In the first week of January, the Commission on Population estimated that by year’s end, the Philippines’ population would reach the 94-million mark. It warned that the additional two million Filipinos would mean two million more mouths to feed, two million more heads to give shelter to, two million more to educate, and two million more bodies to keep healthy. In less than two decades, these two million would join the workforce, worsening the already alarming unemployment rate in the country.
By then, at an alarming population growth rate of 2.04 percent annually, the country’s population would have long breached the 100-million mark. At the present population of 92 million Filipinos, the government can hardly provide for the basic services that the people need – food, education, shelter and health care. Can you imagine how it would be like just five years from now when the Philippine population surpasses the 100-million mark?
The current population growth rate of 2.04 percent annually is way ahead of the average 1.4-percent growth in per capita gross national product (GNP).
At this rate, population will double in about 35 years while per capita GNP would take about 50 years to double. There had been years when population growth had even outstripped growth in gross domestic product (GDP), such as last year when the GDP was only 0.9 percent. Economic managers have pinpointed the rapid population growth as one of the biggest threats to sustainable economic growth.
Imagine this: 92 million people living in one of the poorest economies in Asia; one of the highest population growth rates in one of the lowest economic growth rates in the region; one of the fastest growing employable population in one of the highest unemployment rates in Asia. The result: a big percentage of the population living below the poverty level; millions of people fighting for limited resources and limited jobs; millions of people needing vital public services that a government running on a huge budget deficit – P293 billion last year — can hardly provide.
There are only two ways to solve this alarming discrepancy between population growth and economic growth. One is to reduce population growth, and the other is to accelerate economic growth. It is as simple as that. While other countries, such as China, are confronting the problem and succeeding on both fronts, the Philippines are losing the battle on both fronts.
Instead of accelerating economic growth, the Philippines, under the administration of the economist Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, actually registered the lowest economic growth last year, at 0.9%, the lowest in 11 years!
On the other hand, the government can still opt to at least confront the alarming population-economic growth disparity by gradually reducing the population growth rate. But amazingly, not a single administration since the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos has done anything to do this. Why? The country’s elected officials refuse to support numerous population control measures filed in Congress because they fear the backlash from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.
About two weeks ago, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned candidates to reject the controversial Reproductive Health Bill, which was pending in the House of Representatives.
In its “catechism” for the 2010 elections, the Catholic bishops’ leadership asked the faithful not to vote for politicians who would back the controversial bill. The 20-page guidelines underscored the church’s position on “family and life issues,” which is how the Catholic hierarchy refers to the debate over RH bill.
The guidelines read: “…it would not be morally permissible to vote candidates who support anti-family policies, including reproductive health, or any other moral evil such as abortion, divorce, assisted suicide and euthanasia. Otherwise one becomes an accomplice to the moral evil in question.”
As a result of the CBCP warning, sponsors of HB 5043, led by Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay, conceded that the measure would not get approval in the current Congress, especially since national elections are forthcoming. A vote for the HR 5043 is generally considered political suicide for most congressmen whose constituents are mostly Roman Catholics.
The bill was first filed by Lagman in the 8th Congress during the time of the late President Cory Aquino and has been refilled every year to no avail. The RH bill seeks to grant public funding to family planning methods using artificial contraceptives and sex education for students. It also gives access to reproductive health information to avoid unwanted and untimely pregnancies and maternal deaths to limit the country’s population.
The Catholic Church supports only natural family planning and seeks to block legislation that would offer Filipinos a choice of other methods of contraception.
In an article in this corner on September 22 last year, entitled “Finally, a firm stand,” I praised two youthful presidential candidates who dared defy the CBCP.
I wrote: “Finally, at least two prominent presidential candidates are willing to take the Roman Catholic Church head-on to put the brakes on the runaway population growth. Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party and his cousin, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro of the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD party, asked the influential Roman Catholic Church to respect the state’s right to pursue a program to control population growth.”
In my conclusion, I said: “If these two young presidential aspirants do not buckle down to pressures from the most powerful and most influential interest group in the country, the Roman Catholic Church, I see no reason why they would give in to other lobby groups. If they do not relent until election day, one of them will have my unequivocal support.”
Apparently, the Church’s pressure on the candidacy of Teodoro was too much for him to bear. Teodoro completely withdrew his support for the bill.
Languishing at the tail end of the surveys, Teodoro withdrew his support for the Reproductive Health Bill while his wife, Rep. Nikki Prieto-Teodoro of Tarlac, chair of the House committee on the welfare of children, withdrew her signature as co-sponsor of the bill just before the CBCP guidelines were issued.
She now echoes the views of Catholic bishops that contraceptives are “abortifacients.” Earlier, Zambales Rep. Maria Milagros Magsaysay, Teodoro’s spokesman, also withdrew her co-authorship of the bill.
“Population growth is not a problem if resources are available and well-managed to cope with the additional people requiring public services, employment, housing, and so on,” she said. But, my dear, resources are not available and will not be available in the foreseeable future the way the government is being run. Neither is it well managed because politicians would rather divert money for basic services to their pockets and to their campaign kitties.
Based on her premise and on the realities in the country, population growth will remain a problem for generations to come unless she and her ilk gather the courage to face up to the unrealistic bishops.
Aquino was first reported on Friday to have softened his stand on the bill, but his spokesman clarified on Monday that Aquino has not caved in to Church pressure and continues to support the bill.
“Senator Noynoy Aquino has not changed his stand on the RH bill,” Frederick Forbes said. “There are certain provisions of the RH Bill he can not support, but on the whole he is behind the bill,” the press officer said. He said Aquino has held that stand and “we never changed our position.”
The press officer said he is not sure why people are trying to say Aquino has moved away from his previous stand. He says the senator would not change his stand just to stay up in the presidential race.
Aquino said Catholic bishops should wake up to the reality that something must be done to arrest the rapid growth of the country’s population. “There is really a problem. And I hope that the Church will see that I have the reasonableness of my position on the issue,” he told newsmen.
During Friday’s forum, Aquino said he wants Filipinos to be educated on the various methods of family planning and be free to choose which they prefer.
“There are provisions that I cannot support,” Aquino said. “I was mistakenly labeled as co-author [of the bill]. Actually, I’m listed as interpellator, and I’m waiting for my opportunity.”
“But having said that, I still think that this is a problem that we cannot bury our heads in the sand. Kailangan natin tugunan. Habang hindi inaasikaso ang problema, tuloy lalaki ang problem at tuloy ang pasakit sa taongbayan,” he added.
Aquino has chosen to use the more careful term “responsible parenthood” in explaining his policy on family planning.
“Responsible parenthood basically says each parent should be reminded, ‘May dinala kayong anak sa mundong ito. Meron kayong obligasyon na sila’y paaralin, pakainin, patirahin ng maayos, damitan, at iba pa.’ Ano ang solusyon dyan? Meron po tayong educational campaign na ipapatupad,” Aquino said.
Only Aquino out of the 10 presidential candidates remain standing, so to speak, against the powerful Roman Catholic Church on the issue of population control.
What the country needs is a leader who will stand up to his principles, no matter what the cost. Not one who will retreat at the slightest sound of gunfire. Aquino has shown so far that he can stand up to even the most powerful lobby group. I hope he remains firm long until after election day.