Issues and Concerns on Population and Poverty

I don’t get it! Last week I read a news item in one of the national dailies that Malacanang is now pushing for  Responsible Parenthood (RP) as one of its priority bills in Congress to replace Rep. Edcel Lagman’s

 “Reproductive Health (RH) Bill”.

According to Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a press briefing after a meeting with Catholic bishops two Mondays ago, the RP bill will not be the watered down version of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill. Instead, the RP bill will focus on poverty reduction rather than address the problem on population growth.

Lacierda further  explained to the bishops that the RP bill is primarily a poverty reduction measure because poor families will be informed about different family planning methods, including the natural methods promoted by the Catholic Church.

“We give them choices as to how they would like to plan their families. We inform them not only the natural but also artificial family planning methods for them to also be able to come up with a decision when to have their babies, the spacing, so that we can also avoid unwanted pregnancies and all these concerns that will, in a very large measure help them plan their family," he said.

Here’s my two cents worth on Malacanang’s RP bill. Why the heck did the think tanks of PNoy’s administration have to change the term from Reproductive Health to Responsible Parenthood? Just to please the Catholic bishops – not necessarily to please our God Almighty? You see, if one has to take a closer look at the focus of the two bills, they are actually pushing for the same thing.

Whether its RP or RH Bill, Malacanang acknowledges that with the current Philippine population at 94 million there is a need for couples to be informed what are the family planning methods available to them so that they can have children at the time that they are most ready to have them.

It even puzzles me what survey or study did Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman based her statement when she said during the dialogue with the bishops that the increase in population trend has no relationship with the reason why many Filipinos were living in poverty.

Oh my! Take a look around you. A couple with two to three children can still send children to school as compared to a couple with six or more. Couples with less number of children can still serve decent meals while those who have more mouths to feed have to stretch their budget to a hilt or end up eating just rice, topped with salted shrimp or “bagoong” or worse, none at all. Meron at merong relasyon between poverty and increase in population, di ba?

I really wish PNoy will not be swayed from his old stance. Late last year I had this impression that he has the political will to support the RH Bill. Why the seemingly change in viewpoint?

The truth remains, our country has a burgeoning population, the rate of which is faster than we can propel our country’s economy forward -- that is, from a  bleak financial system to a tiger and wealthy nation in Asia. We need to address the problem on population. If we can address the population trend, we can also address the poverty issue.

The third and hopefully the last dialogue between the government and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will be held this February to further discuss the future of RP Bill. Whatever the outcome is, whether it is RH Bill or RP Bill, this corner is hopeful that the final draft will have the best interest of the greater number of Philippine populace in mind -- and not just he interest of one elite religious hierarchy, which does not necessarily reflect the voice of the majority of Catholic faithfuls.

Sino kaya ang pakikinggan ni PNoy: The silent voice of the majority or the noisy voice of the few. Malalaman natin kung sino talaga ang Boss niya.