Family planning is an issue whose sensitivity encompasses the realms of ideology and beliefs between the national government and the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The fight on the issue seemed to have stamped on the minds of most couples that the Catholic Church is above whatever population policies that the government creates. Because it appears that population and development programs of government have become useless for many years.
The national government has created the Commission on Population to nitroduce PopDev programs in the country to no avail. What Popcom employees and officials said the vision of the agency which is supposed to implement based on accepted norms and beliefs of Filipino families has become ineffective and toothless. This is because everytime the government introduces population-related programs, particularly on family planning, the Catholic Church would rise up to protest the moves, saying that these programs are against the teaching of God.
Perhaps, the Catholic church has forgoteen the Philippine population is multiplying at a very fast rate, now to the tune of more than 80 million people. Many people are confused as to the Church’s logic, knowing fully well that poverty has become one of the biggest problems that the government fails to address until now. This is because the government lacks the resources to address the problem. If there are, some of the money are misused for other purposes. Accept it or not, the country’s poor is more than 70 percent of the total population. With a volatile economy, the government is more serious on tackling political issues rather than addressing the needs of the hapless citizens, who barely eat three square meals a day. Addressing population problems is the obligation of the state and not the Church. Therefore, the latter should not intervene in the affairs of the government, even if the president and some legislators do not support family planning policies, now pending for many years in the halls of Congress. Does the Chruch provide for the housing, employment, education and clothings of the socially-disadvantaged children of poor couples, most of them are now living in the country;s slum areas. If poor couples are given the free choice to select what is best for them, we firmly believe it would be more helpful for their survival. Because having too many children is inappropriate in a country where poverty continues to rise.
If China has succeeded in its one-child policy, why can’t the Philippines? America, which is a rich country, you can find couples with less children. Truly what is illogical is by having too many children that parents can’t feed and cloth and send to school, thus ending up in the streets, selling sampaguita leis to motorists. Too many people means a strain on the absorptive capacity of the country. But for politicians, rapid population growth means more votes in the future. For the Church, it means otherwise.