Quiapo priest troubled of ‘growing’ cytotec trade; proposes unified action, overhaul in approach

MANILA, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009—DESPITE its unparalleled popularity among devoted Catholics, Quiapo has been painstakingly touted as a notorious crime haven. Most vividly tainting the area’s image with such downbeat disposition is its lingering black market for fly-by-night abortionists and illegal abortifacients.

“Quiapo is already known as the distribution hub of the Philippine cytotec trade. One just needs to browse the Internet to get specifics on the dealing of cytotec in Quiapo.” said Msgr. Jose Ignacio Clemente of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene Church. “No wonder even people from provinces and foreigners know about such trade existing in Quiapo.”

As an initiative to control the situation, Clemente gathered leaders and officials of agencies concerned for a meeting last Sept. 8 in Quiapo, Manila. Dubbed as a “fight for life,” Clemente called for the conference to present his observations and proposals among the invited groups in line with eradicating the unlawful dealing of cytotec and the other.

“Cytotec dealing is one of the strongest ploys of the abortion business” Clemente said. “Multitudes of babies and mothers have perished for the sake of their own selfish gains.”

The priest went on citing statistics coming from the Alan Guttmacher Institute showing how abortion pills had contributed to the large number of maternal and fetal deaths worldwide. According to their 2008 localized study, there are an estimated 560,000 cases of induced abortions per year, resulting in some 90,000 women being hospitalized for post-abortion care; and about 1,000 deaths a year in the country.

And what is much more alarming to the clergy was Quiapo being pinpointed as the go-to place to acquire the drug contributing largely to the rates of induced abortions.

“If this issue will not be prioritized as an urgent national matter, the effects [of the illegal use of abortifacients] will be worse than the deaths caused by terrorism in our country!” Clemente exclaimed.

Heeding the priest’s call were officials of the government lead by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Manila City Prosecutor Jhoseph Lopez, and Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) Director Dr. Nazarita Tacandong.

Police and security forces including Commander Alex Calderon of the Philippine Coast Guard, National Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director for Intelligence and Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force Ruel Lasala, Col. Ernesto V. Tendero of Chief Manila Police District (MPD) Station 3, Capt. Rodolfo Samoranos of the Western Police District and MPD Gen. Rodolfo Magtibay also participated in the discussion.

Also present during the meeting were Atty. Archie Gonzales from the office of Sen. Miriam Santiago, PRO-LIFE Executive Director Marita Wasan, and Chrch persons Fr. Joseph Matitu, Fr. Alvin Fullon, Bro. Robert Ng, Bro. Nick Salimbagat, Bro. Ben Simbahan, Sis. Malou Garalde, Sis. Mila Belveder and Sis. Beth Ramirez.

The death pill and the illegal trade
Cytotec® is the trade name given by pharmaceutical company, Searle (then Pharmacia and now a product of Pfizer), for the drug, Misoprostol or prostaglandin E1. Originally, the drug was formulated to treat gastric ulcers and replace protective substances in the stomach that are inhibited by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin. Cytotec’s use for cervical ripening and labor induction leading to abortion was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, nor by its own manufacturer. But despite this disclaimer, it is used as an abortion pill in some countries.

This prompted the BFAD to issue in 1994 a memorandum circular limiting the sale and dispensing of the drug to tertiary hospital pharmacies and big drugstore chains. Afterwards, in 1998, the manufacturer of cytotec voluntarily withdrew the product from the market. It was not until 2002 that the BFAD released an advisory completely banning the use and dispensing of cytotec.

But despite such measures, reports reached the BFAD that the drug was still being sold by sidewalk vendors mostly concentrated in Quiapo. Just last month, the NBI has arrested nine vendors allegedly selling and “misusing” tablets for abortion near the Quiapo Church. Over 200,000 pesos worth of cytotec, methergine, and other unlabeled herbal drugs were confiscated from the culprits.

Upon interviewing policemen surveying the Plaza Miranda grounds, Clemente was shocked to discover the large number of cytotec buyers on a daily basis.

“My estimate was only 800 per day. But the police gave me an approximate of 1,000 and above per day which all the more proves the statistic carried out by the Gutmaccher Institute.”

With this kind of patronage, Quiapo officials went further in their investigations and found out that the cytotec trade in the area was already an underground organized market operated by organized syndicates having foreign and local financiers. As evidence, cytotec dealers work on new “cover-ups.”

“Cytotec dealers do not only pose as herbal vendors. Chinese drugstores, small-time pharmacies even religious item sellers near the Quiapo church secretly sell cytotec and other abortive drugs,” Clemente noted.

“Some dealers even have barkers to work for them. Onlookers for cytotec just need to ask for it and these barkers will lead them to the suppliers.”

As a response, police forces, the local government, and other agencies had been keen on undercover activities to catch the offenders. But due to changing modus operandi of sellers, technicalities and “toothless” laws, attempts to completely halt illegal cytotec trade had been futile.

“There are logistical and manpower problems that we have to address.” Clemente said.

“Task force cytotec”
Clemente cited two major operational encumbrances which hinder concerned agencies from performing well: the lack of specialization in approaching the issue and the apparent isolation of the agencies from each other.

“The problem in this illegal trade is already palpable and yet there is no specific task force for it,” Clemente said. “And even if there are a number of agencies working on eradicating illegal sellers, they all work on their own and isolated from each other, when in fact they could be more efficient working together.”

To get pass through these obstacles, Clemente pitched a proposal for the local government “to form a unified, inter-agency approach to halt the cytotec trade and a task force that will monitor the activities of the agencies involved.”

Lim was quick to reply for affirmation.

“I agree that there is a need to prioritize and be aggressive with these cases. We can actually form this task force under the local government provided the other agencies will cooperate. We can issue an executive order to coordinate well with the other agencies in the formation of this task force,” Lim said. “But we are hindered by certain technicalities that which we should address.

Lim was referring to the two options of capturing the illegal traders: filing a case for preliminary investigation and the arrest method. The city mayor favored the latter approach.

“At least in the arrest method, we can actually detain the offender unlike in just merely filing a case for investigation which could give the offenders to escape,” Lim said.

As for penalizing the offenders, Lim suggested to clarify the laws applicable to these cases.

Pump up police power
To capture offenders, Clemente tells that the MPD launches buy-bust operations. Most of the time this strategy works but takes too long before it yields results, according to Clemente.

“By the time one offender is captured, word about the operation has gone out. This gives other illegal dealers the leeway to hide and escape apprehension,” Clemente explained.

Considering the now extensive schemes of illegal cytotec dealers, Clemente found it necessary to request police forces to “increase manpower, logistics, and funds to enable its people to implement its goals.”

MPD Director Magtibay gave a positive response.

“We assure that the MPD will take care of the logistical and manpower problem. In fact, we plan to reinforce Plaza Miranda with an additional 10 policemen. We also plan to coordinate more with the BFAD so they can give us certifications right away.”

Review steps
Another aspect Clemente tackled during the meeting was the apprehension of the offenders. The priest notes that the prosecution process of cytotec dealers seems to take temporary status and eventually dismissed earlier.

But Prosecutor Lasala deferred that the cases were dismissed.

“The cases were not dismissed but rather placed under investigation. In the first case, the reason why the offender was released is the lack of the certification coming from BFAD that the drug retrieved was indeed cytotec,” Lasala said. “But on the second incident, our office was able to lax the rules and we immediately filed a case against the offender, which necessitated him to be detained in jail.”

Although this was the case, Prosecutor Lasala reminded everyone concerned that if ever the case will be pursued in court, the certification coming from the BFAD is crucial to defend the case.

“If the certification cannot be presented as needed, the offender will be awarded bail and be released in due time.”

As a follow-up, Clemente then reiterated to the city prosecutor’s office that they review procedures with regard to those apprehended for selling abortion pills.

Fast forward
According to existing laws, an offender caught to be dealing cytotec before fully penalized needs a certification coming from BFAD that his goods are indeed the abortive drug. The retrieved drug needs to be brought to BFAD’s laboratory in Muntinlupa and have it examined for 45 days. Without the certification, the offender cannot be detained for more than 48 hours once he has been bailed out.

But BFAD Director Tacandong reiterated that such process of certification need not to be followed anymore in the case of cytotec.

“Cytotec has already been banned since 2000 so there is no need for certification. The mere physical appearance of the drug can count for means to arrest and detain the dealer,” Tacandong said.

Director Tacandong also clarified some of the queries presented by the MPD and Prosecutor Lasala regarding the certification process.

“We require at least 30 samples of the pill in question to complete an analysis if that is what is needed to be presented in the court. But we can also release a certification based on physical appearance alone.”

BFAD also added that they can release another advisory stating a stronger ban on the cytotec.

Stop smugglers
Last August as well, the MPD arrested 29-year-old Jose Laura, for distributing banned abortive pills worth P200,000 to some herbal vendors in the vicinity of Quiapo Church.

The operation resulted in the confiscation of 1,400 pieces of Cytotec worth P210,000, Methergine Eterotonic tablets worth P7,500 and 247 herbal capsules worth P12,350. The suspect said the supplier of the pills is identified as Chandry Khuram-Aziz, a Pakistani.

Taking note of this scenario, Clemente identified some other foreign dealers coming from nearby Asian countries such as China and India.

“There were also reports of coast guard officers delivering cytotec and other abortive pills to traders in Quiapo,” Clemente added.

With this, the priest turned to the Philippine Coast Guard to “apprehend more on foreign distributors to stop smuggling of cytotec and others coming from other countries.”

Sharpen bills’ “teeth”
Currently, two laws have been governing the warrant of arrests for cytotec dealers. The first one is the Republic Act (RA) No. 9711 or the “Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Act of 2009”, which amended Republic Act No. 3720 or The “Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1963.”

The new amendment renames the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) into the FDA and strengthens its regulatory powers, resources and capabilities to efficiently and expeditiously perform its mandate. It also vests the FDA with powers that the BFAD lacks, among them the power to order the ban, recall and withdrawal of health products that can or has the potential to cause death, serious illness or injury to people like cytotec.

Also under RA 9711, the FDA can seize without hearing or court order health products found to be in violation of the laws or rules and regulations pending further proceedings.

RA 9711 complements RA 5921 or otherwise known as “The Pharmacy Law of 1969.” Section 25 of this law states that “no medicine, pharmaceutical, or drug of whatever nature and kind or device shall be compounded, dispensed, sold or resold, or otherwise be made available to the consuming public except through a prescription drugstore or hospital pharmacy, duly established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”

Section 37 of RA 5921 specifically refers more to cytotec and its kind stating that “no drug or chemical product or device capable of provoking abortion or preventing conception as classified by the Food and Drug Administration shall be delivered or sold to any person without a proper prescription by a duly licensed physician.”

Both laws allot a bail for the illegal dealing of cytotec. With this, Clemente requested “if the senate and the lower house proposes more stringent laws on the crime of abortion making it attempted murder and unbailable.”

Abortion not an option
The Philippines, through its Constitution and the Catholic Church, has been steadfast in protecting the life of the unborn. Unlike in other countries, abortion is declared a crime in the republic.

Section 12, Article II of the 1986 Philippine Constitution provides that “The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.” Andrew Isiah P. Bonifacio