Majority of Filipinos believed that it is important for the government to allocate adequate public funding for modern methods of family planning.
A survey conducted last March by Pulse Asia showed that 88 percent of the respondents said it was crucial that the government “allocates funds for modern methods of family planning, such as pills, IUD, ligation, condom, and vasectomy.”
The interviews were conducted across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, with 60 percent of Metro Manilans saying that the government should finance the acquisition of birth control materials, 60 percent of the people in the Visayas region and 55 percent of the Mindanao residents sharing the same opinion.
Public sentiment on the allocation of government funds for modern methods of family planning remained basically unchanged between February 2016 and March 2022, both at the national level and in the various survey sub-groupings.
In the March 2022 poll, nearly all (97-99 percent) of the respondents from the Cordillera Administrative Region, Eastern Visayas (Region 8), Davao Region (Region 11), and Caraga Region (Region 13), as well as members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and the Waray ethnic groups had the same conviction.
“The results of this survey confirm our call on the government for adequate funding for modern family planning should be among the top priorities when it comes to crafting the national budget. We need to ensure that the government is able to support the choices of Filipino women and couples, particularly during the pandemic, when many are choosing to delay childbearing because of uncertainties in our current situation,” said Romeo Dongeto, executive director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD).
The March 2022 Pulse Asia survey also revealed that a large majority of Filipino adults believed that men and women are equally capable of taking leadership roles in organizations, government agencies, and the national governance.
Large majorities across the four main geographic areas and socioeconomic classes hold this view. For 84 percent of Filipino adults, men and women are equally capable of taking on leadership roles.
This view was upheld across geographical areas (80-86 percent), and classes (77-85 percent).
Only eight percent disagreed, while the same rate was undecided, notably in E and C classes.
“The Filipino nation has gone through great strides in ensuring the equal status of women with that of men in leadership. Through landmark laws and programs such as the Magna Carta of Women and the Reproductive Health Law, we have managed to close gender gaps in various areas, such as in education. But we know more needs to be done,” Dongeto stressed.
“Our call in this election is for Filipinos to elect leaders who will act decisively ensuring women’s access to healthcare, particularly reproductive health and act with urgency on top concerns such as adolescent pregnancy.
Addressing this and empowering young people will help us to close the still existing gaps,” he added
