Critical analysis of Presidential Decree 79 and Republic Act 10354 and its implications on population management programs of the government with proposal of amendments and revisions

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to critically analyze Presidential Decree 79 and Republic Act 10354 and propose amendments and revisions thereto. The study used information provided in legislative sources, previous studies or publications, news, articles and journals. The data gathered were analyzed in order to assess the characteristics of the said laws and their provisions, and the impact on the current population management programs of the country. The researcher in the conduct of this study concluded that Presidential Decree 79 has an economic and social development perspective, with family planning as a strategy to achieve the population reduction policy; while Republic Act 10354 has a health-intervention perspective, with family planning as strategy for reproductive health, maternal and child care, with no population reducing policies intended. The provisions of the said laws seemed to be conflicting, as one intends to reduce population growth rate or fertility late with family planning as a mode of doing so, and authorizing all accepted means of contraceptives except abortion, while the other one sets no population mitigation or demographic targets, and is only constrained to a health respective and basic human right to form families, and to limit, and space children.