Senator Pia Cayetano
MANILA -- In observance of World Population Day, Senator Pia Cayetano on Thursday lauded the efforts of the Duterte administration to intensify the implementation of the country’s National Program on Population and Family Planning (NPPFP), a major component of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law.
Cayetano noted that President Rodrigo Duterte showed strong political will by placing the national program on family planning as a crucial piece in its poverty reduction strategy.
The NPPFP seeks to avert unwanted and unplanned pregnancies by giving Filipinos universal access to reproductive health and family planning information, devices, and services.
It is expected to reduce poverty incidence in the country, which currently has the highest fertility rate and fastest growing population in the ASEAN region, from the current 20 percent to 14 percent in 2022.
“From his very first State of the Nation Address, President Duterte has indicated a strong political will to fully carry out the RPRH Law as part of his administration’s socio-economic reforms to address poverty,” Cayetano said.
“The full and intensified implementation of the RPRH Law, in partnership with sound economic policies and effective management of our human resources, would be the key drivers in attaining sustainable and inclusive growth in the second half of President Duterte’s term,” she added.
Under the program, 11.3 million women would be given access to effective modern contraceptives over the next four years and increase the usage from 40 percent to 65 percent.
This is expected to prevent four million unintended pregnancies and two million cases of abortion over the said period. (PNA)
