A REACTION to MR. MONTALVAN'S ARTICLE

First and foremost, I would like to say that I am not an “anti-life” or “anti-family” advocate. BUT, somehow I would like to be open about the issues regarding the artificial family planning methods. I believe that the recent debates about the reproductive health bill in the congress must be given a chance to be heard. The government must think what is best for its people and the country despite all the threats from the influential religious communities.

According to the government projections, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term in 2010, the population will swell to 93 million. What is alarming about this reality is that the poverty incidence in the Philippines remains high at 40 percent. Imagine that? It’s about 37 million Filipinos in absolute poverty. The author of the article KRIS-CROSSING MINDANAO stated that the countries lured by the Malthusian myth are now offering incentives to encourage childbearing in the attempt to curb population decline. Well, I guess its better that way than watching over 37 million Filipinos dying in severe hunger. The so called “pro-life” advocates are claiming that the artificial methods of family planning like IUDs, pills and other intrauterine devices are considered abortifacients and using these techniques are crime. But think of this, more and more cases of children are being abandoned because their parents can’t support them. And yet, these couples keep on bearing children which they can’t even feed, isn’t it a crime even more? It’s a harsh reality that our country must face. Something must be done to rebalance population growth against the limited resources. I believe that the reproductive health bill is a direct help especially to the poor Filipinos. The Filipino couples must be allowed to freely choose between natural and artificial family planning method, either way they must plan their future families.

I agree with the author’s statement that population control is simply not a solution to poverty, that is, graft and corruption must be put to an end. However, since corruption in Philippine politics is something that is very difficult to stop overnight, for now the government must do something to effectively lower the population growth. But the author stated his concerns about less births means less labor force for the next 20 years. Again, think of this, what can we do with too large population in the future when almost half of these can’t even read or write? Couples with fewer offspring are more capable of providing food, shelter and quality education to their children. I am a first-hand witness to this, because even though my parents have minimal income, they can still provide all our needs because we are only four in the family.

Filipinos must be open to change especially if it’s for the betterment of the country and its people.