Multiple articles from the three previous years say the population growth rate in our country has declined, and it has been a sight for sore eyes.
However, the decrease we are celebrating is not relevant until there is no notable development in our country and the lives of people, especially those who live in poverty.
Population growth has always been an integral part of one’s nation because its number can help predict other numbers that a country needs to say how it’s doing, such as the economic growth.
According to the 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the population growth has declined to 1.3 percent from the rates since 2015.
The Commission on Population and Development noted not just one reason behind the decline but three: the internal migrations of Filipinos because of the pandemic, Filipinos wanting a small family, and the effectiveness of the government’s family planning program.
A simple decline in the population growth rate barely gives us benefits. The existing population is far from living a comfortable lifestyle where most needs are stable.
The decrease we see does not get us out of the fact that we still have a large population, which still leaves us in a country whose resources have so much pressure.
Many households in our country do not have the guarantee that they will have something to provide for their basic needs, such as food to keep them from hunger, a roof to keep them safe from the storm, and education for their children.
Moreover, our nation can’t even afford to increase the minimum wage, for we don’t have the budget when other goods and services also increase.
Filipinos are getting more practical when building their families since they see how hard and demanding it is to have a big family or even a small one. But the efforts of those Filipinos striving to be logical may go in vain if the government continues to lack.
We should appreciate the lowering of our population growth rate since it is a start— still, it is not enough. So, the government should strengthen its response to contain and improve such decline that will eventually lead to optimal population size.
Optimal population size is what our country needs to expect significant improvements to the lives of many. And to achieve this, the population growth rate should dip further.
One thing that the government can improve is its family planning program. Due to the pandemic, many women lost access to centers as they closed down, which should not be happening— the government should strive to make it accessible to all, not just to those who have resources.
Additionally, they should fortify their movement of introducing family planning to more people, especially in remote areas; they should allocate a generous budget for this kind of program as it is one way towards real development.
Another program the government should take more seriously is the inclusion of sex education in the country. Although it has been officially included in the curriculum of K to 12, the Department of Education only prioritizes those regions where teenage pregnancy is prevalent when it should be available to the whole of the country to get a more efficient education.
Also, most of the time, it is better for the young ones to learn inside the learning institution— rather than finding out for themselves without appropriate context.
At the end of the day, even if we take our own measures, our country will only attain the development we want to see when the government provides strategic actions, not just for the tip of the iceberg but also for the whole, as problems are associated with other things that need solving also.
The drop we experience in the population growth rate is merely an answer to the problems in our country— but it could be, with the right take to the circumstance.
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