Irresponsible statement

I was shocked to read the statement of NEDA Director-General Romulo Neri (The Philippine STAR, Feb. 8, 2004, p. B-1) which said that the "growth in the country’s population is providing a boost to the economy." A growing population, the statement said, "ensures more labor exports and the flow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers."

Responsible economists and population experts say the opposite thing: There is a sure link between unchecked population growth and economic underdevelopment. The reality is that our economic growth is not fast enough to cope with the demands of a fast-increasing population. There are not enough jobs for people, there’s not enough food to feed the teeming mass of children. You need not go far to see hungry-looking, ill-clad children roaming the streets, selling flower garlands, or begging for food. And we want to have more and more of these children?

Allow me to print the reaction of one of our readers to Mr. Neri’s statement. Here’s an reasonably angry one written by Dr. Florence M. Tadiar of the Women’s Health Care Foundation:

"I am not an economist, but I can compare the econo-mic progress of our neighboring Asian countries which I have been visiting during the past decade, in relation with their population growth. DG Neri’s statement cannot be further from the truth.

"Most of our labor exports‚ (I am disturbed how our people are treated like goods and commodities by economists) leave our country because of low income and lack of opportunities for advancement. We fully know what tragedies befall them, affecting their health, relationships in the family, their dignity, and other consequences. And yet, they tell us that our government treats them like dirt abroad and even when they come home. They are actually considered mere moneymakers to boost‚ our ailing economy.

"DG Neri and his ilk want our people to virtually be slaves in other countries. Does he not know that many Overseas Filipino Workers come home without improving much the quality of their lives and that of their family? There are those who have been able to build homes with TV/Karaoke and other modern machines which soon need repair or replacement, send their children to school, invest their hard-earning money in profitable ventures. But at what great sacrifice! As a researcher who have talked with OFWs in Hong Kong and in many airports, airplanes and other places in various countries, I have heard from them so many sad stories about themselves, the family members they left behind, and the Philippine government authorities.

"The high population growth has produced a lot of children who have no or inadequate opportunities for education, employment, high standards of living. They become vulnerable to child labor, child prostitution, and even child abuse, substance abuse, poor health. But the government wants to push women to have more children. It does not fulfill its obligation to protect and promote their health, to help them reach their full potential, which the Constitution mandates and which it committed upon signing various international agreements and covenants.

"And DG Neri should remember that countries have started closing their doors to foreign employment for various reasons. Many OFWs have returned without much choice as to their source of income, and sometimes without the spouse they left behind.

"I am not for population control. I am for the promotion of women’s health and rights, which are crucial in the decision to have children or not, when, how often, by whom. This decision should be made freely and responsibly, without coercion, discrimination, and violence – by the state or church or other institutions and persons. God forbid that on May 10, 2004, we will elect irresponsible and coercive policy-and-decision makers!"

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