Speech

of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the launching of the Philippine Family-Planning Program, National Communication
Campaign
[Released on August 2, 1993]

Family planning—
the right to choose
FOR EVERY CAUSE or every program, there comes a time when its very reason for being
comes under challenge, and we must therefore speak clearly why we believe in it and why it is
necessary. That time has come.

All over the country today, many are deeply engaged in discussion and debate over the family-
planning program as a component of the population stabilization policy of Government. Some
are for it, and some are against it—but all are deeply concerned about the issue.
In the past, when such difficulties arose, the national tendency was to run away from the
argument. And the result was invariably to reduce our previous Family-Planning Program into
a muddle—while our population growth meantime went galloping on.

The facts of family planning

We are here today to ensure that the same fate does not overtake us. In launching this
nationwide information campaign for the Philippine Family-Planning Program, we seek to
present the facts and the merits of the program so that our people can make their own
personal and intelligent decisions. We will strive by this to dialogue with everyone—including
those who oppose the program.

Nothing less than the welfare of our people and the future of our country are at stake.
Let us—all of us—present to our people these facts: First, the Family-Planning Program
respects the right of the people to choose how they want to plan their families. Nothing in it is
in any way coercive. Second, the program fully respects the sanctity of human life. Indeed, it
aspires for what is best for every child born in this country. In no way does it promote abortion
in our society. Abortion is a crime in our law books. And third, the program will immeasurably
help achieve national development and improve the quality of life of our people.

Need for dialogue

I do not make light of the feelings of alarm with which some view the program—particularly
their alarm at its implications for matters of faith. Bound as we are to our respective religious
beliefs and traditions we are, however, also citizens of one society. We can freely worship in
our respective churches because our political community is governed by a Constitution based
on religious tolerance.

Nevertheless, our duty as leaders and citizens is to serve those shared commitments that
make up our public life—the principle of the common good and all that can help achieve it.
Family planning is one such program. We live at a time and in circumstances when family
planning can confer much welfare on our people and help achieve our goals as a nation.
We need only to understand what the program specifically stands for.

First and foremost, the program is based on freedom of choice. Many have been saying that
the program is coercive. Yet the indubitable fact remains that it is grounded on the most basic
human rights enshrined in our Constitution.
One of the most basic of those rights is the freedom of choice guaranteed to each and all. In
the Family-Planning Program, we affirm the right of citizens—especially of our women—to
decide about their fertility and their families. It is in this light that we affirm that individuals
and couples are entitled to information about family planning so they can make their own
decisions about their reproductive options according to their health needs, family aspirations,
religious beliefs and economic situation. They must be free to choose what is best for them in
their respective circumstances.

Nothing in the program compels anyone to adopt or support something that is contrary to his
or her personal beliefs or inclination. It fully recognizes our people’s love and reverence for
children, spouses, family, country and God. It respects the moral convictions and religious
beliefs of every citizen. Thus while we will persevere in promoting the objectives of the
program, our tool is persuasion, not compulsion.

The welfare of children and families

Second, our Family-Planning Program stands for the welfare of people. Family planning is a
program that secures the welfare of children, mothers and families in our country. And the
sooner we are able to carry it out nationwide, the faster will we reap the benefits for our
impoverished millions.

When some of our compatriots say that the issue here is morality, we entirely agree. We must
be concerned about the quality of life that every child is born to in this country. We must be
concerned about the health of mothers and the conditions under which they bear and nurture
their young.

We cannot reduce this issue of morality merely to a matter of religious faith. Morality too is
involved in the spectacle of children living in poverty and misery, and mothers suffering ill-
health from giving birth to too many children.

By this, we are not suggesting that the Family-Planning Program will by itself banish poverty
and misery from our midst. Clearly, it is only one program among many that we must
undertake. But it is an important part of the solution. And we are committed to doing all we
can to help people help themselves—by giving them family-planning information and services.
One measure of how the family-planning movement has grown roots in our country is that
today it is manned not just by people in Government but also by many in the private sector
and in our local communities. This is not a program of Government alone. It is a partnership
between Government and the citizenry—between and among Government agencies and non-
Governmental organizations, private-sector groups, the commercial sector, religious groups
and, yes, even the entertainment industry. It is the program of concerned citizens and
organizations that care about the health and well-being of our population.

We all believe that every child born in our country must be wanted and nurtured, that every
Filipino child must be given every care, attention and opportunity that both the family and the
State can provide. That is why it is so apt that we have chosen as the slogan for this
communications campaign: Kung sila’y mahal n’yo, magplano! (If you love them, plan them.)
Love of children resides at the heart of our Family-Planning Program.

Population and development

Finally, the issue of family planning is not only about rights and family welfare. It has meaning
also for the larger family that is our country and people. Many have been talking about the
critical question of how population relates to the achievement of national development. Some
persist in saying that our high population growth rate has nothing to do with our continued
underdevelopment as a nation. Yet, the verdict of scientists, economists and scholars
overwhelmingly points to the fact that a developing country like ours can only move “one step
forward, two steps backward” if it is unable to manage its high population growth rate.

How much longer will we persist in ignoring this lesson in the development of nations? How
much longer will we deny ourselves the blessings that science now provides for managing our
affairs better? To be sure, family planning is no magical solution to our poverty and
underdevelopment. It must be matched by other policies and programs designed to enable us
to produce more wealth and distribute it more equitably under a national policy of sustainable
development.

But it is clear that we can undertake our development task better if our population does not
gallop in pace or faster than we can produce. We can sustain our drive for development better
if family planning moves in pace with all our programs for the economy and society.
The Philippine Family-Planning Program is an essential component of our vision of
“Philippines 2000.” In helping men and women plan their families rationally, we not only help
them to ease the stresses of the present but also contribute immeasurably to the work of
developing our country and raising the quality of life of our people.

Choice as our stand

That some among us are still unwilling to support the Family-Planning Program we
understand. That we must adopt various methods of family planning we also fully accept.
These are all part of the challenge we must face in this campaign. I believe we can go far
toward adopting a common program of action if we accept as our standard the freedom of
choice and the suitability of family-planning methods. Let each group promote the method
that it believes in among its members. Let each stand by the means that are in harmony with
personal and religious belief. But in any case, we must press on with this program. Our people
need it. Our country needs it.

This is not a policy for all time. I can see the day when conditions will permit us to adopt a
different policy and approach. But today this is the way of wisdom and prudence. This is what
we need, and we would be remiss indeed, if given our situation today, we failed to provide an
answer. In a country as religious as ours, I believe the sense of compassion for others is deep
and strong among all Filipinos. All of us want to see each of our countrymen achieve the best
that he or she can be. All of us grieve when some among us suffer. And all of us want to see
Government help those who have the least.

The challenge before us

If in the past we faltered in this ministry of compassion, it was because our previous efforts
lacked coordination and planning. We have been plagued by discord and indecision. Today we
know better. I think we are learning finally to become one national family—sharing one
another’s pain and one another’s blessings. We need only to refine the ways of giving and
sharing.

The Family-Planning Program is but one part of the national and international development
effort for sustainable progress. But it is an important one. The challenge before us now is to
bring this program from the plane of discussion to the plane of action. We must bring it to the
homes and the communities—to the parents, to the mothers and, above all, to our children.
There is no time to waste. The hour is late. This program was needed yesterday. But if we
undertake this task now with zeal and dedication, we can surely make a difference in the lives
of millions and in the life of the nation itself.

Source: Presidential Museum and Library