Philippine population reaching critical level

A LAWMAKER warned on Tuesday     that the galloping Philippine population, now at 95 million, would reach the critical level of 115 million by 2015 and seriously threaten the country’s food security.

Sen. Edgardo Angara in his address to the Junior Chamber International Philippines in Cebu City said a population of 115 million is the limit of the country’s carrying capacity, which is the amount of available local resources that can sustain a decent life for Filipinos.

He said it would be critical because “beyond 115 million, we might not be able to carry on the business of government as well as the business of living.”

Angara, a former Agriculture secretary, said the rapid population increase is accompanied by the fast degradation of the environment, which further threatens resources.

“Our production is high, but our forests, which used to be one of the most abundant in Southeast Asia, are down to about 40 percent of our land area,” he said.

“That’s how bad our deforestation rate is, and the result of deforestation is extensive because it destroys corals, it destroys soil and the roots,” he said.

As a result, Angara warned, the country will see scarcity in food and water, adding that drinking water might even be more expensive in 10 years than the commercial beverages.

He said Cebu is already “facing a critical need for fresh water for industrial, for household as well as for food production.”

The senator from Baler in Quezon province further said Luzon might run out of fresh water faster than Cebu because all the rainfall in the region just flows out into the sea.

“At that rate, our [Luzon’s] ground water is at risk,” Angara said. “If there is no water, there is no food.”

He also noted that in the next six years, experts and economists see a likelihood of a financial crisis, which could have adverse impact on housing as fund source would be scarce owing to unregulated use of credit cards.

Angara said the period between now and 2016 is going to be critically a turning point for the country.

“We can become a successful nation or we will become like Nigeria, which cannot govern itself,” he said. –FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO Reporter, Manila Times