ADDRESSING the country’s population and development concerns does not end with gains in the government’s reproductive health efforts, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
Undersecretary for Population and Development (Popdev) and Popcom Executive Director Juan Antonio A. Perez III said the government has made significant strides in the past six years in terms of providing access to family planning services.
Perez said, however, these efforts must be accompanied by food security and institutionalization of “living wages” in order to maximize the development gains of the country.
“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 [Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health] Law, family planning and Popdev policies that uphold their wellbeing and welfare,” Perez said.
Perez said the next administration must continue to support population and development efforts but must also undertake food security measures.
He added that living wages for Filipinos will also allow Filipino families to finance the education and health of children. In January, Perez said living wages are crucial in terms of the support ratio.
Popcom earlier said if wages are higher, this will enable two workers per family to be able to provide for two children, with some savings set aside. A support ratio is the average number of people a wage earner supports, including himself or herself.
“Candidates (must) provide their suggestions regarding economic inequality across the archipelago, including their take on institutionalizing ‘living wages’ that will allow families to be financially secure and make investments for their future, while easing inequality of daily wages in the majority of regions which causes congestion in NCR (National Capital Region),” Perez said.
Based on its recent report, Popcom said 8.1 million Filipino couples, partners and individuals were able to access family planning practice and usage during the Duterte administration.
According to the Field Health Services Information System of the Department of Health, the figure is two million more—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 the RPRH Law (Republic Act 10354), 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 contraceptive method utilization, the latest FHSIS annual data from health centers and health facilities nationwide revealed 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.