An assessment of national-level governance of the Philippines' responsible parenthood and reproductive health law: Trends and ways forward

In 2012, the Philippines passed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act. The law aimed to educate and empower Filipinos to make choices regarding their reproductive health (RH), improve the lives of families, and promote sustainable human development for the nation. Key to realizing this vision, was multisectoral coordination among national government agencies (NGAs), local government units, civil society organizations and multilateral donors. The law is a culmination of efforts among these sectors to provide access to RH services to a country clamoring for greater access to RH information and commodities. Since then, the RPRH Law has expanded RH care all over the country. Unmet need for family planning (FP) methods has continued to shrink, closing the gap with the country's goal of zero unmet need. In the years following the passage of the law, adolescent fertility rate began to decrease from the highest it has been since 1971. Despite these accomplishments, other RH outcomes stagnated or fell behind. In 2015, the country failed to meet its Millennium Development Goals for reducing maternal mortality, lowering HIV/AIDS incidence, and improving child health and nutrition. Moreover, the country's RH outcomes lag behind those of its low-and-middle income neighbors. Given its wide scope, understanding the progress made by the RPRH Law requires an acknowledgement of the many movers that set its machinery in motion. In this paper, we analyzed the governance role played by NGAs to facilitate the implementation of the RPRH Law over the last eight years. We focused on nine components of governance, namely, Organizational Presence, Policy Infrastructure, Financing, Human Resources, Stewardship, Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Accountability, in their RPRH activities.