Roco backs artificial, natural birth control

Presidential candidate Raul Roco vowed yesterday that if he is elected, he will make all "available" methods of family planning within reach of couples, saying it is up to them to decide which method — natural or artificial — they want to use.

"There will be no coercion. It will be up to the couples to decide (which methods to use), according to their conscience," he said.

Roco, in his platform of government, claimed that his population management program will "pay close attention to trends such as fertility, morbidity, and inward and outward migration."

"(We will) protect the reproductive health of women by keeping couples informed about family planning issues and the available options in accord with their religious beliefs," he added.

Roco said he will work to reduce child and maternal mortality and reverse the spread of deadly diseases if he gets elected.

In a recent television show, he also said he intends to strengthen the education programs on population management to enable couples to make an informed choice on family planning methods.

Roco believes that the government cannot meddle in what goes on in the bedroom and this means that the couple "must follow their conscience" in determining their method of family planning.

Roco and other presidential candidates — President Arroyo, actor Fernando Poe Jr., administration nemesis Sen. Panfilo Lacson, and evangelist Eduardo Villanueva — have been challenged by various non-government organizations to clarify their stand on reproductive health and population issues.

The Philippine Legislator’s Committee on Population and Development Foundation Inc. (PLCPD) is organizing a presidential debate on such issues but only Roco and Villanueva agreed to participate.

Poe stood firm on his decision not to join debates, prompting Mrs. Arroyo to stay away from the PLCPD debate since she believes that the presidency is a toss between the two of them.

Lacson, on the other hand, begged off upon learning of Mrs. Arroyo’s decision. He claimed that any debate is an "exercise in futility" without her participation.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. asked all presidential candidates to take a stand on the issue of family planning, saying that the country’s population has reached 84 million.

"The candidates, especially those running for president, should have a basic policy to stand on the basis that our population seems to be running away. We are almost 84 million, so our resources are already up to its limit, having a hard time coping, including our infrastructure," he said.

Magsaysay said the next administration should make it clear "whether or not the government is going to be agressive in family planning."

Commission on Population executive director Tomas Osias earlier said the Philippines is sitting on the edge of a population volcano.

He said that unless population growth is address now, it will have a major impact on the country’s social and economic development. He project that there may be 170 million Filipinos within the next 30 years.

"If our birth rate goes unchecked, it will impact on food production, health and education services, the environment, housing and so on. It will be a major problem for any government," Osias said.

He said the Philipppines now has the highest birth rate — 2.36 percent a year or 1.7 million births. The last census, conducted in 2000, pegged the population at 76.5 million.

Roberto de Ocampo, former finance secretary during the Ramos administration and the current president of the Asian Institute of Management, warned that if the country’s population continues to grow in excess of one million a year, "we will need to grow at 10 percent a year for the next 10 years to be where Thailand is today." — With Jose Rodel Clapano