RP population growth seen outpacing SEA peers

THE Philippines’ population growth rate will continue to outpace its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to the World Bank.In its World Development Indicator 2009 Report, the Washington-based lender said the Philippines’ population would grow at an annual average of 1.7 percent until 2015, hitting 101 million by that year.This is faster than Indonesia’s 1 percent, Malaysia’s 1.5 percent, Thailand’s 0.5 percent, and Vietnam’s 1.3 percent.The World Bank said the population figures were based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship—except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

These values, the lender clarified, are midyear estimates for 1990 and 2007 and projections for 2015. The bank also said the data on average annual population growth is the exponential change for the period indicated.

In 2007, the World Bank estimated that the Philippines’ population stood at 87.9 million, up from 61.2 million in 1990.

As of August last year, the National Statistics Office’s official population count reached 88.57 million, 15.8 percent higher than the 76.50 million in May 2000.

The Philippines’ population expanded from 1960 to 1970 at an annual rate of 3.01 percent. This slowed to 2.75 percent from 1970 to 1980, and further to 2.34 percent from 1990 to 2000.

President Gloria Arroyo has resisted use of contraceptives and other forms of family planning other than natural methods—a move applauded by the Roman Catholic Church but criticized by those who blame overpopulation for rampant poverty in the country, and recently for the food shortages. The Philippines is predominantly Catholic.

Mrs. Arroyo left the decision to local officials in determining their policies on how to contain population growth Rolando Tungpalan, deputy director general of the National Economic and Development Authority said there is no policy prohibiting the use of contraceptives.

“There is nothing illegal about the use of contraceptives. We are not banning contraceptives, except that it is best addressed by local government units.

Because they know their constituencies. So therefore, if there is any donation for distribution of condoms, we’d like to see the local government units take on that role rather than a national policy,” he said. –Darwin G Amojelar, Senior Reporter, Manila Times