Thursday, August 09, 2007 Popcom shifts campaign to natural family planning By Edmund B. Sestoso
THE Population Commission (Popcom) has shifted its population campaign from scientific way to natural family planning after the United States government stopped the supply of contraceptives, including pills and condoms.
Popcom Central Visayas Regional Director Leo de la Rama said several years back their office supported by several non-government organizations had massively campaigned for the scientific approach to family planning like vasectomy and tubal ligation and encouraging the use of condoms and pills.
“These contraceptives for several years were given to us by the USAid and that the same will also be given to the couples for free, but now this will be purchased by the users unless the National Government and the local government units will shoulder the cost it entails,” de la Rama said.
As a campaign shift, the regional office of the Commission on Population now gives emphasis on the Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods and organizing Responsible Parenting Movement (RPM) up to the barangay level.
Rama said all efforts towards this campaign shift is now geared in Negros Oriental because the province serves as the pilot area based on an earlier executive order issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Rama said Arroyo mandated the whole province to organize the campaign up to the barangay level.
Rama, however, emphasized that with the shift of the campaign to natural family planning it does not follow that they will also abandon the scientific method.
He added that the shift was due to the fact that most of those who are adopting the family planning and reproductive health approach were coming from the poorest sectors of our society who, with the pull out of the USAid given contraceptives could not afford to one.
Rama said with Popcom’s emphasis on natural family planning methods, they now can have the church particularly the Roman Catholic Church as an ally in the campaign.
He even said that volunteers and staff of their respective social action centers could also help in the campaign.
De la Rama was among the guest during Tuesday’s media forum on Family Planning and Reproductive Health.
