BY JULIA CARREON-LAGOC
JULY 27, 2014 was a day teetering between bright and bleak — the day when Philippine officials welcomed the birth of our country’s 100 millionth citizen.
Christened Chonalyn, she was born after midnight of July 27th at the government-run Jose Fabella hospital in Manila. She was welcomed with a cake and infant paraphernalia. Optimism throbbed for Chonalyn’s well-being, but there was great misgivings. Pessimism easily trumped optimism. Questions arose as to how our country can provide a decent future for Chonalyn and for dozens after dozens of babies looming thereafter.
I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again: It is imperative to curtail the burgeoning population as much as possible. Klaus Beck, Philippine representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) said, “The Philippines is “the world’s 12th most populous country and has one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations.” The entire Greater Manila urban area spills out beyond the boundaries of Metro Manila and is reported to contain around 25 million people – a quarter of the country’s entire population. That’s population bursting at the seams.
To stave off population explosion, the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill came into being. The Bill agonized in Congress for more than ten years. It is to the credit of President Noynoy Aquino to stand firm on his population stand despite the strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church. (If you are asking me, that is my own church, dear reader). In consonance with the UN’s concern over unsustainable population increase, he endorsed to Congress the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill which became law in December 2012. RH Bill finally morphed to RH Law. Gone were the streamers that donned churches’ convents with No to ligtas buntis, No to contraceptives, and No to the Reproductive Health Bill.
But wait, ye folks who are strong advocates of population control. The Supreme Court delayed implementation of the law amidst rallies opposing the RH Law. In April 2013, however, the Supreme Court declared that the law was constitutional and gave the government the OK to enforce it. As if to appease everybody, the new name was much welcome: “ Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10354), informally known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, is a law in the Philippines, which guarantees universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care.” (Underscoring mine)
Observations by UNPF’s Klaus Beck are for the government, the church, and the public to deliberate before things fly off the handle: “Nearly half of the country’s people live in cities as more Filipinos migrate from rural areas to look for better opportunities elsewhere, fostering problems such as trafficking in girls and women that have to be addressed.” Sob stories of innocent girls have become one too many.
“It is important to emphasise (sic) that population is not merely a matter of numbers, but of human rights and opportunities. With 54 percent of its population under the age of 25, the Philippines needs to provide the young with education, job opportunities and skills. In the poorest areas, women bear more children than they desire because of a lack of access to reproductive health information and services.” Beck’s comments exact a great role the RH Law must play.
The RH Law mandates the government to fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as condoms, contraceptives, etc, and to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers in the country. On maternal and child health, there is general agreement, but the incongruity comes in the birth control provisions.
The Catholic Church, which counts a membership of 80 million faithful out of the country’s 100 million, issued a “Pastoral Guidance” that “…government health workers can legally refuse to dish out contraceptives on ethical or religious grounds… Catholics should be aware that they cannot be forced to promote, distribute or dispense artificial contraceptives against their religious or moral conviction.”
A friend who wants to remain anonymous (he is a Catholic, by the way) remarked, “So, shall we just let people multiply like rabbits?” I replied with more questions: Can we minimize the number of people scrounging in garbage dumps? Have the street children knocking on the windshield of your cars become fewer? How about the mother with a baby in her arms asking for alms, and passing on the baby to another woman as a come-on for your charitable self? What can you say about the mushrooming shacks inhabited by folks unable to provide the barest necessities for survival?
In the midst of the grueling population, let’s just hope little Chonalyn and those yet unborn will have a bright future before them — against all odds. (Next week: A brighter day for little Juan and Juana) (juliaclagoc@yahoo.com/PN)
