CEBU, Philippines - The newly-organized Cebu Pro-life Alliance vows to continue its day-to-day advocacy of informing people on the real issues behind what the group described as anti-natalist program of the government.
Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, the alliance chairman, said that they cannot allow ageing population and dying population to happen in the country like what nearly 100 countries in the world are suffering today because of irreversible replacement level of their population.
Bullecer, in a statement sent to The Freeman, said that contrary to what RH backers are saying, the country will never be overpopulated.
Bullecer said that in 1950, the country’s Population Growth Rate or PGR was 3.09 percent and now it’s 1.7 percent.
He added that in 1960, the country’s Total Fertility Rate or TFR which means the average number of children per woman ages between 15-49, was seven and in 2012 it decreased to 2.32.
Today, the average of our women has only 3 children, he said. Bullecer added that the Philippines has 326 people per square kilometer for a population of 98 million (2012 Philippine population) with 300,000 square kilometer land area.
He said that the number of people per square kilometer in the Philippines is way below compared to Singapore which has a population density of 7,800 per square kilometer or Hong Kong with 6,800 and Macau with 20,000 people per square kilometer.
“Is Singapore or HongKong and Macau poor countries just for the fact they are over populated? No. In fact they are super rich countries,†he added.
He stated some of the reasons why the country has remained poor and the so-called overpopulation is not the culprit.
“Un-equal distribution of wealth, bad politics, graft and corruption and poor agricultural advancement among others,†Bullecer cited as among the reasons why the Philippines remains to be poor. — (FREEMAN)