There we go again. After a relatively long lull in the public debate on population and reproductive rights, two issues that are inevitably intertwined in the Third World, the Philippines is again in the thick of a bitter and important discussion. In a country that in 2007 still grew at 2.04 %, incredibly high by any standards, setting this issue aside for political convenience might be good for short term survival for the government but is potentially catastrophic for the country’s long term prospects.
At 90 million, the Philippines has the world 12th biggest population and 45th in terms of density. This is startling considering the country’s land area, the proportion of its lands that are habitable and the scarcity of its material resources. While the last issue can be debatable as the country boasts of vast natural resources, the gross mismanagement of the country’s economy has made the trickling down of those resources to the population hardly felt especially by those at the bottom of the food chain. Just driving through the streets and highways of the Philippines particularly in Manila would give you a palpable sense of how overpopulated the country is. And the problems that emanate from overpopulation of course follows. The ballooning of those living in poverty, the increasing inadequacy of government services especially those that are directed towards the poor like health care, grassroots education and social alleviation are just some of the most serious consequences of unbridled population growth. For those who have lived in America for a long time, it is perhaps easier to appreciate the sensory experience of too much people in any given space.
Given the country’s undisputedly high population growth rate, one would expect the Arroyo government to move heaven and earth to correct this long-standing problem. With its much touted emphasis on poverty alleviation, it has miserably failed to reconcile the population factor in its long-term strategy. That is how despite the high economic growth that the country has posted in the past several years, the number of poor people still rise every year. In both SWS and Pulse Asia surveys, the percentage of people who describe themselves as poor or very poor is reaching alarming proportions. To date, the government through its Department of Health would still have nothing to do with artificial means of contraception. Almost on cue from the Catholic Church, the Arroyo government refuses to promote the more scientifically proven and reliable means of contraception especially among the poor. State funding for such methods are almost negligible relative to the DOH’s overall budget. Not only are these methods rendered inaccessible to the poor, it is likewise helping in perpetuating the myth that natural birth control alone can do the job.
And it all boils down to politics. The Catholic Church’s fingerprints on the government’s population policy are all over the place. The degree in the Church’s influence is such that the statements of its bishops are hardly distinguishable from those of the government. This has been especially cemented in the aftermath of the ZTE corruption expose which made the Arroyo government’s vulnerability all the more apparent. It can be recalled that at the height of the scandal when the government’s very survival was on the line, the Church leaderships’ position tipped the balance of power towards the beleaguered Arroyo. Needless to say, had the bishops called for a People Power in those critical times, things would have been very different today.
But the Catholic Church’s lobby on the population issue is not happening just now. Ramos, the country’s first and only Protestant president, pursued a population program completely independent of the Church. It was nevertheless an uneasy 6 years with the Church for Ramos and his Protestant DOH secretary Juan Flavier. Whether Ramos’ stellar economic record was a result of good population programs, the jury is not out yet. Whether Arroyo’s economic sense will finally reconcile the population component of the country’s long term economic and social strategy, it is clear that its final couple of years promise no change in policy.
Meanwhile, we can help ease the overcrowding by staying exactly where we are.
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