SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 
8 9 4 
) 
) 
) 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Rapid population growth exacerbates many environmental problems, 
including air and water pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, fisheries depletion, and 
climate change and seriously impairs nearly all facets of political, economic and 
social life of the people. 
Given the nature and magnitude of its complexity, it not only obstructs 
growth and development, creating numerous difficulties in daily life, but also 
causes a setback in developing the intelligence, culture, and physical fitness of 
mankind. If this population growth remains unabated, in the near future our 
country will face numerous difficulties and serious danger in various domains. 
Albeit the government expends efforts to critically address this 
predicament, no significant change has been effected because much of these 
efforts are based on a flawed perspective. 
The prevailing paradigm seems to be that population growth is purely a 
health concern that is entirely distinct and detached from other issues. This is the 
reason why governmental efforts to address the same are geared towards 
population growth abatement per se and not aimed at undertaking a holistic 
approach as demanded by existing population predicaments. 
What is more disturbing is the fact that as a result of such perspective, 
population concerns take a backseat and are accorded low priority. As it is now, 
for instance, the existing Population Commission is merely an attached agency of 
the NEDA; thus, making it ineffective in addressing various population issues. 
Indeed, the problem on population is so extensive and all-encompassing 
that if the government is to continue harnessing its resources towards mere 
growth control, there is no wayan effective measure to reduce population can be 
carried out effectively. 
A change in perspective is needed. 
It is about time we realize that rapid population growth is more than a 
health concern, so that it no longer makes sense to justify the enactment of a 
population policy on health grounds only. Population policy is justified by its 
multifaceted impact on all aspects of economic and social life. 
More importantly, it is about time we realize that more than anything else, 
population issues are directly related to women's concerns for after all the fate of 
the planet is connected to their partiCipation in this process. 
ii, I 


When women, for instance, are educated about various population issues 
and have access to family planning resources, they shall be able to space their 
children, delay the timing of their first child, and have longer intervals between 
each child. As a result, there shall be a decrease in the risk of mortality in both 
women and children, and there shall be provided a much more conducive 
environment for pursuing a national population program that will result into 
significant reduction of the rate of population growth. 
In sum, an effective population program should include two components. 
These are: 1) saving women's lives through provision of vital reproductive health 
care, including family planning and matemal health programs which include 
prenatal, postpartum, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease education 
that results in safe pregnancies and safe motherhood; and 2) taking into 
consideration various socioeconomic and political concerns, mindful of the 
current view that demographic variables permeate all aspects of economic and 
social life so that it makes it imperative that population policy be managed in 
such a way that all the relevant sectors of the economy and society are equitably 
served by it. 
Hence, this bill seeks to promote the welfare of Filipino families and save 
women's lives and their families through the establishment of a national family 
welfare program and creation of National Family Welfare Commission, as a 
separate entity under the Office of the President. 
Immediate enactment of this bill into law is earnestly sought. 
Senator 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 894 
) 
) 
) 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
,,,. ~ 
""---r 
PROTECTING THE WELFARE OF THE FILIPINO FAMILY THROUGH THE 
ESTABLISHMENT OF A 
NATIONAL FAMILY WELFARE PROGRAM, 
CREATION OF THE NATIONAL FAMILY WELFARE COMMISSION AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Family 
Welfare Act". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of State Policy. - It is hereby declared to be the 
policy of the State to promote the welfare of Filipino families and to protect and 
save women's lives and their families through satisfaction of basic human needs 
and enhancement of the quality of life of the people in areas such as housing, 
health and nutrition, education, transportation and environmental conditions 
through establishment of a national family welfare program. Such program shall 
be geared towards: 
a) making development planning and policy more comprehensive and 
effective by the incorporation of the demographic dimension; 
b) achieving a rate of growth of the population that would be sustainable 
by the economy, thus, establishing a small and prosperous family 
norm; 
c) contributing towards meeting the basic needs of the people, improving 
the quality of the people and the family and enhancing utilization of the 
nation's human resources; 
d) promoting the health and welfare of the people especially those in the 
high-risk groups of mothers and children; 
e) moderating 
initially the expected 
rise 
in 
and 
later reducing 
progressively population growth rates through the spread of voluntary 
family planning and small family norms so as to facilitate the 
attainment of national economic and social targets; 


f) guiding rural-urban migrations, so as to minimize socio-economic 
problems and optimize benefits to migrants and non-migrants alike in 
rural as well as urban areas; and, 
g) allowing women and men to exercise their fundamental human right to 
plan the size of their families and ensure that every pregnancy is 
planned and every child is wanted. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms 
shall mean: 
(a) Population - anything related to the quantity, main characteristics. 
growth, disposition, quality, condition of welfare which involves 
economic, social, culture, religion and environment of the people; 
(b) Population Development - the change in population situation and its 
characteristics within a period of time, either caused by natural 
process or caused by the influence of social, economic, cultural, and 
environmental change, which involves the quantity, growth, quality and 
mobility; 
(c) Family Planning - an effort to increase the society awareness and 
participation through delayed-marriage, birth control, development and 
increment of family welfare, and other efforts to create the family 
prosperity based on the Small and Prosperous Family Norm; 
(d) Small and Prosperous Family Norm is a standard institutionalized and 
culturized within each individual, family, and society, to motivate 
establishment of an ideal number of members within a family and a fair 
condition to form the physical welfare and mental happiness; 
(e) Quality of People and Family - the condition of people and family 
measures with the criteria of education, health, economy, other socio-
cultural, self-reliance and mental-spiritual and religion, which are 
bases for development of their ability and to enjoy life as a human 
being, with culture, personality and in a reasonable condition; 
(f) Environment - an integration of a space with all its resources, power, 
condition and creatures, including people and their behavior. which 
affects the livelihood and welfare of human and other living creatures. 
SEC. 4. National Family Welfare Commission. - There shall be created 
a National Family Welfare Commission (hereinafter known as "Commission"). It 
shall be headed by a chairman and two commissioners who shall each have a 
term of four (4) years and shall be constituted by the President of the Philippines 
from among the list of nominees considered expert in the field of family planning 
management. The chairman shall have the rank and privileges of a department 
undersecretary, and the appointive commissioners shall have the rank and 
privileges of assistant secretaries of a department. 
SEC. 5. Status and Nature of the Commission. - The Commission shall 
be independent and autonomous and shall have the same status as that of a 
national government agency attached to the Office of the President. 


The Commission shall exercise corporate powers. It shall have a seal, 
may sue and be sued, and shall be the sole policy-making coordinating body of 
all family welfare management pro grams. 
SEC. 6. Powers of the Commission. - The Commission shall have the 
following powers: 
1) To appoint the officers and other personnel of the Commission and fix 
their compensation, allowances and other emoluments, subject to the 
civil service and other existing applicable laws, rules and regulations; 
2) To suspend, dismiss, or otherwise discipline for cause, any employee, 
and/or to approve or disapprove the appointment, transfer or detail of 
employees, subject to the provisions of existing laws and regulations; 
3) To enter into contracts; 
4) To acquire, use and control any land, building, facilities, equipment, 
instrument, tools, and rights required or otherwise necessary for the 
accomplishment of the objectives of the Commission; 
5) To acquire, own, possess and dispose of any real or personal property; 
6) To accept donations, gifts, bequests, and grants; 
7) To ensure the implementation by various government departments and 
agencies of their disaster management programs; 
8) To issue rules and regulations in pursuance of the provisions of this 
Act; and, 
9) To perform any and all other acts incident to or required by virtue of its 
creation. 
SEC. 7. Responsibilities of the Commission. - The responsibilities of 
the Commission shall revolve around the principal social and economic 
development sectors and touch areas as varied as maternal and infant health, 
employment, education, housing and the habitat, child and youth welfare, the 
environment and sanitation, control of demographic growth, and other related 
concerns. Specifically, these responsibilities shall be to: 
(1) 
Make family planning means and services to all couples and 
individuals easily accessible at affordable cost and actively promote 
the acceptance of contraceptive practice, which shall include: 
(a) expansion of static and mobile maternal and child health family 
planning clinics; 
(b) intensification 
of community-based 
delivery 
systems 
of 
contraceptives to cover those not reached by the conventional 
delivery channels; 
(c) distribution of conventional non-prescriptive contraceptives, i.e. 
those not requiring medical prescriptions, through local health 
center units; and, 


(d) where feasible, referral arrangements for counseling and 
service to health outlets equipped for family planning. 
(2) 
Expand and improve in a culturally acceptable manner the 
implementation of family planning and population education 
programs in schools and throughout the nation; 
(3) 
Expand programs for youth to increase participation in community 
activities and to help avoid pregnancy before marriage and delay 
the birth of their first child; 
(4) 
Provide incentives to women who delay their first pregnancy until 
24 years of age or who space their children at least every three 
years; 
(5) 
Assist with self-productivity projects and encourage women 
participation in the labor force; 
(6) 
Sponsor programs that would encourage and prolong higher levels 
of education so that males and females may better understand the 
difference and consequences of "quality" children versus "quantity" 
children; 
(7) 
Improve pregnancy outcomes by encouraging expectant mothers to 
attend pre-natal clinic sessions early in their first trimester of 
pregnancy; 
(8) 
Expand population education and family planning counseling efforts 
to reduce the numbers of high-risk pregnancies; 
(9) 
Effect attitudinal changes among couples through awareness 
programs to decrease unnecessary fear concerning the potential 
losses of their infants; 
(10) 
Sponsor training efforts in all areas of maternal and child health 
care; 
(11) 
Sponsor information campaign projects that would encourage 
breast feeding which provides nutrients, immunological protection 
and psychological well-being for the infants, discourage the 
consumption of cigarettes, alcohol, non-nutritious foods and other 
harmful substances 
during 
pregnancy 
and 
encourage the 
availability of nutritious foods during and after pregnancy; 
(12) 
Submit recommendations to appropriate agencies on ways to 
improve local food production, utilization and consumption; 
(13) 
Improve the demographic knowledge base, i.e. data collection, 
processing, analysis, projections and research on population, and 
development interaction on regular basis; 
(14) 
Promote and facilitate the utilization of the knowledge base in social 
and economic planning, poliCies and projects etc; 


(15) 
Promote, clarify and sharpen the awareness and understanding 
among leaders and the public at large of population and 
development problems and issues; 
(16) 
Provide men and women with information and education on the 
value of reasonable family size and child spacing to improve the 
welfare of the family and its members, the community and the 
nation; 
(17) 
Pay special attention to selected groups such as young persons 
and women of reproductive age, members of organized groups in 
providing information and education relating to family life, fertility 
regulation, etc.; 
(18) 
Improve the quality and availability of maternal and child health 
care services, through coordination with the Department of Health, 
so as to reduce infant, child and maternal morbidity and mortality; 
(19) 
Review existing legislation as it pertains to key areas of population 
policy improved quality of life and enhanced protection of the 
welfare of men, women and children; 
(20) 
Promote collaboration among the various government agencies 
and NGOs; 
(21) 
Coordinate implementation of population policies and programs; 
(22) 
Coordinate the preparation and review of a national population 
action plan to give effect to the national population policy; 
(23) 
Help ensure that population variables are integrated into all stages 
of socioeconomic planning; 
(24) 
Establish a system for the mutual exchange of general 
demography, economic and other information from responsible 
agencies, including Government and research institutions; 
(25) 
Provide demographic data required for population and human 
resources planning, programming and monitoring; 
(26) 
Help identify research and data gaps and undertake, or collaborate 
with research institutions in research concerning population 
development 
interactions 
and 
population 
policy 
program 
management (operations research); 
(27) 
Assist in the design and implementation of programs aimed at 
spreading knowledge and promoting the small and prosperous 
family norm; and, 
(28) 
Establish a system for the monitoring and evaluation of the 
implementation of the national population policy. 
SEC. 8. The Secretariat and the Executive Director. - The Commission 
shall organize a secretariat to be headed by an executive director who shall 
serve as the chief operating officer. 


The executive director shall be appointed by the President of the 
Philippines upon the recommendation of the Commission for a term of four (4) 
years with reappointment for another term, and must have the qualifications, rank 
and privileges of a bureau director. He must possess executive and management 
experience of at least three (3) years and with considerable exposure to 
population management programs. He shall be responsible for the effective 
implementation of the policies promulgated by the Commission and shall also 
direct and supervise the day-to-day operations of the Commission. 
The staffing pattern and compensation schedule of the secretariat shall be 
drawn up in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations. 
SEC. 9. Duties and Responsibilities of the Secretariat. -
The 
Secretariat shall be responsible for: 
a) Ensuring an effective and efficient performance of the functions of the 
Commission and prompt implementation of the programs; 
b) Proposing specific allocation of resources for projects instated under 
the approved programs; 
c) Submitting periodic reports to the Commission on the progress and 
accomplishment of programs and projects; 
d) Preparing an annual report on all activities of the Commission; 
e) Providing and performing general administrative and technical staff 
support; and, 
f) 
Performing such other functions as the Commission may deem 
necessary. 
SEC. 10 . Structure at Provincial Level. - The structure at the National 
level will be replicated downwards through the provincial levels. There shall be a 
Provincial Family Welfare Commission to be chaired by the head of the provincial 
government unit concerned or his representative. The members will be: 
a) The Head of the Office of Population 
b) The Head of the Office for Planning and Development 
c) The Head of the Provincial Health Office 
d) The Head of the Provincial Education Office 
e) The Head of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office 
f) The Head of the Provincial Labor Office 
The Provincial Commission will be assisted by a secretariat to be located 
in the Office of the Head of the provincial government office. While it is not 
possible to replicate the staffing pattern at the national level, efforts shall be 
made to staff the provincial secretariat with appropriate personnel. The size and 
composition of the secretariat shall reflect the magnitude and complexity of the 
tasks to be performed. 
SEC. 11. Duties and responsibilities of the Provincial Family Welfare 
Council. - The Provincial Council shall be responsible to the National Family 
Welfare Commission through the Chief Executive Officer of the province for: 


1) Determining the relevance of population related goals objectives and 
strategies and ensuring that such goals, objectives and strategies are 
set by taking into account prevailing socio-economic realities in the 
Province and its subdivisions; 
2) Identifying unmet needs in the sphere of population related activities 
and services and mobilizing provincial resources for the purpose of 
strengthening existing services and creating new ones where they do 
not exist; 
3) Issuing guidelines on ways and means of financing family planning 
services; 
4) Consulting with the Commission in regard to legislative and 
administrative measures to be taken at the provincial level to make 
service delivery more effectively accessible to the peoples of the 
regions; 
5) Submitting periodic reports to the Secretariat of the National Family 
Welfare Commission; 
6) Coordinating 
the 
activities 
of the 
various 
sectoral 
agencies 
(governmental and non-governmental) undertaking population and 
development related activities at the Provincial levels; 
7) Monitoring and evaluating population programs in the Province 
concerned; 
8) Promoting focused policy relevant research and undertaking research 
on population and development; 
9) Establishing technical committees as required for the effective 
implementation of the population policy at provincial levels; 
10)Organizing and carrying out events on population issues at provincial 
levels; 
11)Participating, actively, in the collection of data on population and 
development; 
12)Stimulating community participation through effective IEC; 
13) Undertaking such activities as may be required by the Office of 
Population at the National level; 
14)Ensuring that guidelines for the establishment and effective functioning 
of a system of registration of vital events-marriage, birth, death and 
migration-throughout the province are in accordance with principles 
and formats stipulated by the National Family Welfare Commission; 
15) Establishing a system for the systematic mobilization of population and 
related data including those on unemployment and underemployment 
in accordance with principles and guidelines developed and provided 
by the Commission; 


16)Creating conditions that will stimulate and encourage community 
participation in population and related activities; 
17)Submitting periodic reports to the Commission; and, 
18)Doing such other things as may be required of it by the Commission. 
SEC.12. National Family Welfare Advisory Council. - There shall be 
created a National Family Welfare Advisory Council, hereinafter known as 
"Council" to be composed of the following: 
1) Secretary, Department of Health (DOH), Chairman 
2) Secretary, Department of National Defense (DND), Member 
3) Secretary, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), 
Member 
4) Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 
Member 
5) Secretary, Department of Agriculture (DA), Member 
6) Secretary, Department of Education (DepEd), Member 
7) Secretary, Department of Finance (DOF), Member 
8) Secretary, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Member 
9) Secretary, Department of Justice (DOJ), Member 
10)Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Member 
11)Secretary, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), 
Member 
12)Secretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources 
(DENR),Member 
At least two representatives from non-governmental organizations directly 
involved with population issues. 
The Council shall meet once every three (3) months, or as often as may 
be necessary upon call of its chairman, advise- and be consulted by the 
Commission on important matters relating to disaster management. 
The Council may form task forces which shall convene between the 
meetings. The Commission shall provide the technical support and the 
secretariat required by the Council to function according to this Act. 
SEC. 13. Advisory Capacity. - The Council shall be the advisory arm of 
the Commission, tasked primarily to formulate policy programs which the 
Commission may adopt. Specifically, the responsibilities of the Council shall be 
to: 
1) Develop specific policies and programs pertaining to population and 
development to be undertaken in the various sectors of the economy and 
creating conditions conducive to inter-sectoral collaboration; 
2) Define a broad legal framework within which population and development 
related information (IEC) are to be accessible to the general population by 
various governmental and non-governmental groups; 
3) Review short, medium and long term plans of actions leading to a possible 
and recommending same for adoption by government; 


4) Guide the development and articulation of operational programs in the 
field of population and related activities; 
5) Coordinate the activities of the various sectoral agencies (governmental 
and non-governmental) operating population and development related 
activities at different administrative levels; 
6) Monitor and evaluate the impact of population programs; 
7) Promote policy-oriented national research program on population and 
development; 
8) Ensure that the programs conducted by various agencies comply with the 
population policy; 
9) Establish, through the Commission, multi-sectoral technical committee 
and special task forces as required to assist in the effective 
implementation of the Policy; 
10)Organize and carry out, 
through the Commission, national and 
international 
events 
(Conferences, 
symposia, 
seminars, 
etc.) 
on 
population issues; 
11)Ensure that inter-sectoral programs in population activities are effectively 
coordinated by instituting a sound information exchange system; 
12)Review the discharge of functions of the Commission to ensure the 
effective operation of existing family planning service delivery institutions; 
13)Facilitate conditions, through their respective resources, that will enable 
the Commission to promote the creation of domestic capacity for the 
production of a variety of contraceptives and for the production and 
distribution of materials and equipment to increase people's access to 
population and development information; 
14)Establish effective working relationships with international agencies like 
the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations 
Population Fund and other global agencies for the purpose of faCilitating 
the mobilization of technical and material resources that will be useful in 
goal attainment; 
15)Make recommendations for the Commission's implementation anent 
various population control programs; 
16)Promote and 
foster an 
integrated 
approach 
to 
family planning 
development; 
17)promote and encourage integration of the various aspects of family 
development; 
18)Provide a venue for undertaking population projects, which shall include: 
(i) 
demographic data collection; 
(ii) 
population dynamics, that is to say, analysis of demographic data, 
determinants of fertility, mortality, migration and other population 
trends, consequences of population, interaction of demographic 


and socioeconomic variables including modeling and demographic 
projection; 
(iii) 
the formulation and evaluation of population policies and programs 
and the integration of population factors in development plans and 
programs; 
(iv) 
family planning programs; 
(v) 
communication and education, communication for awareness of 
population issues, population education in school, out-of-school 
education; and, 
(vi) 
social programs affecting the status of women, children and youth, 
the aged, the economically inactive, the disadvantaged and other 
special groups; 
19)Review population laws and regulations to see what effect they may have 
on national demographic objectives. 
All members of the Council shall make available their personnel, facilities 
and expertise to effectively carry out the functions of the Commission. 
SEC. 14. Family Planning Research, Data Collection, Analysis and 
Dissemination. - The Commission, aside from its duties and responsibilities, as 
enumerated in this Act, shall give priority attention in program development and 
implementation processes in order to improve and strengthen domestic capacity 
for generating, analyzing and disseminating demographic and population related 
information by malting more domestic and external funds available to institutions 
engaged in demographic and population related research and training. 
In addition, collaboration with foreign research and academic institutions 
shall be actively sought. Further, research activities will focus attention on the 
study of the complex interrelationship between population factors and 
development variables. The information generated shall represent critical inputs 
in development planning processes and provide relatively more accurate bases 
for forecasting probabilities and trends of development. Work in this important 
area will be considerably facilitated by: 
1) 
Submitting recommendations to Congress anent enactment of laws 
and regulations making the registration of vital events (marriage, birth 
and death) compulsory; 
2) 
Providing existing research institutions with the necessary technical 
and material support in order to enable them to process and 
disseminate 
data 
generated 
by 
censuses, 
sample 
surveys 
(intercensal surveys, demographic and health surveys, household 
consumption surveys, labour force surveys etc). 
SEC. 15. Expansion and Strengthening Domestic Capacity for 
Training in Family Planning Services.- In view of the critical need for more 
trained personnel to man the 'expanded family planning programs envisaged in 
this Act, the Commission shall expand existing domestic capacity for training in 
population. Accordingly: 


1) 
The capacity for the training of high level personnel in demography 
and population studies will be strengthened by making more 
resources available to existing institutions; 
2) 
Training for family planning will be integrated into the curricula of: 
(a) Medical schools; 
(b) Nursing and health assistants' schools; and, 
(c) Technical and vocational schools (e.g. institutions for the 
training of home economists and teachers training institutions) 
in order to accelerate the integration of family planning with 
existing social services, particularly health. 
3) 
In-service training for teachers and other development agents will be 
organized. 
SEC 16. Expansion of IEC and Social Mobilization. - The Commission 
shall focus on Information, Education and Communication (IEC) pertaining to 
population and development issues through formulating comprehensive policies 
and programs that will permit: 
1) A wider and more systematic use of multi-media channels to facilitate the 
use of population IEC in expediting behavioural change relative to family 
size, reproductive behaviour, reproductive health, family nutrition, personal 
and environmental hygiene; 
2) The dissemination of population related information through community 
organizations, interest groups, political bodies, women and youth groups, 
NGOs, adult education classes, industrial and other work establishments 
where there is a significant concentration of workers and so on; 
3) The incorporation of population and family life education topics as integral 
parts of formal education curricula at relevant levels of education; 
4) The incorporation of population related topics in the package of 
information carried to the rural population by agricultural extension 
workers, informal community leaders, and other community level 
development practitioners; 
5) The strengthening of the capacity of population and women's affairs units 
in 
relevant government development agencies 
to 
produce 
and 
disseminate IEC programmes. 
SEC. 17. Family Welfare Program. - The Committee, in coordination with 
NGOs, peoples organization and concerned sectors shall convene, within one 
year after the effectivity of this Act, in order to formulate and develop a national 
welfare program, which shall: 1) serve as the guiding principle of the Commission 
in the implementation of its responsibilities and in the discharge of its functions; 
and 2) be a main component of every program sponsored and initiated by any 
government agency and instrumentality. 
Such program acknowledges that population growth and other parameters 
influence and are influenced by different development programmes to varying 
extent. Hence, the same shall focus not only population issues but also on other 
political, economic and social issues closely and/or directly related to it, 


Under the program, the utilization of demographic data and projections in 
various development processes shall be intensified. Its primary focus shall be on 
developing family planning and related mother and child health and educational 
activities, raising the status of women among others. 
Family planning and related information and education components shall 
be at the center of the national program in three ways: improving the health and 
welfare of mothers, children and the family; raising the status of women; and 
reducing fertility and population growth which facilitate socio-economic and 
human resource development. 
Family planning shall be closely integrated with health services, especially 
its maternal and child health component, and be fully supported by vigorous, 
imaginative and many sided programs of education and information. 
Specifically, the program shall include the following areas: 
a) Family Planning -
which should be developed and expanded 
progressively within the context of primary health care and related 
system and supported by appropriate measures in spheres of law, 
education, social services etc. to protect and promote the family as the 
basic unit of society. 
b) Health/Maternal and Child Health - which should be strengthened and 
expanded and proper emphasis should be laid on its component 
relating to maternal and child health, including family planning, as well 
as that of community participation; 
c) Information, Education and Communication - which should playa key 
role in dispelling misconceptions, doubts, traditional attitudes etc. in 
population and family formation issues and which should require multi-
pronged and sustained action which is a pre-requisite to firm 
commitment to national population policy by leaders and the public at 
large and the translation of the policy into practice through adoption of 
contraceptive practice and the small and prosperous family norm by 
many couples. 
The same should also focus on communication strategies which would 
be used through the most suitable forms of media should be devised 
and utilized, to sensitize leaders and the public opinion to population 
and family welfare issues. 
d) Women in Development - which should include census, survey and 
service statistics in spheres such as health, education, employment 
and whatever feasible, separate data sets for women, since women's 
participation in economic activities and contribution to national income 
are grossly underestimated in labour force statistics and national 
accounts. 
The policy should include efforts to promote Women's education at all 
levels and in various forms and should provide various public 
extension services such as in the spheres of agriculture, credit and 
marketing, rural development, social welfare etc. 
e) Education - which should focus on spread of literacy and education as 
a component of national development, that would facilitate access to 


and the understanding of population and family welfare education and 
information. 
f) 
Labor and Employment - which should include ways to develop 
employment labor intensive methods of production, and others. 
g) Environment - which should focus on policy measures envisaged for 
the conservation of land, air and water resources including the 
following: 
(1) 
enforcement of laws on reforestation, forest conservation 
and marine preservation; 
(2) 
legislation on siting of industries; 
(3) 
protection of the environment through the control of industrial 
pollution; 
(4) 
land rehabilitation by the mining industry 
h) Migration and Urbanization - which should focus on the development 
of the rural economy and the improvement of living conditions of the 
rural community through extension services, self help and other 
measures and intensification of rural development through measures 
such as the following: 
(1) 
provision of reliable, safe water supply; 
(2) 
provision of adequate power supply for domestic and 
economic use; 
(3) 
provision of adequate and accessible health facilities; 
(4) 
improvement in the quality and expansion, where needed, of 
primary education and non-formal educational programs; 
(5) 
dissemination of appropriate technology and other key inputs 
to raise rural productivity; 
(6) 
provision of adequate credit, marketing, storage and 
distribution facilities for rural commodities; 
(7) 
improvement in transport and communication facilities in 
rural areas and between villages and small towns; 
(8) 
decentralization of development planning and programmes 
and of public administration. 
SEC. 18. Active Participation. -
All govemment agencies and 
instrumentalities shall participate in the different strategies and programs of 
activities of the national population policy. In particular, in family planning service 
delivery and related activities, the principal agency shall be the Department of 
Health. In regard to population and family life/family planning information and 
education, the major participants include the Departments of Health, Education, 
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Labor, Trade and Industry, 
Energy and the Philippine Information Agency. 
The Commission shall encourage non-governmental organizations to 
initiate or intensify participation in population activities. The Commission shall 
likewise give due recognition and support to their work, expertise and experience 
and shall give them appropriate guidance so that their activities could respond 
most effectively to community and national needs. 
SEC. 19. Rules and Regulations. - The Commission shall formulate and 
issue rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act. 


SEC. 20. Appropriations. - There is hereby authorized to be appropriated 
the amount of One Hundred Million Pesos (P100,000,000.00) as additional 
funding for the Commission to be charged against the unexpended contingency 
funds of the Office of the President. Thereafter, the amount needed for the 
operation and maintenance of the Commission shall be included in the annual 
General Appropriations Act: Provided, That operating expenses of the 
Commission itself shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the annual appropriation 
and that at least ninety percent (90%) of said annual appropriation shall be 
disbursed for population management programs, projects and activities. 
SEC. 21. Separability Clause. - If any proviSion or part hereof, is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SEC. 22. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, 
modified or amended accordingly. 
SEC. 23. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,