RE-POSTED as an advocacy to finally pass the RH Bill during the 15th Congress
under Pres.Benigno Aquino's administration
The controversial RH Bill
(philstar.com) Updated August 18, 2009 12:00 AM
For the first time, a Cabinet official of the Arroyo administration has publicly admitted that the reason why economic benefits are not trickling down to the poor is due to the country’s high population growth.
Finance Secretary Gary Teves even used imagery to illustrate his point, correctly pointing out that people will just have to make do with a smaller slice of the economic pie since there are just too many people being added to the lower sector of society – averaging at four babies born every minute in Luzon and Visayas and as high as six babies per minute in Mindanao – where poverty is growing at an extremely rapid rate.
An informal survey showed that businessmen all over the country believe that we need to manage our population in order to catch up with the rest of our neighbors in Asia – a sentiment that has long been echoed even by foreign businessmen who have been urging legislators to pass the reproductive health bill.
These businessmen clearly see the correlation between high population growth and poverty, and thus have been urging government to adopt a good population management policy to help alleviate the problems of unemployment and hunger, maternal health issues and infant mortality rate, among many others.
According to the Joint Foreign Chambers, poverty is not only tragic; it is also bad for business because it leads “to weak consumer demand and low public sector revenues.” What’s even more disturbing is the prospect of social unrest and instability which could discourage businessmen from investing into the country – pegged as the 12th most populous nation in the world.
During the visit a few months ago of Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, head of the Delegation of the European Commission in the Philippines, he said “the continued rapid population growth in the country is draining health and economic resources and slowing down economic growth.”
Rapid population growth, MacDonald added, is also threatening the sustainability of rural livelihoods and destroying natural resources – and the poor are the ones who pay “the highest price.”
While corruption is being blamed for rampant poverty in the country, the overwhelming number of people makes it difficult for any government to efficiently deliver basic services especially to the poor – who comprise the majority of the estimated 92 million Filipinos today. Take for instance education.
No matter how many thousands of schools are built, it would still be difficult to accommodate the number of new schoolchildren numbering millions trooping to school, with the disturbing sight of these kids huddled like sardines in their classrooms.
It’s rather unfortunate that so many misconceptions are being spread against House Bill 5043, like the fallacy that it advocates abortion. On the contrary, the bill repeatedly underscores that abortion is illegal and criminal. Not even the most liberal of legislators will agree to abortion.
As explained by Congressman Edcel Lagman, the bill’s proponent, it is a
“pro-quality of life” legislation that seeks to empower couples to plan and space the number of children they want to have by giving them adequate information on the kind of options they have.
Simply put, the RH Bill aims to give couples informed choice. If they want to have as many as eight children, that’s their right and their choice. But more likely than not, without awareness of family planning options, they might end up having 10 or a dozen children – more than the eight they originally wanted.
This is not meant to discriminate against the poor, but tell me – if a couple can hardly feed and adequately support the needs of three children, should they in all conscience bring three more children into this world? ( to be continued ... Part 2 )
