NEDA to step up RH law implementation

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) vowed to step up the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law following the signing of an executive order bringing back the Commission on Population (POPCOM) under its supervision.

Last Thursday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 71 which renamed the Commission on Population to the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) and likewise reverting its attachment to NEDA from the Department of Health (DOH).

“We will certainly step up the implementation of the RPRH Law, which will benefit all Filipino families,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement.

CPD is mandated to formulate and adopt coherent, integrated, and comprehensive long-term plans, programs, and recommendations on population and family planning as it relates to economic and social development.

POPCOM was an attached agency of NEDA from 1991 until 2003 before its supervision was placed under the DOH.

“In order to strengthen the development and implementation by the POPCOM of population-related plans, policies, programs, and projects in pursuit of socioeconomic development programs, there is a need to enhance its coordination with the NEDA,” EO No. 71 stated.

The Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the country’s development blueprint crafted by NEDA, has identified the integration of population and development as one of the key strategies to accelerate the country's economic growth and improve the quality of Filipinos’ lives.

“NEDA will make sure that the country’s population is well-managed and programs related to it are in sync with our overall development plans,” Pernia said.

The NEDA chief is a known advocate of the RH law, and has been urging for its full implementation.

Pernia believes that the law’s full implementation will help the country reach its demographic dividend period by 2022 to 2025 as well as lower poverty incidence.

He also said that the RH Law could accelerate the movement to the demographic dividend period as it may lead to lowering of the country’s fertility rate.

Pernia added the full implementation of the RH law will also bring down the unmet need for family planning in the country.

The government must be aggressive in implementing the RH law by providing better access to family planning services and contraceptives, he added