Pernia vows to step up implementation of RH law, as PopCom returns to NEDA

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said focus will be given to the  Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act of 2012 to speed up its implementation now that the Population Commission is back under the wings of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

"We will certainly step up the implementation of the RPRH Law, which will benefit all Filipino families," Pernia, who is director general of NEDA, said in a statement.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed Executive Order No. 71 reverting to NEDA the Population Commission, which has been renamed Commission on Population and Development (CPD).

CPD is mandated to formulate and adopt coherent, integrated, and comprehensive long-term plans, programs, and recommendations on population and family planning as it relates to economic and social development.

It was an attached agency of NEDA from 1991 until 2003 before its supervision was placed under the Department of Health.

“In order to strengthen the development and implementation by the PopCom of population-related plans, policies, programs, and projects in pursuit of socioeconomic development programs, there is a need to enhance its coordination with the NEDA,” EO No. 71 stated.

The Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the country’s development blueprint crafted by NEDA, has identified the integration of population and development as one of the key strategies to accelerate the country's economic growth and improve the quality of Filipinos’ lives.

“NEDA will make sure that the country’s population is well-managed and programs related to it are in sync with our overall development plans,” Pernia, who is an advocate of reproductive health, said. —LDF, GMA News