2.8% population growth alarms Estrada

Filipino men can make or break the government's housing program.

And President Estrada knows whereof he speaks: He says virile men like him can help slow down the country's baby boom through sexual abstinence.

Or they can simply ignore urgings from women "once in a while."

The President says 1.7 million babies are born in the Philippines every year as compared to a 3.2-million backlog in housing units.

"I ask you to slow down," the President told two separate multisectoral gatherings in Iloilo and Antique yesterday. "Men, control your urges. And women, limit your urgings."

Mr. Estrada warned of a population explosion as the Philippine birth rate rose by 2.8 percent from 2.3 percent in the year-ago figure, making it the highest in Asia.

He said the problem is evident in booming squatter communities in Metro Manila and other urban areas in the cities of Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.

Apart from housing shortages, overpopulation may also endanger the country's food security and hinder agricultural production, he added.

The administration might not be able to fill up the housing backlog before his term ends in June, 2000 as he had planned when he assumed office in 1998, he added.

"There are 1,556 days left of my term," he said. "I might not be able to put up 3.2 million (housing units) because my term will end in 2004."

As father of the nation, he is getting worried over the growing population and that he is searching for a solution to the problem, he said.

"What does this mean if the population grows? More teachers, more housing, more hospitals ... that will be our problem in the coming years."

The President said the next decades would be difficult for the country if the rapid population growth is not checked.

He said the government is already experiencing a shortage in available resources to meet the demand for additional public service.

"Of course we will always say that we will follow a population control (policy) according to our religious beliefs."

He admitted that population control has always been a "very sensitive" issue in light of the Catholic Church's opposition to the promotion of artificial birth control.

It can be recalled that in July last year, the President formed a multi-sectoral group comprised of representatives from the religious sector to undertake a comprehensive study and formulate the government's population control program.