“Now is the time to approve House Bill 5043 / Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2009, and its counterpart Senate Bill 3122.” This is according to the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) and The FORUM for Family Planning and Development, Inc. (FORUM).
The enactment of a law that will ensure education and reproductive health services to Filipinos especially to the poor could have lessen the impact of natural disasters such as typhoons.
Had we have a law on reproductive health and population development thirty years earlier, we could have had a more manageable population. We could have less families living in high risk areas such as mountain slopes and near the rivers which have been transformed into housing areas.
Meanwhile, according to Ramon San Pascual, PLCPD Executive Director, Ondoy has only highlighted the lack of integrated policies that cover land use, population management program, climate change and maternal health. (PIA)
