5 business groups urge government to lead in family planning activities

MANILA, Philippines – Five big business groups yesterday urged the government to lead in family planning activities as an effective strategy to reduce poverty.

The Makati Business Club (MBC), the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and the Financial Executives of the Philippines (Finex) called on the government to implement population management without necessarily involving abortion.

The business groups issued a statement calling on the government to provide cheap family planning methods to families, particularly to the poor.

“We strongly believe government must encourage responsible parenthood and promote family planning as a direct strategy for poverty reduction and maternal and child healthcare,” the statement said.

They said the active role of the government in the promotion of family planning is in keeping with the expressed desire of a significant majority of Filipinos as manifested in major national surveys.

While various parties and interested sectors may provide advice and guidance to parents on alternative choices regarding family size and the means to achieve their desired objective, the group said decisions are ultimately for the parents themselves to make.

“We believe such a focused policy of family planning must provide lowest-cost access for the very poor to the services and materials to implement their free and informed choice,” they said.

The group though expressed opposition over any measure that condones abortion. They said abortion limits free choice.

Earlier, foreign businessmen urged Congress to approve the Reproductive Health and Family Planning Bill (RH bill) to address the poverty and unemployment issues of the country.

Although the reproductive health bill is a sensitive issue, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said Congress must resolve the issue since it has been pending for 30 years.

JFC said that there is already a clamor to enact the RH bill citing the Philippine population could exceed 100 million in the coming years.

JFC said that lawmakers must not only listen to religious groups who are strongly opposed to the passage of the bill.

The foreign businessmen said that surveys showed more Filipinos are open to the idea of family planning.

“In survey after survey the Filipino people have spoken in favor of the enactment of the Reproductive Health bill. Legislators and policymakers should heed their constituents’ wishes and not those of a religious group which is completely free to urge its followers to only practice its methods of family planning,” the JFC said.

“In a representative democracy, the voice of the people should be a sovereign mandate,” they added. –Elisa Osorio (The Philippine Star)