The Philippine Commission on Population (POPCOM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) on Wednesday urged the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. to maintain a strong family planning program that will eliminate unintended pregnancies, especially among the youth.

POPCOM Executive Director Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III said unplanned pregnancies usually come with consequences even as they tend to limit opportunities, especially for young expecting mothers.

“It deprives so many young people of the opportunity to be part of the mainstream development,” he said during the 2022 State of the World Population (SWOP) Report by the UNFPA and the launching of its publication titled “Seeing the Unseen: The Case for Action in the Neglected Crisis of Unintended Pregnancy” held at Crowne Plaza, Ortigas Center, Quezon City.

Perez pointed out that Philippine society is not expected to “age” until 2035.

“So, we have a window of opportunity between now and 2035 to take advantage of this demographic transition where we have low fertility. Meaning, a computation growth rate at around 1 percent. We are hoping with the continuing reduction of unintended pregnancy to stay. But the population will still grow at a manageable 1 percent rather than the 1.5 percent that we saw in the last five years,” he said.

The POPCOM chief reported that around 63 percent of the current Philippine population is potentially productive but the country still needs to improve youth employment, women’s labor force participation, education, and technical-vocational skills.

“That serves the needs of the country so people don’t roam around. A lot must be done in these areas to move this country forward. These policies should be addressed at the family level,” Perez added.

The 2022 SWOP Report says that the Philippines is currently in the same situation as countries like Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, and Indonesia where “more than a fifth of births to girls under the age of 18 were results of premarital conception that often precedes the marriage of girls.”

“This is a crisis that remains unaddressed, even as many institutions, even the government, have repeatedly sounded the alarm,” PLCPD Executive Director Romeo Dongeto said during the same event.

Dongeto cited Executive Order 141 issued by outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte and called on government instrumentalities to address the root causes of adolescent pregnancy.

“This is a very important policy statement that President Duterte in as far as adolescent pregnancy is concerned. I think our partners in the executive, POPCOM and DSWD, should convince the new government, particularly President Marcos, to adopt this policy and communicate this to our legislators hopefully within the first 500 days of his administration,” he said.

Meanwhile, UNFPA Country Representative Leila Saiji Joudane noted that women in countries with more equality, empowerment, and financial resources are able to address or avoid unintended pregnancy.

“There is systematic discrimination against women and girls. This is an unseen crisis unfolding right before our eyes and a global failure to uphold basic human rights for women and girls,” she said.

Joudane encouraged Filipinos to join in their campaign to empower women and girls in making affirmative decisions about sexual activity and motherhood.

Unintended pregnancy, in the publication, is defined as “one that occurs to a woman who was not planning to have any (more) children, or that was mistimed, in that it occurred earlier than desired.” (PNA)