Look to future when debating RH bill—Lacson

Sen. Panfilo Lacson INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

A cosponsor of the reproductive health (RH) bill in the Senate has urged his colleagues to consider the consequences of a future consisting of a continuously rising population faced with diminishing natural resources, instead of merely focusing on moral and medical arguments on the issue.

Senator Panfilo “Ping”  Lacson said population management may become a greater and more urgent need, especially since the Philippines today is only about 40 million shy of reaching the population projection of 141 million by 2050.

“We should now address the issue of population management… rather than just focusing on the discussion of RH services and government efforts (at addressing those needs). We should deal more on how to manage our population when we discuss this bill,” he said during a discussion on the bill Thursday night.

Lacson noted that, so far, the debate on the RH bill had focused on infant and maternal mortality along with attempts to determine when a human life truly begins in the womb.

The senator said population management, not control, “is the elephant in the room. We’re faced with the urgent issue and yet we don’t want to talk about it.”

Highest in Asia

While questioning RH bill principal sponsor Senator Pia Cayetano, Lacson was able to establish that the Philippines now has the highest population growth rate in Asia and is the 11th or 12th most populous country in the world.

Cayetano also asserted that the country had a current growth rate of 2.04 percent and warned that, at a certain point, the nation’s resources, including food, water and land, would become major concerns as more Filipinos would have to share diminishing supplies.

“Please don’t get me wrong,” Lacson said, “but I want to bring out these issues to make our colleagues aware of the consequences of being overpopulated.”

The RH bill has become the most contentious issue in the Senate to date. Senate leaders were forced to revive the debate this month after Cayetano insinuated they were purposely sitting on the measure.

The RH bill debate had been moved to January to allow senators to focus on the 2012 national budget.  The Senate, however, was able to approve the budget at the end of November, hence Cayetano’s complaint.

Lacson said a study showed that the Philippines would have a population of 141 million by 2050. At present, estimates of the population range between 90 to 100 million.

Lacson noted that the same study projected India’s population to be only 1.6 billion and China’s only 1.4 billion by the same year.

“You and I know those numbers are almost the present population of the two countries, so the projections are way off. When we talk of 141 million Filipinos by 2050, it’s (most likely) an underestimation,” Lacson pointed out.

The senator said it would be more realistic to peg the number of Filipinos at between 300 to 400 million by then.

Scenario

“We (would be) looking at an inadequate water supply, depletion of resources, increase in water pollution, even in noise pollution… epidemics and pandemics,” he said.

“Governments come and go but resources like forest products, aquatic resources and agriculture are finite,” Lacson added.

“How much more space does India have than the Philippines? Does India have more carrying capacity? India can afford to have more people because it has more space,” he said.

Cayetano interjected that as it is, India can be considered better off than the Philippines because of its higher level of education. “Still they have a huge number (that may) not be sustained. So even they have a huge problem,” she said.