THE GROWING POPULATION

The world population is practically increasing, the number of people on the planet is soaring more than seven billion now.  There are several significant reasons of the rapid population explosion.  Specially those most populous countries, they have the remarkable contribution in the rapid growth of human populace. Probability theory effects, it indicates that the more probability of having more people is the more certain birth will occur.  In a developing country like Philippines, the rate of population is significantly increasing due to religion influence, lack of information, lack of education, and yes poverty.

Roman Catholic as the predominant religion in the country has the great influence that plays a pivotal role in raising a family from inculcating the moral values to the children up to the decision of family planning method.  Believing in the doctrine of procreation and multiplication, Filipino families who are devoted Catholic are religiously following in this teaching.  Religion is tough to oppose.  As it is being said “be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth”, this scripture has a great impact in the flock of Catholicism.  And since the early times, marriage has been always regarded as procreation.  Since Catholic is dedicated supporter of pro-life, all means of artificial contraceptives are then mortal sins and unacceptable.  With this conservative mindset, there will be no way but to grow the population until explode.  Aside from powerful religion that fed the mankind with the faith that humanity has the God-given right to hold dominion over the earth, poverty is one of the important reasons of population explosion.  Others could be the premarital sex, teenage pregnancies, young marriages, and lack of information.

The result of over population and government unpreparedness to address the increasing inhabitants lead to nationwide poverty.  There is lack of information that transmitted to people and the programs of the government do not reach to the places.  Education denied the poor to comprehend.  Those who are poor are those who have growing number of children because they are lacking in information, education and means to control family planning.  Rich or poor, they have both same sexual needs but while the affluent has the means to afford birth control the deprived will instead use the amount in their immediate needs like rice and can goods.  True, the government is offering free contraceptive like pills, condom and even vasectomy or tubal litigation but most people in the poor sector preferred to refuse because of the mindset unlikeable side effects.  Or these people would choose to work as need, attend the children and the mounting household chores rather than going to interrupting clinic.   The marginalized poor are just either misinformed to see family planning scheme or uneducated to understand the importance of family planning.   Or simply poorer families especially those in rural areas often have less access to government family planning services.  All of these are because of poverty, facts that it is one of the culprits of population boom.

Poverty constraint the family in sending their children in school, out of school youth deprive them to get  knowledge and information, and turn some of them from early relationship to premarital sex and eventually teenage pregnancies.  The law of demand and supply takes place and population has just puts hard pressure on resources for both government and its people.  At risk are the capita income, foods, education, medical aid, sanitation, space and natural resources like water, land and minerals.  While the developed countries and responsible families are trying their best effort in limiting their family to one child or two as maximum, the developing countries and uneducated couples lose the sense of this effort by leading the greater part of population.  The desire for more than two children will remain an obstacle and it will remain a cautionary threat in rapid increase rate of population.  If it can’t stop poverty, we’ll all suffer.

By Alex V. Villamayor

September 11, 2015