Philippine Health Department supports two-child policy

The Philippine Department of Health favores the two-child policy proposed by the House of Representatives to address the population explosion in the country, a local newspaper reported Friday.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit told Manila Standard that the proposal to encourage couples to have only two children is compatible with the government's advocacy of spacing, a three-year period between pregnancies.

Dayrit said that his department is willing to support the House bill as long as it is not coercive even if it goes against the stand of the Catholic Church, which is dominant in the country.

"We are open to the idea as long as it is not coercive and remains consistent with position of the administration on birth spacing and responsible parenthood. We would implement family planning policies even if it conflicts with stand of the Catholic Church provided they are lawful, legal and approved by the government," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo admitted Thursday that the population control would not stand as a priority in her next six-year term and it was not included in her State of Nation Address delivered on Monday.

However, lawmakers continue their effort to promote the policy to brake the growing birth rate in the country, whose population is estimated at 84 million currently and still growing annually at a rate of 2.36 percent, the highest in Asia.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia said Wednesday that he would proposed a two-child policy for the government to address the overpopulation problem.

"Our resources can only afford a small population and the two-child policy is part of my strategy to save the nation because over population will kill the nation," de Venecia said.

In the House, two more bills were filed Thursday by nine lawmakers to address the overpopulation problem, seeking to establish an integrated population policy and provide for reproductive health structures.

"The president has no policy on population control and she tosses the problem to local executives, who have not been instructed to carry out a policy depending on our beliefs and positions," Reps. Loretta Ann Rosales said.

Experts warn that a massive population burden would undermine the country's effort to rebuild the national economy, especially discourage Arroyo's pledge to create 6 million to 10 million jobs during her six-year presidency.

However, the Roman Catholic Church, whose believers account for 70 percent of Filipinos, has been opposing any artificial means of birth control.

Arroyo, a staunch Catholic, earlier said that the government supports family planning and birth control in the country but implementation has been left to local governments.

Source: Xinhua