Beyond reproductive health issues

At the start of the month, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a strong statement reiterating its stand against the Reproductive Health bill currently up for discussion by the Lower House representatives.

Almost simultaneously, Malacañang came out to say that it was no longer endorsing the RH bill to Congress at the top of its priority listing, and would instead wait until its ongoing dialogue with the Catholic bishops would be concluded.

Clearly, despite denials and subsequent assurances that it will pursue the proposed law (which it conveniently defers to as the responsible parenthood bill) within the year, the Palace has once again succumbed to the powerful pressure of the Roman Catholic Church.

Slow pace

The RH Bill is now 13 years old, having originally been presented for deliberations in Congress in 1998 and subsequently reintroduced with minimal modifications every new session of the legislative. The Senate has its own version too.

The executive has said it will come up with its own version after completing its dialogue with the bishops; there’s no mention if it will also conduct dialogues with sectors which have been pushing for the ratification of the RH bill, one of them being the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics.

Urgency of managing population growth

Two papers, one in 2004 and another one in 2008, by several noted economists in the country, continue to underscore the urgency of managing the Philippines’ population growth as a critical complement to sound economic policies and poverty reduction programs.

Over the years, as the Church continued to exert pressure that has delayed the passage of the law, the nation’s population continued to grow at alarming rates. With a total fertility rate (TFR) in 2010 of 3.23 births per woman, we are one of the highest in Asia.

Our economists stress how the high population growth and fertility rates among the poorest of the poor are lethal combinations that make attempts to uplift living standards of these affected almost an impossible task. Worse, this spawns future generations of people stuck in a downward spiral of poverty.

With soaring birth rates noted in segments of the population in the uppermost poverty levels, a strong link to high maternal and child death rates have also been established by other studies. The Philippines, in fact, is in danger of not meeting its maternal mortality reduction goal by 2015.

Look around

But we don’t need economists to tell us what we can already see for ourselves, that is, if we really open our eyes to our surroundings.

In the squalor of shanty towns, there will always be dirty barefooted children running around even when they should be in school. There is a high probability that many of them will never graduate high school; some may not even start secondary education.

As these children grow to be young adults, they have a slim chance of getting better-paying jobs that would pluck them from clutches of poverty. Young marriages, or coupling, would not be surprising; often unprepared for the responsibility of family life, there would be more children born to paucity.

Many young mothers who are in the poverty sector are in mortal danger of dying during or immediately after childbirth. Poor nutrition and a lack of knowledge that they need to go for regular check-ups are often key reasons why these poor pregnant mothers will succumb to the birthing rigors.

Global over-population

There is one other reason why we need to tamp down on our population growth, and this is related to the fact that the world is also getting to be more cramped every day. There are some 220,000 newborns being added every day that will be competing for finite and depleting resources such as oil and minerals.

China, once known to be the world’s fastest growth country, has happily announced that it is on track to meeting its target of bringing down population growth by 2020, a feat attributed to a one-child policy adopted by its government since 1979.

Even then, the world’s population continues to rise at a time when hunger and deprivation is becoming more apparent and environmental degradation cannot be denied.

More importantly, with the changing weather, agricultural production alongside potable water supply is increasingly being threatened. This will ultimately mean less food and water for the current global population. Clearly, we cannot afford to have more people adding demand pressure to this growing fragile ecosystem.

Matter of survival

I would have wanted to see our religious and faithful laity to personally take up the crusade against poverty not necessarily by keeping up their fight against possible infringes to basic human dignity and life but by also going down personally to the slums and actually help uplift these underprivileged people’s lives by concrete programs and action.

Time, effort and resources of the Catholic Church, for instance, may be directed towards crafting concrete action plans to take care of the seemingly unwanted children roaming in the slum areas who are apparently offsprings of irresponsible parenthood but are now alive in this world. Shouldn’t the Catholic Church take up the cudgels for them to survive decently?

We need more drastic action in face of future challenges and changes. Threats of damnation, watering down the provisions or delaying the passage of the RH bill are distractions. It is no longer about reproductive health, or responsible parenthood; it is about surviving.

Pre and post Valentine shows

On a lighter tone, it is refreshing to note that there are several entertainment shows and musical concerts lined up for the Valentine’s Day observance. Foreign and local stars of past decades are featured in “retro acts” that promise to bring back pleasant memories of old popular songs. Current-craze disk and “MTV” artists are also coming to town to cater to the young crowd.

For me, I will settle for “Love Rocks,” a musical triple treat that brings together Grammy artists Stephen Bishop, Don Hill and Yvonne Elliman. I am looking forward to these acclaimed singers performing ever-popular love songs such as “It Might Be You,” “Sometimes When We Touch,” and “If I Can’t Have You.”

For those young at heart and still in love, you may want to see “Love Rocks” tonight at the Araneta Coliseum. –Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star)

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.