DAVAO CITY—An official of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is seeing a slower growth rate, with the effect of COVID pandemic and lower fertility as some of the causes for a slower forecast.
Based in 2022 the population growth rate was at 1.5%. Which is lower than previous years’ growth rate. With the mid-decade census next year, CPD Deputy Executive Director Lolito Tacardon is seeing a slower population growth rate.
“I think we are anticipating a slower growth rate because of the pandemic, because of the COVID-19 pandemic we recorded excess deaths, bumaba ang fertility mataas ang deaths (fertility was lower, deaths were high), naturally our population growth talagang babagal (would be slower) but we will see the actual numbers by 2025,” Tacardon said.
Another factor they are looking at the slower growth rate is migration of Flipinos to overseas countries.
“International migration ito ay isang tinitingnan natin baka sa ngayon nagco-contribute na siya dati kasi zine-zero out natin yun pero ngayon hindi mo na mazero out ang contribution of international migration sa population growth rate natin,” Tacardon said during the press conference at the Mindanao Inter-Regional Family Planning and Population Development Conference held at the Pinnacle Hotel in Davao City.
(International migration is what we are looking at maybe they are now contributing to our slower population growth rate, in the past we would just zero out migration but right you cannot just zero out the contribution of international migration in the country’s population growth rare)
Tacardon says the country is not targeting to achieve a certain population growth rate.
“We don’t have an ideal growth rate, it’s a question actually in general of your capacity to provide needs of your population and their capacity to develop as a nation. We don’t have a policy of targeting a demographic growth rate, we don’t have a policy of mandating couples to just have a certain number of children, bawal po sa batas natin na magkaroon na gaya ng two-child policy ng China (it is prohibited by law to have policy similar to the two-child policy of China),’ Tacardon said.
He said they are still going to assess the impact of Comprehensive Sexuality Education which was provided under the landmark Republic Act 10354 or the Reproductive Health Law.
“Sa ngayon ina-assess pa ang comprehensive sexuality education ( Presently, we are assessing comprehensive sexuality education),” Tacardon said
Tacardon said the CSE is not just education but is an “education of the human sexuality, totality of your being, changes in your body, relationships and is age appropriate,”
“It depends on the age of the child on what topic will be taught, but the dynamics right now 10- to 14-year-old children are getting pregnant maybe we need content that will be taught to them because it is not just changes in your body that will be taught but maybe we will include content that will equip them to prevent sexual abuse,” Tacardon said.
Currently the country has 3,150 cases of livebirths born to children 10 to 14 years of age, which Tacardon said is a very serious matter that needs to be addressed. (PIA/RG Alama)
