Business organizations start forum on population management

Two of the country’s most influential business groups recently organized a seminar that aims to trigger related activities that hope to complement the government’s poverty alleviation program.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and Philippines Inc, held a Forum on Population Management last month with the theme" reducing poverty through business and family planning". San. Mechai Viravidya of the Royal Thailand Government was the guest of honor and speaker.

Mechai, chairman of Thailand’s population and community development association (PDA), shared the success of his country in implementing a national family planning program. Mechai said Thailand was able to lower its population growth from 3.2 percent in 1974 to one percent at present. The Philippines has surpassed Thailand’s present population of 63 million by almost 20 million.

In his speech, Mechai noted that one of the key strategies that Thailand adopted to reduce poverty was to "privatize poverty reduction" by engaging the business community to foster business development in the rural level.

Mechai mentioned some projects that encouraged government, private sector and civil society to come up with an effective family planning program. Activities include free vasectomies, livelihood programs at the village level, forest replanting schemes, development of vegetables banks, industry relocation into rural areas, mobile health clinics and environmental education programs.

"Couples should be given options or choices in planning for the welfare of their families," Mechai added.

"In view of the persistent problem of population growth and its negative domino effects into various sectors of the economy, there is an ever-growing urgency for an effective population management policy in line with our overall objective to achieve sustainable development," said PCCI honorary chairman and Phils. Inc. president Miguel B Varela in his opening remarks.

Forum participants agreed during the open forum that there is need for dynamic efforts and approaches to address the population problem of the Philippines being one of countries in South East Asian with the highest poverty incidence.

The forum is the first of a series of planned activities organized by PCCI, Phils. Inc. in cooperation with the Philippines Exporters Confederation (Philexport), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Philippine Center for Population and Development, Inc. (PLCPD) to increase public awareness on the need for a comprehensive population management policy and effective family planning program.

Also present were representatives from various sectors of the economy, including Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon, Rep. Crisel Lagman-Luistro, Dir. Gen. Dante B. Canlas of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Ambassador Theo Arnold of the Royal Netherlands Embassy. – Philexport News and Features