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Case Digest: Imbong v Ochoa

Juris Doctor (University of Cagayan Valley)

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Court gives emphasis to the protection of rights of life and liberty of its people, esp. Right to Life, Right to Health
and Right to Family.

IMBONG V OCHOA
G.R. No. 204819
April 8, 2014

JAMES M. IMBONG and LOVELY-ANN C. IMBONG, for themselves and in behalf of their minor children, LUCIA
CARLOS IMBONG and BERNADETTE CARLOS IMBONG and MAGNIFICAT CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER,
INC., Petitioners,
vs.
HON. PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR., Executive Secretary, HON. FLORENCIO B. ABAD, Secretary, Department of
Budget and Management, HON. ENRIQUE T. ONA, Secretary, Department of Health, HON. ARMIN A. LUISTRO,
Secretary, Department of Education, Culture and Sports and HON. MANUELA. ROXAS II, Secretary, Department of
Interior and Local Government, Respondents.

ASSOCIATE JUSTICE JOSE C. MENDOZA:

FACTS
² Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10354, otherwise known as the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of
2012 (RH Law), was enacted by Congress on December 21, 2012.
² This law guaranteed universal and free access to nearly all modern contraceptives to all citizens, including those
living in poverty, through government health centers.
² The law also mandated reproductive health education in government schools and recognized the right to
post-abortion care as part of the right to reproductive healthcare.
² The RH Law was immediately challenged by various religious and conservative groups.
² The Supreme Court of the Philippines issued an order preventing the law from going into effect pending a final
judgment.
² The RH Law was challenged on the grounds that it violated a range of constitutional rights, such as the rights to
life, health, freedom of religion and speech, and privacy.

ISSUE/S
1. Whether or not Whether the RH law is unconstitutional, with regards to:
a) Right to Life
b) Right to Health
c) Freedom of Religion and the Right to Free Speech
d) The Family and the Right to Privacy
e) Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom
f) Due Process
g) Equal Protection
h) Involuntary Servitude
i) Delegation of Authority to the FDA
j) Autonomy of Local Governments / ARMM

HOLDINGS/RULINGS
In general, NO. The RH Law, in its entirety, is not unconstitutional, however, unconstitutional in some aspects.

a) Right to Life
NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to Right of Life.

The Court finds that the RH Law, consistent with the Constitution, recognizes that the fertilized ovum already has life
and that the State has a bounden duty to protect it.

The Court finds that inasmuch as it affords protection to the fertilized ovum, the RH Law does not sanction abortion. To
repeat, it is the Court's position that life begins at fertilization, not at implantation. When a fertilized ovum is implanted
in the uterine wall, its viability is sustained but that instance of implantation is not the point of beginning of life.

In all cases, the "principle of no abortion" embodied in the constitutional protection of life must be upheld.

b) Right to Health
The Court finds that, at this point, the attack on the RH Law on this ground is premature, because not a single
contraceptive has yet been submitted to the FDA pursuant to the RH Law.

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The Constitution is replete with provisions protecting and promoting the right to health. These provisions (Article 2,
Section 15; Portions of Article 18; and Article 16, Section 9) are self-executing. Unless the provisions clearly express
the contrary, the provisions of the Constitution should be considered self-executory. There is no need for legislation to
implement these self-executing provisions.

There must first be a determination by the FDA that they are in fact safe, legal, non-abortifacient and effective
family planning products and supplies. There can be no predetermination by Congress that the gamut of contraceptives
are "safe, legal, non-abortifacient and effective" without the proper scientific examination.

c) Freedom of Religion and the Right to Free Speech

NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to Freedom of Religion and the Right to Free Speech.

The Framers, however, felt the need to put up a strong barrier so that the State would not encroach into the affairs of the
church, and vice-versa. The principle of separation of Church and State was, thus, enshrined in Article II, Section 6 of the
1987 Constitution.

In short, the constitutional assurance of religious freedom provides two guarantees: the Establishment Clause and the
Free Exercise Clause.

In the case at bench, it is not within the province of the Court to determine whether the use of contraceptives or one's
participation in the support of modem reproductive health measures is moral from a religious standpoint or whether the
same is right or wrong according to one's dogma or belief.

The jurisdiction of the Court extends only to public and secular morality.

While the Court stands without authority to rule on ecclesiastical matters, as vanguard of the Constitution, it does have
authority to determine whether the RH Law contravenes the guarantee of religious freedom.

The Court finds no compelling state interest which would limit the free exercise clause of the conscientious
objectors, however few in number. Only the prevention of an immediate and grave danger to the security and welfare of
the community can justify the infringement of religious freedom. If the government fails to show the seriousness and
immediacy of the threat, State intrusion is constitutionally unacceptable.

d) The Family and the Right to Privacy

YES. RH Law is unconstitutional by intruding into marital privacy and autonomy.

The RH Law contains provisions which tend to wreck the family as a solid social institution. It bars the husband
and/or the father from participating in the decision making process regarding their common future progeny. It likewise
deprives the parents of their authority over their minor daughter simply because she is already a parent or had suffered a
miscarriage.

The RH Law cannot be allowed to infringe upon this mutual decision-making. By giving absolute authority to the
spouse who would undergo a procedure, and barring the other spouse from participating in the decision would drive a
wedge between the husband and wife, possibly result in bitter animosity, and endanger the marriage and the family, all for
the sake of reducing the population. This would be a marked departure from the policy of the State to protect marriage
as an inviolable social institution.

At any rate, in case of conflict between the couple, the courts will decide.

It disregards and disobeys the constitutional mandate that "the natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing
of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government."

In this regard, Commissioner Bernas wrote:

“The 1987 provision has added the adjective "primary" to modify the right of parents. It imports the assertion that the
right of parents is superior to that of the State.”

e) Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom

The Court finds that, at this point, the attack on the RH Law on this ground is premature, because there is no sexual
education curriculum existing yet.

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Any attack on the validity of Section 14 of the RH Law is premature because the Department of Education, Culture and
Sports has yet to formulate a curriculum on age-appropriate reproductive health education. One can only speculate
on the content, manner and medium of instruction that will be used to educate the adolescents and whether they will
contradict the religious beliefs of the petitioners and validate their apprehensions.

Thus, considering the premature nature of this particular issue, the Court declines to rule on its constitutionality or validity.

f) Due Process
NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to the due process clause of the Constitution because it
does not suffer from vagueness.

A statute or act suffers from the defect of vagueness when it lacks comprehensible standards that men of common
intelligence must necessarily guess its meaning and differ as to its application.

It is repugnant to the Constitution in two respects:

(1) it violates due process for failure to accord persons, especially the parties targeted by it, fair notice of the conduct
to avoid; and
(2) (2) it leaves law enforcers unbridled discretion in carrying out its provisions and becomes an arbitrary flexing of the
Government muscle.

Moreover, in determining whether the words used in a statute are vague, words must not only be taken in accordance with
their plain meaning alone, but also in relation to other parts of the statute. It is a rule that every part of the statute must be
interpreted with reference to the context, that is, every part of it must be construed together with the other parts and
kept subservient to the general intent of the whole enactment.

g) Equal Protection
NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

To provide that the poor are to be given priority in the government's reproductive health care program is not a
violation of the equal protection clause.

In fact, it is pursuant to Section 11, Article XIII of the Constitution which recognizes the distinct necessity to address
the needs of the underprivileged by providing that they be given priority in addressing the health development of the
people.

Section 7 of the RH Law prioritizes poor and marginalized couples who are suffering from fertility issues and desire to have
children. There is, therefore, no merit to the contention that the RH Law only seeks to target the poor to reduce their
number.

h) Involuntary Servitude
NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to involuntary servitude.

The practice of medicine is undeniably imbued with public interest that it is both a power and a duty of the State to control
and regulate it in order to protect and promote the public welfare. The practice of medicine is not a right but a
privileged burdened with conditions as it directly involves the very lives of the people.

A reading of the assailed provision reveals that it only encourages private and non- government reproductive healthcare
service providers to render pro bono service.

Clearly, no compulsion, force or threat is made upon them to render pro bono service against their will.

The rendering of pro bono service, a prerequisite to accreditation with PhilHealth, is not an unreasonable burden, but
rather, a necessary incentive imposed by Congress in the furtherance of a perceived legitimate state interest.

It should be emphasized that conscientious objectors are exempt from this provision as long as their religious beliefs
and convictions do not allow them to render reproductive health service, pro bono or otherwise.

i) Delegation of Authority to the FDA

NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to the delegation of authority to the FDA.

The Court finds nothing wrong with the delegation.

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The FDA does not only have the power but also the competency to evaluate, register and cover health services and
methods. It is the only government entity empowered to render such services and highly proficient to do so.

Being the country's premiere and sole agency that ensures the safety of food and medicines available to the public, the
FDA was equipped with the necessary powers and functions to make it effective.

From the declared policy of the RH Law, it is clear that Congress intended that the public be given only those
medicines that are proven medically safe, legal, non-abortifacient, and effective in accordance with scientific and
evidence-based medical research standards.

j) Autonomy of Local Governments and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
NO. The RH Law is not unconstitutional with regards to the Autonomy of Local Governments and the ARMM.

Local autonomy is not absolute. The national government still has the say when it comes to national priority programs
which the local government is called upon to implement like the RH Law.

There is nothing in the wording of the law which can be construed as making the availability of these services
mandatory for the LGUs. For said reason, it cannot be said that the RH Law amounts to an undue encroachment by the
national government upon the autonomy enjoyed by the local governments.

The fact that the RH Law does not intrude in the autonomy of local governments can be equally applied to the ARMM. The
RH Law does not infringe upon its (ARMM’s) autonomy.

k) Natural Law
With respect to the argument that the RH Law violates natural law, suffice it to say that the Court does not duly
recognize it as a legal basis for upholding or invalidating a law.

Our only guidepost is the Constitution.

The RH Law does not sanction the taking away of life. It does not allow abortion in any shape or form. It only seeks
to enhance the population control program of the government by providing information and making non-abortifacient
contraceptives more readily available to the public, especially to the poor.

The Court's function is limited, and accordingly, must confine itself to the judicial task of saying what the law is, as
enacted by the lawmaking body.

That is not the same as saying what the law should be or what is the correct rule in a given set of circumstances. The
policy of the Court is non-interference in the wisdom of a law.

l) SUMMARY
In general, the Court does not find the RH Law as unconstitutional insofar as it seeks to provide access to medically-safe,
non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable, and quality reproductive healthcare services, methods, devices, and
supplies.

CONCLUSION/S
1. The petitions are PARTIALLY GRANTED.
2. The Court declares R.A. No. 10354 as NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL except with respect to some provisions which are
declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL:
3. The Status Quo Ante Order issued by the Court on March 19, 2013 as extended by its Order, dated July 16, 2013, is
hereby LIFTED.

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The Court declares R.A. No. 10354 as NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL except with respect to the following provisions which
are declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL:
1) Section 7 and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR insofar as they:
a) require private health facilities and non-maternity specialty hospitals and hospitals owned and
operated by a religious group to refer patients, not in an emergency or life-threatening case, as
defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to another health facility which is conveniently accessible;
and
b) allow minor-parents or minors who have suffered a miscarriage access to modem methods of
family planning without written consent from their parents or guardian/s;

2) Section 23(a)(l) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly Section 5 .24 thereof, insofar as
they punish any healthcare service provider who fails and or refuses to disseminate information regarding
programs and services on reproductive health regardless of his or her religious beliefs.

3) Section 23(a)(2)(i) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR insofar as they allow a married individual,
not in an emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to undergo
reproductive health procedures without the consent of the spouse;

4) Section 23(a)(2)(ii) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR insofar as they limit the requirement of
parental consent only to elective surgical procedures.

5) Section 23(a)(3) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly Section 5.24 thereof, insofar as
they punish any healthcare service provider who fails and/or refuses to refer a patient not in an emergency
or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to another health care service provider
within the same facility or one which is conveniently accessible regardless of his or her religious beliefs;

6) Section 23(b) and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR, particularly Section 5 .24 thereof, insofar as
they punish any public officer who refuses to support reproductive health programs or shall do any act that
hinders the full implementation of a reproductive health program, regardless of his or her religious beliefs;

7) Section 17 and the corresponding prov1s10n in the RH-IRR regarding the rendering of pro bona
reproductive health service in so far as they affect the conscientious objector in securing PhilHealth
accreditation; and

8) Section 3.0l(a) and Section 3.01 (G) of the RH-IRR, which added the qualifier "primarily" in defining
abortifacients and contraceptives, as they are ultra vires and, therefore, null and void for contravening
Section 4(a) of the RH Law and violating Section 12, Article II of the Constitution.

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