How many billions of pesos are spent by the government each year for its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor? And how much will the government spend each year for its Universal Health Care program that guarantees health service to all Filipinos?
Both programs could easily cost the government over P100 billion each year, if only to address issues that are principally borne out of overpopulation, congestion, irresponsible lifestyle and environmentally disastrous habits.
In 2018, the Philippines had a population of 106,651,922 people, which represents an increase of 1,731,922 people compared to 2017. With its 1.72 percent average population growth rate, the Philippine population is projected to reach 142 million by 2045. With about 21.6 percent of the Philippine population living below the national poverty line based on a 2015 survey, life for the poorest of the poor, especially for those living in big cities, could only get worse.
And while the common purpose of both the 4Ps and Universal Healthcare program is to help improve the lives of Filipinos, especially the poorest of the poor, the government should also strengthen its resolve to depopulate highly urbanized areas and address the country’s population growth.
We already have the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10354), informally known as the reproductive health law, or RH Law. It is a law that guarantees universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education and maternal care. Overpopulation exacerbates many social and environmental factors, including overcrowded living conditions, pollution, malnutrition and inadequate or nonexistent health care, which wreak havoc on the poor and increase their likelihood of being exposed to infectious diseases.
This type of living condition is common along the shorelines, rivers, creeks and water tributaries in highly urbanized areas, like Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, for instance, where informal settler communities (squatter colonies) thrive.
These overcrowded communities are not only fire hazards, if not fire traps, because they are mostly inaccessible to fire trucks. Almost all kinds of waste, including human feces, are also being thrown into the rivers, creeks and other water tributaries from the homes of these communities because many of them do not have toilets.
The irresponsible and unsanitary habits of some, if not many, residents in squatter colonies increase the health risks posed by polluted shorelines, rivers and creeks, not only to its residents but to other communities, as well, where health conscious Filipinos who pay taxes to fund the government’s 4Ps and Universal Health Care program live.
Poliovirus is usually spread from person to person through infected fecal matter through the mouth, food or water containing human feces. And while the poliovirus had practically been controlled many years back, its resurgence has alarmed the government, prompting a massive anti-polio vaccination and information campaign. This again, would cost the government hundreds of millions of pesos, if not billions.
In fairness to the responsible and law abiding Filipinos who are exposed to the health risks posed by polluted shorelines, rivers and creeks because of the inconsiderate, insensitive and unsanitary habits of some informal settlers, the government should strengthen its resolve to depopulate highly urbanized areas and remove squatter colonies from these areas.
By relocating informal settlers living along the rivers and creeks to more humane relocation sites outside urban centers and dispersing industries to these areas, as well to provide access to employment and livelihood, it should significantly improve the quality of life, not only in highly urbanized areas, but in the countryside as well.
Moreover, the government can save billions of pesos on its 4Ps and Universal Health Care program as living conditions for many Filipinos improve. The country can also maximize its revenue potential as the estimated P3 billion to P5 billion losses in potential revenues due to Metro Manila’s horrendous traffic could also be reduced. Depopulating Metro Manila will help ease its worsening traffic situation.
And, most important, providing the right solution mix to the country’s congestion and overpopulation concerns will not only result in the equal distribution of government resources, as the billions of pesos now spent for social development programs to help the poorest of the poor can be used for other projects that would be enjoyed by all Filipinos, but it will also set the premise for establishing an inclusive and more balanced economic development program for the country.
Dr. Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade, a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.