This may be a contradiction to the advocacy of population control but Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said he would now move for an increase in population of his town, which suffered a decrease in its internal revenue allotment this year.
Ramirez said the town’s population dropped by 4,000 and this caused the town’s IRA to be reduced by P6 million.
“We are helping the government in its family planning program. Unya karon nga nigamay ang amo-ang population, gi-penalized na man hinuon mi. P6 million is already a lot for a rural town like ours,” said the mayor.
Medellin used to have a population of 54,000 but the latest count showed it dropped to 50,000. This reduction also caused a drop in the town’s IRA share at P500,000 monthly or P6 million in a year, Ramirez lamented.
The computation of the IRA, disbursed by the national government to the different local government units, is based also on the LGU’s land area and population, he said.
“Mas mayo nga mag population explosion ta ani para di makuha-an ang atong IRA,” said Ramirez, adding that next year he will no longer allocate the usual P300,000 monthly fund for the town’s family planning program, but will instead give incentives to families who have more children.
Ramirez, who said he is pro-God, pro-life and pro-Cardinal Vidal, made this “population increase” statement that seemed to run counter with the stand of Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (4th district), who wanted to impose a program for “controlled population” in the district.
Ramirez and Salimbangon were together yesterday with the Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung Charitable Foundation, Inc. in the distribution of relief goods to typhoon Frank victims in the district.
Salimbangon is one of 58 congressmen in the country who signed the now controversial Consolidated Reproductive Health Bill, principally authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, which seeks a mandatory reproductive health and sex education in the country.
The bill, now set for second reading at the plenary of the House of Representatives, has drawn sharp opposition from the Catholic Church that had called it anti-life and anti-God, and as such, had even wanted to ban the proponents of the bill from receiving Holy Communion.
Salimbangon has insisted, however, that there is nothing in the bill that, in any way, endorses or legalizes abortion in the country because he himself is also against abortion.
He said the bill is best deliberated on the floor first and, when he finds the Church is correct in its opposition, he may change his stand and would oppose the bill. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/RAE