Welcome Page : The Commission on Population
Broader Concerns
Results
Beyond
Numbers
The
Tasks Ahead
In 1970, the Philippine Population Program was officially instituted through Executive Order No. 233 with the Commission on Population (POPCOM) serving as the policy-making and coordinating body of the government on population matters. The population program initially focused on birth control
POPCOM's program was further bolstered by a series of mandates. Republic Act 6365, otherwise known as "Population Act of the Philippines" and enacted into law in 1971, created the Commission on Population and established a national policy on population. Presidential Decree No. 79, signed in 1972, provided for the undertaking of a family planning program in conformity with an individual's values and religious beliefs. The 1973 Philippine Constitution also expressed the government's commitment to deal with the problem of rapid population growth.
In 1975, the program undertook a Total Integrated Development Approach (TIDA) to the population problem by synthesizing family planning with a broad range of development activities at the community level. From the late 70s to the early 80s, POPCOM further extended the program, formulating family planning policies within the context of family welfare objectives.
In 1987, during the Aquino Administration, the POPCOM Board of Commissioners issued a policy stating that "the ultimate goal of the Population Program is the improvement of the quality of life in a just and humane society…." The achievement of this goal required a recognition of the close inter-relationships among population resources, and environmental factors." This policy signified the emergence of a new mindset in dealing with population issued in relation to development programs. It gave birth to the Philippine Population Management Program.
In 1990, pursuant to Executive Order No. 408, the Commission on Population was placed under the control and supervision of the Office of the President. A year later, it became an attached agency of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994 confirmed and reinforced POPCOM's stand in facilitating the population management program. It declared the importance of the family as the foundation of all nations striving for development.
In 1995, the Commission on Population, in close coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other agencies, organized the "Gathering for Human and Ecological Security: A Conference on Population, Environment, and Peace" (GHES-PEP). After the event, POPCOM provides technical and administrative support to local government units in the implementation of their Human and Ecological Security (HES) plans.
Before the pre-population program years, the country's population growth rate was recorded at 3.1 percent. Today, it stands at 2.3 percent. The crude birth rate decreased from an estimated 34.8 births per 1000 population in 1970 to 29.7 births per 1000 population in 1990. The total fertility rate continued its modest decline from 6.0 children per woman in 1970 to 4.0 per woman in 1991 -- a decrease of 2.0 births per woman during the 20 year period.
The decline has been partly attributed to an increase in contraceptive use, from 17 percent in 1973 to 40 percent in 1993.
The 1993 National Demographic Survey reported that one of four women of reproductive age was using a contraceptive method, while one in seven used a traditional method.
Beyond counting births, the Commission on Population has also scored high in addressing other population concerns as a result of a shift in program thrust in the late 1980s -- from fertility reduction to overall improvement for family welfare to that of population and sustainable development.
With the adoption of the P-R-E framework, POPCOM has centered its message on finding the P-R-E balance, putting it in a better position to address other population concerns such as family formation, the status of women, maternal and child health, child survival, and a host of other concerns.
POPCOM's advocacy campaigns of key population concepts, presented in a more understandable terms, had succeeded in generating acceptance even among sectors initially unyielding to population management issues.
POPCOM intends to achieve the following: