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By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay: Sen. Francis
“Chiz” Escudero told Catholic Church leaders in the country to
stop intervening in the government’s population policy because
they are not demographers.
The church leaders “have no
right to interfere in the population policy of the government
because they don’t know about and don’t have the expertise
regarding population management,” Escudero told reporters during a
press conference held at Pepperland Hotel here on Saturday.
He, however, said that he was not
supporting congressional proposals on reproductive health because,
according to him, a measure that will aim to educate the public on
the subject was needed more.
“To
address the population problem, there is a need to pass an
affirmative- information bill to fully educate the people and the
church leaders in the country on the population-management policy of
the government,” Escudero added.
Former lawmaker Krisel
Lagman-Luistro of the first district of Albay, now mayor of Tabaco
City, had pushed a bill on reproductive health to address the
population boom in the country.
That apparently runaway increase
in the number of Filipinos, Escudero said, seems to be proved by the
Philippine workforce that is composed of 18-year-olds.
In contrast, he added, the
populations of Western countries are aging. These apparently graying
countries, Escudero said, seem to have labor pools of people who are
30 years or older.
Also apparently, according to the
senator, these Western countries are paying the price for imposing
rigid population policies years ago.
In Asia, Japan and Singapore are
said to be aging countries both in need of younger people to sustain
their drives for higher economic growth.
In the Philippines, Roman
Catholic bishops are an influential force against artificial means
of birth control.
Majority of its almost 90 million
people are Catholic who are bound by their Christian faith to adhere
to the bishops’ line on the immorality of disobeying the
church’s admonition for them to go and multiply.
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