Ph. Town Battles Pop. Explosion

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANGALDAN, Pangasinan – To help mitigate overpopulation among the Filipinos, the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) here are roving the 30 villages' first class town looking for mothers who want to avail free contraceptives provided by the government.

Overpopulation. Greenly Institute

“Hindi ko lang alam kung meron pa. May order kami (sa DOH (Department of Health). Ang mga BHW maghahanap sila, hanap sila mga midwives kung sino tapos sasabihin ang mga ganito,” Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno told Northern Watch Newspaper.

Free Contraceptives

More than a hundred women from this town received lately free progestin subdermal contraceptive implants insertion and removal services as part of the Family Planning Month celebration.

Pangasinan Provincial Population Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office (PPCLDO) spearheaded the activity in partnership with the local government unit headed by Mayor Parayno, Municipal Health Office (MHO) under Dr. Larry B. Sarito, and Municipal Cooperatives Officer (MCO) under Dr. Rosallie R. Hulipas.

A progestin subdermal contraceptive implant is a small, flexible rod inserted under the skin of the upper arm to prevent pregnancy for up to three years while an intrauterine device (IUD) is a form of birth control that a healthcare provider inserts into the uterus. Once it's inserted, it can prevent pregnancy for up to 10 years or more, depending on the specific type.

There was no opposition among the leadership of the Catholic Church to the advocacy of the Parayno Administration to reduce demography in the central Pangasinan town.

“Wala naman,” quipped by Mayor Parayno when asked if the Priests still oppose the government program.

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church have vehemently resisted since time immemorial the distribution of contraceptives as they favor only the natural methods like lactational infertility, rhythm method, sexual abstinence, coitus interruptus, and others.

Economic Growth and a Manageable Population

Two papers from the School of Economics in the University of the Philippines illustrate the connection between rapid population growth and poverty by comparing the economic growth and population growth rates of Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Population and Poverty: the Real Score (2004), and Population, Poverty, Politics and the Reproductive Health Bill (2008) explained that Thailand and Indonesia grew economically more rapidly than the Philippines due to lower population growth rates. The Papers stressed that "the experience from across Asia indicates that a population policy cum government-funded [family planning] program has been a critical complement to sound economic policy and poverty reduction.”

By comparison, the two countries’ population growth rates, which were similar to the Philippines’ in the early 1970s, are down to 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively (Chart 1). Likewise, while Thailand’s poverty incidence is down to 9.8% and Indonesia’s to 18.2%, the Philippines’ poverty incidence remains high at 33% (all official figures reported in ADB 2004).

The present populations of Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are 71.7 million (2022, World Bank), 275.5 million (2022 World Bank), and 109 million (2020 Census) respectively.