POPCOM said there must be an "uninterrupted" uninterrupted transition of the successful RPRH/FP efforts into the next government.
With only 30 days left before the May 9 elections, the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) urged all candidates to include family planning in their agendas to ensure the continuity of the program as more Filipinos in recent years appreciate and embrace the benefits of a planned family.
“We have seen their positive effects on Filipino families’ lives, especially during the pandemic. Their anxieties about having another mouth to feed and bring up in an environment of economic uncertainty were eased, as POPCOM’s partnership with local government units was even heightened with a ‘more than business-as-usual’ approach," Undersecretary for Population and Development (POPDEV) Dr. Juan Antonio Perez III said today.
Perez noted the current strong patronage of 8.1 million Filipino couples, partners and individuals in terms of family planning practice and usage, with a brisk uptake during President Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure.
According to the Department of Health (DOH)’s Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS), the figure is 2 million more, or about 25 percent higher, than in 2016 when the Chief Executive assumed office.
Likewise, POPCOM disclosed that the past six years saw the mainstream implementation of Republic Act 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law, which helped boost the total number of those availing of family planning services by 30 percent since its passage a decade ago in 2012.
In terms of modern contraceptives used, the latest FHSIS annual data from health centers and health facilities nationwide showed that pills remained as the most preferred by some 3.2 million Filipino women in 2020, which had an additional 1 million adherents from 2016.
Implants also had a significant increase in acceptors: from 103,000 to 474,000 in the span of those years. Same was true for injectables: from 959,000 to 1.6 million. For males, within that period, about 400,000 resorted to condoms—up from 270,000.
However, Perez noted that there must be an "uninterrupted" transition of the successful RPRH/FP efforts into the next administration.
With greater impact of the pandemic among families who are poor and with large family sizes and among densely populated communities, POPCOM, NEDA and the DOH advocated for the inclusion of the national family planning program as a key strategy in recovering from the Covid-19 public health crisis.
Perez said that more needs to be done in terms of POPDEV policies to be mainstreamed in the national government’s programs, including a “national living wage” in the light of the current administration’s approach to the pandemic.
Apart from family planning, pressing concerns on demographic vulnerabilities and migration in urban areas surfaced at the height of the health emergency, which prompted President Duterte to check on efforts to ease population numbers in high-density barangays nationwide.
He revealed that POPCOM has provided questions to the Commission on Elections for candidates running for national offices to learn about their plans on RPRH and POPDEV, which he hoped would be addressed in the next set of debates and interviews.
“Currently, 2/3 of our population enjoy only about 35 percent of the dividends of our national economy. We want to know our candidates’ plans about decongesting the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon and CALABARZON, which hold 39 percent of the entire country’s population, while partaking in the benefits of 65 percent of the national economy. This will be key in developing regions outside of the three, particularly those beyond Southern Tagalog, which are left behind in terms of progress,” the POPCOM head said.
“The key to success in any undertaking is continuity. With the right leaders hopefully elected by our countrymen, Filipino families will continue to be empowered, as well as reap the positive outcomes of the RPRH Law, family planning and POPDEV policies that uphold their wellbeing and welfare,” Perez concluded.
Tags: #2022Elections, #PopulationCommission, #familyplanning, #population