the fair, which was organized by government and private organizations, hundreds of people gathered at a sports complex near a huge slum as city health and social workers distributed contraceptives, condoms and booklets on family planning.

The powerful Catholic Church has frowned on the Philippine government's promotion of artificial contraceptives to manage population growth, which at just over 2 percent annually, is the one of the fastest in Southeast Asia.

And because it does not want to antagonize the church with a national policy, the government has left local authorities to decide family planning issues.

"Family planning is a right," said Junice Melgar, a medical doctor and organizer of the family planning fair.

"We see this event as a concrete step in lifting the misery of poor women and their families in the City of Manila."

The United Nations Population Fund says there is a serious need to promote family planning in the largely poor country as the rapid population growth puts pressure on its development.

"I believe there's a need of increasing the informed choices to the people," Marian Ciscar, a U.N. Population Fund program officer, told Reuters.

"I think it has to do with the culture of Catholicism. But, I think we have to learn to separate family planning. It's not a matter of faith. Family planning is a human right."

(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Miral Fahmy)