DAVAO CITY, Philippines – He won’t impose but merely encourage.
Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte clarified Monday that he would not impose a three-child policy but would only encourage couples to limit the number of their children.
“I cannot force people to follow. We are just suggesting you are in good hands if you limit the number of your children,” Duterte said in a press conference here.
Duterte said he would do it by implementing a family planning program that provides access to artificial birth control methods.
“The natural (family) planning runs counter to biology,” he said.
Duterte said there is a need to curb population growth because the country’s resources “cannot meet demand.”
More than 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholic. Duterte earlier said the Catholic Church is the “most hypocritical institution” due to its opposition to artificial birth control methods.
Duterte made the statement after talking to a family with 10 children in a squatter’s area in this city last Sunday.
Duterte, who professes belief in God but not in religion, said family planning would “accomplish many things.” – With Sheila Crisostomo