SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) cited a decrease in the registered child birth in Ilocos Region for the first semester of this year.
 
POPCOM Ilocos regional director Erma Yapit said the latest data gathered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) covering the period of January to June 2022 showed 26,479 registered births in Region I, which is almost two percent lower from the 27,002 recorded births for the same period last year.
 
Yapit said that the decrease in births in the region is attributed to the continuous lobbying for the devolvement of population programs in the local government units (LGUs).
 
She said the devolved function ensures the accessibility and availability of population programs such as family planning information and services. 
 
She added the devolution of some functions of POPCOM to the LGU is an opportunity for the government to strengthen the advocacy on population and development programs at the grassroots level.
 
Yapit said the sustainable implementation of the Philippine Population Development Program (PPDP) is necessary to achieve the goal of the AmBisyon 2040: a better quality of life for all Filipinos.
 
To prevent early pregnancies among adolescents, who are minors, she enumerated five key strategic actions during the 4th Quarter Meeting of the Regional Population Advisory Board (RPAB) on Friday.
 
These strategies include comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) promotion; access to adolescent sexual reproductive health (ASRH) services; protective services against sexual violence and abuse; social and economic development of adolescents; and youth development participation. (JCR/AMB/FGL-PIA 1)