Vice President Sara Duterte urged newlyweds and soon-to-be parents to hold family planning sessions and practice responsible parenting for the sake of their children on Tuesday.
The Vice President explained in her speech at a mass wedding ceremony sponsored by the Parañaque City local government that an uncontrolled number of pregnancies, which results in some children not being able to finish their studies, is one of the reasons why some families remain poor.
“Napakarami ng kanilang anak na hindi na nila kayang pakainin nang maayos, hindi na nila kayang pag-aralin kaya nagbalik-balik ‘yung kahirapan doon sa kanilang pamilya,” Duterte said.
“Paalala lagi sa mga magulang na kailangan pagplanuhan natin ang ating pag-anak dahil… mahihirapan ang pamilya ninyo at kawawa ang mga anak ninyo kapag hindi ninyo sila mapalaki ng maayos, hindi ninyo mabibigay ang gusto nila, at hindi ninyo sila mapagtapos ng pag-aaral,” she added.
Duterte, who is also the concurrent Education Secretary, suggested that couples should discuss how many children they can afford to finish school.
She advised couples to go to their respective city health offices once they had reached their target number of children to discuss contraception options for family planning.
The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) previously lamented the low contraceptive use among Filipino men, claiming that only about 400,000 Filipino men currently use condoms, according to DOH data.
