The following news article appeared yesterday...
MANILA: A government official on Sunday disclosed that a baby girl weighing 2.8 kilogrammes became the 100 millionth Filipino amid serious concerns raised on the adverse impact that an annual and unchecked population growth would have on the country’s limited resources.
Juan Antonio Perez, the head of the Population Commission (PopCom), disclosed the girl named Jennalyn Sentino became the symbolic 100 millionth Filipino that also made the Philippines the 12th most populous country in the world.
Jennalyn was born at 12:38am on Sunday and was among the 100 babies delivered at a government maternity hospital in the capital city of Manila, according to Perez.
At Malacanang Palace, Abigail Valte, the deputy presidential spokesman, welcomed Jennalyn’s birth and reiterated the Aquino administration’s commitment to help the poorest of the poor improve their lives.
Valte told government DzRB radio that President Benigno Noynoy” Aquino was determined to tailor-fit his programmes to benefit especially the poor in the countryside before his term is to expire in June 2016.
Secretary Enrique Ona of the Department of Health agreed with Valte, saying the increase in population was a “welcome development” as he pointed out the country’s health programme was already in place.
In particular, Ona said most of the poor Filipinos have already been enrolled in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) that would enable their families to avail of services in government hospitals free of charge or with minimum expense.
But family planning advocates took a different stance as they expressed alarm over the arrival of the 100 millionth Filipino, warning this did not augur well for the country’s economic growth.
Ben de Leon, the president of The Forum for Family Planning and Development, noted an unchecked population growth would put further strain on the country’s limited resources particularly in providing Filipinos their basic needs like education, health, housing and employment.
De Leon said: “As it is right now, the government can no longer give them jobs. That’s the reason many are leaving the country. So how much more if you have a big population.”
The Philippines already has in place a reproductive health or birth control law signed by Aquino in December 2012 despite threats and strong opposition from the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and “pro-life” groups.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/11d314d7-4767-4d91-8364-8318b7a51405.aspx
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