Our Commitment to Pro-Life

We refer to Bro. Frank Padilla’s email wherein he reports that they were able to purchase Depo Provera, a Pfizer product, from Mercury Drug recently.


 * 1) We thank Bro. Frank for checking on the products of Pfizer and for bringing his findings to our attention now. We probably would have avoided these issues if he had done this when he was still CFC Director and GK chairman. CFC/GK first entered into partnership with Pfizer in 2005 for the Gawad Kalusugan Program, before the February 2007 resignation of Bro. Frank. We remember his active support of this Program and his presence at the launch where the working partnerships with Pfizer, Wyeth and Unilab were announced.
 * 2) We wish to clarify that our earlier pronouncement that Depo Provera is no longer being carried by Pfizer was based on the official explanation of Pfizer itself. We deeply regret that out of this action, done in good faith, Bro. Frank has now accused us of "peddling an outright lie."
 * 3) In view of his email, we made further investigations and came out with the following initial findings:
 * 4) Depo Provera’s major application is to stop uterine bleeding associated with endometriosis. It was later found that it stops ovulation as well.
 * 5) When Pfizer acquired Pharmacia, the original manufacturer of Depo Provera, it then ordered the stoppage of the sale of Depo Provera consistent with its objective of being a company that is life-giving.
 * 6) Pharmacia actually had a supply agreement with USAID and the Department of Health for Depo Provera. This supply agreement was likewise terminated by Pfizer for the same reason.
 * 7) However, it now appears that some remaining stocks of Depo Provera continued to be on sale in drugstores.
 * 8) The management of Pfizer has ordered the withdrawal of ALL remaining stocks of Depo Provera from all drugstores in spite of the fact that there are only a few alternatives to treating the life-threatening condition of uterine bleeding.
 * 9) In order to complete our fact-finding and discuss the future of its GK partnership, we are meeting Pfizer officials this Saturday, October 6. We honor Pfizer for their responsiveness to the issues at hand.

We shall also meet with officials of Wyeth soon and will issue another statement thereafter. The partnership with Wyeth for anti-TB medication also dates back to the time where Bro. Frank was CFC Director and GK Chairman.

We wish to assure everyone that the CFC International Council stands committed to Pro-Life as one of our community’s core values and pillars. We also stand committed to clarify and submit to the Church’s guidance in matters pertaining to Pro-Life.