PALO, Leyte, (PNA) — The Commission on Population (PopCom) has called on local chief executives (LCEs) to appoint barangay service point officers (BSPO) in every village that would undertake family planning programs.
Rosalinda D. Marcelino, PopCom acting executive director said that of the 42,000 barangays nationwide, it is estimated that only 6,000 have appointed BSPOs.
The official reiterated the need to strengthen family planning program in the local level as population steadily increases amid scarcity of resources.
“Population officers have been closely coordinating with local chief executives to support the BSPO program. One way to sustain the initiative is to have a local ordinance. We need them because they are backbone of family planning program,” Marcelino said at the sidelines of a BSPO congress here.
The ordinance would provide incentives to BSPOs and support for capacity building activities.
Presently, Marcelino said that most of the 6,000 BSPOs are volunteers and they don’t get any funding support from local government units.
PopCom is also working with the office of Valenzuela st dist. Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian in filing of a bill that would institutionalize BSPO in all barangays.
“If there’s law for barangay health workers, why we can’t have a law for BSPO?” she asked.
The Local Government Code of 1991 also mandates LGUs to establish population office but creating a regular position for population officers is just optional.