The failure or success of the population program under Arroyo and its impact on poverty.

Abstract

Population size is a crucial variable in achieving a sustainable economy. Only with a sufficient reduction of population would it be possible to envisage a decent standard of living for all, within the constraints of the ecosystem.

Philippines which has been ranked as the 14th most populous country in the world, third in the Southeast Asian region, has one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, faces a serious problem. This has put on a serious challenge to the Arroyo Administration for effective population management to face the phenomenon.

Now the greater question is, whether Arroyo has succeeded or failed to control the country’s population during her administration and how the population rate whether increased or decreased, has affected the poverty incidence in the country.

And through the analysis of data gathered from previous researches, interviews and evidences from national demographic surveys and family planning surveys, the study has arrived at the conclusion that the Arroyo Administration has failed to manage the population of the country since 2001. For first if all, it had failed to establish a coherent policy direction just like how the past administrations had failed to do so. Moreover, the national government has decreased its funding participation in the financing of population programs and has rather relied on external, indicating its lack of priority.

The Administration has also failed to make the population programs accessible to the poor. Therefore, causing poverty to increase, although the poverty incidence may have remained the same since 2000, the population of the poor has increased in millions. And the government, instead of increasing the budget for basic social services has rather decreased it, making poverty an inescapable cycle for a great number of Filipinos.