The Problem with Numbers

As the proposed 2-child policy heats up debates in the House of Representatives, health centers, which provide free training for family planning, are now threatened to lose their free and low-priced contraceptives. These contraceptives are being donated by international groups who out of their good will and advocacy provide us with free condoms. But without the government’s clear support on the family planning program, couples without means may have to content themselves with the calendar method or the more popular yet incorrect “withdrawal method.”

The National Statistics Office (NSO) projects our population to 82.7M this year. Filipinos are being sexually active at a younger age but the government seems to be blinded by the fact, tied down by the conservative faction more popularly known as the Catholic Church and several ignoramuses who still believe that sex is done only within the constraints of marriage.

It is funny how a president such as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can actually risk the ire of a superpower like the United States by pulling out its troops from Iraq yet be afraid to take a definitive stand on population control and run the risk of being criticized by the Church. Instead of providing proper counseling, facilities and strengthening the existing family program, we hear about a 2-child policy, 5-year moratorium on pregnancy and even a dim-witted one-woman policy being pushed into the legislature. As if this country condones infidelity. Of course there’s First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and her Vicky Toh. But that’s another story altogether.