There would be times when the local newspapers would declare that the Philippines had grown several percentages in its economic growth, and the people would immediately question its veracity. The common question we ask is “If our country is getting better, why then do I not feel its effects?” and the answer in itself partly lies in our own actions. Let us consider a major factor in this sense: population.
The country’s population as of today is more than 80 million, and majority of these are in poverty, hungry for proper care and shelter. This means that for our current population, the resources we have such as work, food, water and shelter are not enough to sustain us all. By the year 2050, our population is expected to double, signifying how fast the population and likewise its needs for resources are surging as we speak .
Even if the government would be able to grow our economy in a good rate, it would not be enough to also satisfy the exponential growth of the population. Despite the economic growth, the country could even plunge into a deeper crisis. To see it in a clearer light, let us take a father as the country and his children the population. If the father earns 100 pesos more daily this year yet his wife bears a twin as new additions to their children, his family would not feel the money that he earns more this year and most likely would feel a heavier burden than before due to the addition to his household and their needs. That is how the overpopulation of the country is holding us back.
Overpopulation is a problem that stems from our own lack of self-responsibility. To bear more children than our own capacity may be okay for the church because of the so-called “right to life” of couples, but realistically speaking, it is not. What is “right to life” when these children would not be given the emotional and material needs that they deserve? Overpopulation is neither in the hands of the government nor the Church: the people themselves should be the ones responsible for this problem. Of course, the people certainly know this problem, yet they do not acknowledge it, not thinking enough to realize how it aggravates the status of life in the Philippines.
Therefore, if we ask why we do not seem to feel the effects of the economic growth of the country, we must also examine if we are doing enough to also help ourselves and our country before putting all the blame on the government. Taking population as an example, it seems like we are not doing much for ourselves.