The country’s population is expected to reach 109 million by end of the year, the Commission on Population (POPCOM) said, blaming unplanned, unintentional pregnancies particularly among urban poor.
POPCOM-National Capital Region Director Lydio Espanol said that the population increases by two million in just a span of one year, meaning three babies are born every minute in the Philippines.
“There are several studies available that show that the more number of children in the family, the poorer that family will be,” Lydio said during a forum on Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood.
In 1969, population in the Philippines was roughly the same with Thailand and South Korea, which was pegged at around 31 to 35 million.
Nearly five decades later, Philippines’ population boom continued with an average increase of two million a year, while Thailand and South Korea registering only 200,000 birth annually.
Espanol blamed the lack of strong family program in the Philippines after the Marcos administration.
