A leader in population growth

The Philippines may be lagging behind its neighbors in economic recovery, but the country is leading in terms of urban population growth. In 20 years, more than 20 million people are expected to be crammed into Metro Manila, according to the Population Commission. This 20 million will be needing water, housing, road space, jobs and basic services such as health and education, and will be adding tons of garbage daily to the capital's mounting piles. Metro Manila's current population of 9.4 million is expected to double by 2015, PopCom reported.

Population growth is not a problem if resources can keep up with the growth. Development, however, has lagged far behind the population boom. PopCom reported that the Phi-lippines' population, now at 76 million, is growing by an annual average of 2.3 percent, with 40 percent aged 15 and below and 20 percent between 15 and 24 years old. A problem in the Philippines, as in many developing countries, is that the population is concentrated in urban areas. Metro Manila currently accounts for 13.7 percent of the national population.

One answer to urban blight is to develop the countryside, so that people need not migrate to the cities for livelihood opportunities and basic services. Development, however, takes time and a great deal of funds which the government lacks. Hand in hand with development, the government must push for family planning.

President Estrada, who has made a turnaround and is now supporting family planning, has urged Filipinos to limit sexual activity to curb population growth. It was probably the President's attempt at pushing for family planning without openly endorsing artificial contraception which has always been opposed by the Catholic Church.

The President, however, will have to make a more aggressive push for family planning if he wants to slow population growth. No one is asking him to endorse abortion. What his administration must do is to educate couples about the advantages of planning their families as well as the options open to them, including me-thods endorsed by the Church. The government's role is to offer couples a choice and, if they choose contraception, to make the means accessible to them.