COTABATO CITY – To ensure an improved mechanism and support to strengthen the implementation of the Philippine population management program in BARMM, a measure seeking to establish the Bangsamoro Commission on Population Management and Development has been filed in the Bangsamoro Parliament.
BTA Bill No. 110, or the Bangsamoro Commission on Population and Development Act of 2022, authored by the Government of the Day, seeks to create an enabling environment for people to achieve their development goals through a well-managed population.
According to MP Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., a well-managed population is one that achieves population processes and outputs that are consistent, complementary, and facilitative to the region’s socioeconomic and human development.
The said office, which is attached to the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority, is in charge of recommending, planning, coordinating, executing, and monitoring population management and development policies and programs in the Bangsamoro region.
Under the proposed measure, the commission will have the same structure as the Population Commission, which is supervised by the National Economic and Development Authority, for efficient mechanisms from the national to the local level.
The office will have the following duties and functions: formulate and adopt coherent, integrated, and comprehensive long-term plans, programs, and recommendations on population; recommend and implement Bangsamoro population and development policies; enable couples and individuals to achieve their desired number and spacing of children; ensure the provision of family planning; coordinate with relative national agencies; and among others.
The office will also create the Population Management and Development Program (PMDP), in the context of human rights, gender equality, and existing cultural norms and religious convictions of the people, to ensure sustainable human and socio-economic development and better health outcomes in the region.
The program includes adolescent and health development, population and sustainable development integration, and reproductive health.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2020 Census Population and Housing results, BARMM recorded 4.4 million, a 3.26 percent increase from 2.89% in 2015.
Meanwhile, the PSA population projections for 2010–2045, the Bangsamoro region will have the highest average annual growth rate of 21.2% and a fertility rate of 3.1% in 2017. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)