Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) to reduce our population boom?

Are Filipino couples producing more babies today than the previous years? The data would point to a resounding NO.

However, the proponents and supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) would argue that Filipino couples are still producing more babies. They would direct our sights to the increasing number of children in slums and on the streets. Of course, our population is growing. One of the arguments and justifications for pushing the bill is that we need to reduce our population boom. Hence, what is relevant in the debate is the population growth rate than the population growth itself. Again, are we producing more babies today compared to the previous years?

Another relevant question would be, does the Philippines need a population control nowadays? (See the impact and pressures of population on environment and development goals here.)


Below are the data from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) that monitors and estimates  the population growth rate of the country.

Population of the Philippines
Census Years 1799 to 2007

Year	Population	Average annual rate of increase (%)	Source of data
1799	1,502,574	-	Fr. Buzeta
1800	1,561,251	3.91	Fr. Zuniga
1812	1,933,331	1.80	Cedulas
1819	2,106,230	1.23	Cedulas
1829	2,593,287	2.10	Church
1840	3,096,031	1.62	Local officials
1850	3,857,424	2.22	Fr. Buzeta
1858	4,290,381	1.34	Bowring
1870	4,712,006	0.78	Guia de Manila
1877	5,567,685	2.41	Census
1887	5,984,727	0.72	Census
1896	6,261,339	0.50	Prof. Plehn's estimate based on census records.
1903	7,635,426	2.87	Census
1918	10,314,310	2.03	Census
1939	16,000,303	2.11	Census
1948	19,234,182	2.07	Census
1960	27,087,685	2.89	Census
1970	36,684,486	3.08	Census
1975	42,070,660	2.78	Census
1980	48,098,460	2.71	Census
1990	60,703,206	2.35	Census
1995	68,616,536	2.32	Census
2000	76,504,077	2.36	Census
2007	88,574,614	2.04	Census

Note: Population from 1799 to 1896 excludes non-Christians.

a - Includes the household population, homeless population, Filipinos in Philippine Embassies/Consulates and missions abroad and institutional population who are found living in institutional living quarters such as penal institutions, orphanages, hospitals, military camps, etc. at the time of the census taking.

Source: National Statistics Office.

Since peaking in the 1970s, the population growth rate of the Philippines has been on the downward trend. And this year, it is expected to have less than 2% growth rate. In the World Development Indicators of the World Bank, the population growth rate of the Philippines stood at 1.8% in 2008. Notably, this is without the proposed population control espoused by the RHB.

For a more detailed and interesting discussion on this downward trend, click here for an article published in Philippine Daily Inquirer by Dr. Bernardo Villegas.

Average Annual Exponential Growth Rates, Philippines: 2000-2040

Year	Growth Rate
2000-2005	2.05
2005-2010	1.95
2010-2015	1.82
2015-2020	1.64
2020-2025	1.46
2025-2030	1.27
2030-2035	1.09
2035-2040	0.92

 Even the projection of the population growth rate points to the continuing downward trend. Thus, Filipino couples know better than we think. Obviously on the national average, each generation is producing less children than the previous ones. 

Then, why control something that is already on the downward trend? The answer is, as we know, business for profits. With the RHB enacted, some pockets will be filled why millions of Filipinos languish on living with $2 a day. 

Who will really benefit from the RHB? The poor deserves an answer.

(Another argument here)