Foundation asks politicians to support family planning

Politicians should support modern family planning methods, said the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development Foundation, citing a recent survey that showed the people are now favoring the program.

The foundation’s capability building unit manager Faith Bacon said in yesterday’s press conference that candidates have not been giving full support to modern family planning methods while keeping their distance from family planning issues.

"We would like to tell our candidates that they have nothing to fear from the Pulse Asia Survey. They should know what is really important, the votes, so we would tell them that the electorate would vote those who will support family planning," Bacon said.

A Pulse Asia Survey conducted last March showed that nine out of 10 Filipinos consider family planning important but they want funding support from the government for modern family planning methods.

The survey also said that nearly eight out of 10 Filipinos say that a candidate should include family planning in their agenda, and three out of four adult Filipinos said they would support candidates who favor for a government budget for family planning.

A candidate’s support for family planning has effect on the outcome of the election, the survey further showed.

Pulse Asia said that one in two Filipinos believes that a candidate’s support for family planning will determine his electoral victory, 41 percent of the respondents believe it has no effect, and only 6 percent believe this would mean defeat in the polls.

Even government agencies, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Education and the National Water Resource Board, have made linkages and called for population management to address adequately the people’s basic needs for a sustainable future.

Bacon said, "we call on candidates to break their silence and apathy on the issues and...take heed of the people’s clamor. Include population and reproductive health in your platforms of government."

Bacon, however, said the foundation will not identify any candidate for votes but will encourage only the electorate to vote for those who endorse family planning. — Jasmin R. Uy/RAE