The continuous increase in population in the country is expected to put
additional pressure on the Philippines as it suffers from the effects of
the global economic slowdown, the head of the country’s anti-poverty
commission said.

Speaking at a forum on hunger mitigation, population management and poverty
reduction at the University of the Philippines, National Anti-Poverty
Commission (NAPC) Secretary Domingo Panganiban said that slowdown in
economies abroad would mean a decrease in trade, reduction in foreign
investments and higher levels of unemployment.

“The bleakness of that prospect is multiplied many times over as our
ever-increasing population exerts ever-increasing pressures on our nation’s
resources,” Panganiban said.

“Already, a host of unemployed Filipinos face the grim problem of existence
and an equally great number of employed workers toil with little return,”
he added.

The latest census in 2007 showed that there are 88.6 million Filipinos. The
population grew at 2.04 percent from 2000-2007 and is expected to double or
reach 177 million in 2041. This means that population will grow by 1.8
million Filipinos every year.

The Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world. A
reproductive health bill that seeks more funding for a government campaign
to promote natural and artificial family planning among Filipinos is
pending at the House of Representatives but is facing tough opposition from
the influential Roman Catholic Church.

Panganiban said estimates show that each square kilometer in the country
must be able to feed and support the needs of no less than 300 Filipinos.
He added that the poor is expected to be the most severely affected by the
crisis. “With little education and training, the poor face the crisis with
even fewer opportunities to advance.”

The 2006 official poverty statistics showed that there are around 4.6
millions families living below the poverty threshold. The figure translates
to 27.6 million individuals who do not earn enough to meet their food and
non-food requirements.

“With more mouths to feed, limited social protection and inadequate
purchasing power, families must live through the crisis with the very real
threats of starvation and ill health,” Panganiban said.

Of the 81 provinces in the country, 49 provinces were considered food
insecure based on a study by the National Nutrition Council.