A returning lawmaker in the House of Representatives urged local government units (LGUs) to take on the role of informing the public about ‘family planning’ in a conference organized by the Commission on Population (COP) in Ermita, Manila last August 29.
In his speech as keynote speaker at the “Family Planning Conference”, Valenzuela City Congressman Win Gatchalian also sought the help of other concerned agencies like COP to provide statistics on population increase in the country.
Gatchalian expressed belief that effective public awareness about the continuous increase in population in the country would encourage family planning among Filipino couples in the grassroot level.
Citing data, the veteran lawmaker recalled how contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) grew to 98 percent after his nine year of service as mayor of Valenzuela City from 14 percent since he first assumed office at the city hall in 2004.
The city government’s information drives, he noted, has made most of the Valenzuelanos aware of family planning.
The returning lawmaker added that the city government has been continually monitoring the increase of population so as to determine whether the programs being implemented in the city were effective or not.
Health officials from various local government units in the National Capital Region attended the conference with theme: “Fertility Decisions & Population Issues: Quality Choices for Advocates”.