Noy bats anew for responsible parenthood

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday pitched anew for responsible parenthood as the Population Commission (PopCom) reported that the country’s population would likely hit 100 million this year.

The President was asked about the matter by high school students from Miriam College, a Catholic educational institution for girls and young women in Quezon City, during a visit in Malacañang.

“You are a parent, you bring children into this world, you have responsibilities,”  the President said.

The President’s stand has always been for responsible parenthood. He supported the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) Act of 2012 but its implementation was stopped by the Supreme Court (SC).

According to Aquino, one million people are added to the country’s labor pool each year and the challenge is to increase opportunities for everybody to make growth inclusive.

The President expressed belief that education would be the key to give people a chance to learn skills that would allow them to be employed.

He said various sectors were being prioritized to provide jobs soonest. The agriculture sector, for instance, could be a major driver for growth with proper technology, among other forms of support.

Aquino also noted that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority produced over 500,000 graduates and 62 percent of them found jobs.

Before, only 20 to 26 percent of TESDA graduates would get employed.

The RH Law, which was passed by Congress after a decade of being dormant and getting support from the President, had been vigorously opposed by the Catholic Church and other groups.

The SC issued a status quo ante order with an indefinite effectivity, preventing the implementation of the controversial law.

The law allots billions for reproductive health measures supposedly to promote greater access to all types of family planning methods and to prevent maternal deaths.

Malacañang earlier said a growing population would be both a challenge and an opportunity for the country, even as it stressed that measures were in place to ensure that everyone would benefit from economic growth.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government had been studying the movement of the population’s growth rate and the resources needed to respond to it.

Lift TRO, SC urged

Proponents of the RH Law are preparing for the possibility that the measure will not be implemented soon, the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) said yesterday.

“This deprives the Filipino people of services that they deserve,” said PLCPD executive director Romeo Dongeto, adding that the SC must lift the TRO soon.

He said that aside from the ballooning population, the country also faces other important issues like rising cases of HIV/AIDS.   â€“ With Sheila Crisostomo, Cecille Suerte Felipe