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Post Marketing Surveillance is conducted through sampling, inspecting drug
establishments and outlets, and investigating adverse drug reactions.[46] Marketing
Authorization Holders are likewise required to submit Periodic Safety Update Reports
at regular intervals and Post-Authorization Safety Studies/Post-Authorization Efficacy
Studies.[47] Marketing Authorization Holders may also conduct a Phase IV clinical
trial when necessary.[48] Certifications of contraceptives cannot be considered "final
and executory" if the Food and Drug Administration conducts further examinations
on patients for health and pregnancy risks even after it certifies to its nonabortifacience or if the Marketing Authorization Holders are required to monitor their
products and conduct further testing.
The Food and Drug Administration's mandate under Republic Act No. 10354 to
determine and certify if a contraceptive or intrauterine device is medically safe and
non-abortifacient is an exercise of its regulatory function for the "[protection] and
[promotion] of the right to health of the Filipino people."[49] The "right of the State
as parens patriae"[50] is a role that the Food and Drug Administration, as a
regulatory agency, undertakes.
In a quasi-judicial proceeding, interested or affected parties must first be given the
opportunity to be heard.[51] The primary consideration of administrative due process
is the fairness in the procedure.[52]
Proceedings that are regulatory in nature, such as certification and recertification
proceedings of contraceptives, do not require trial-type proceedings. Public
participation is required only as a matter of transparency.[53] Oppositors are allowed
to submit any data that addresses the science involved, which they believe may
overturn the findings of the Food and Drug Administration. It is the duty of the Food
and Drug Administration in certification and re-certification proceedings to
acknowledge and consider any opposition from the public and address their
concerns.
III
At this point, it must be clarified that an abortifacient under Section 4 (a) of the
Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RH Law) is:
SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. - For the purpose of this Act, the following
terms shall be defined as follows:
(a) Abortifacient refers to any drug or device that induces abortion or the
destruction of a fetus inside the mother's womb or the prevention of the
fertilized ovum to reach and be implanted in the mother's womb upon the
determination of the FDA.
Drugs or contraceptives that merely prevent fertilization are not abortifacient.
Normally, fertilization occurs when a single sperm cell penetrates an egg cell inside a
4/21/2020, 9:19 AM
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