Too many people. Too little space.

The root of our problems in this country stems from overpopulation. Isn’t it

logical for government to address it first before anything else?

The Philippines has one of the fastest growing populations in Southeast Asia. From

having fifty million inhabitants in 1980, the Philippines today is home to around

ninty million people with 11 million living in Manila only. Living place is

becoming increasingly satuarated. This overcrowding is causing a range of problems

such as lack of education, lack of healthcare, unemployment and general poverty.

Photojournalist Mads Nisssen visited some of these overcrowded areas in Manila and

poses the question how will it be in thirty years time when the Philippine

population is expected to have doubled to over 180 million inhabitants.

Everyday we complain about traffic, crowded streets, malls, and markets, crowded

airports, crowded hospitals, crowded classrooms, poverty, squatters in big cities,

etc. What about the more pressing concerns directly affecting the people like food

scarcity, energy crisis and water shortages?

Overpopulation in the Republic of the Philippines is believed to cause sustained

poverty and poor economic growth among families by depriving them of the financial

resources that are required to secure education and adequate health care for their
children. The government of the Philippines agreed in 1967, along with 12 other

countries, that overpopulation is an inhibitor of economic development, and it

began looking into a variety of government-sponsored measures to lower the rate of

population growth. Government intervention in family planning has, however,

remained a controversial issue in the overcrowded archipelago nation.

Economic studies, particularly those involving Asian countries, point to high

fertility rates and rapid population growth among the poor as significant

contributors to poverty. They are also considered factors that lead to

environmental, societal and health crises that the governments of developing

economies can find difficult to manage. The hospital maternity wards in Manila, the

capital city of the Philippines, are overcrowded to the point where several new

mothers and their babies are crowded into one bed. The educational system was also

reported to be overburdened with students receiving only about 4 hours of class

time each day.

Environmental issues in Manila have been seriously exacerbated by overpopulation.

The lack of an adequate sewerage infrastructure has resulted in contaminated

beaches and the terminally polluted Pasig River, which runs through the city, has

been declared to be biologically dead.

It is recommended that population control is the appropriate alternative for India

to promote, sustain, and enhance development. The population under 30 years of age

should be targeted as a means of protecting the interests of family, community, and

nation. In order to reach the stage of development of Western Europe and North

America, for example, less developed countries with 75% of the of world' population

much achieve social and economic advancement, including low birth rates and low

rates of population growth. Higher population growth. Higher population size

results in lower resource availability. An increase of births over deaths results

in a high rate of natural increase and rapid population growth. Rapid population

growth affects capital formation, food shortages, consumer prices, labor problems,

and social and political unrest. Money shortages affect the ability to meet day to

day needs and expenditures rise. Rural and urban development are affected. School

enrollments in institutions of higher education can also be affected. Economic

disruption results in a widening circle of poverty and a reduced standard of living.

Production costs are affected. In India, there is a need to reduce the birth rate,

to promote economic development, to achieve optimum population size, and to improve

the quality of life.

Human population must be controlled because population growth is a fundamental

cause of environmental problems

Thesis statement

For several years population has been increasing faster than renewable resources. This means the

amount of these resources per person is declining in spite of modern technology. Other massive social

and environmental problems such as food and water shortages, traffic jams, air and water pollution, and
increasing violence and crime. These devastating events continue to worsen as our number of people in

the Philippines increase by more than a million people every year. As of 1 January 2016, the population

of Philippines was estimated to be 101,498,763 people. This is an increase of 1.58% (1,579,720 people)

compared to population in the year 2015. During 2016, Philippine population is projected to increase

by 1,604,695 people and the population of Philippines will increase by 4,396 persons daily in 2016.

Many families who experience financial difficulties are the one who have the most number of children.

Today, there are more people suffering in misery and starvation than ever before in history. One of the

reasons is that people cannot suffice the needs of their families. Solving these problems will be much

less difficult when we stop increasing the number of people and limiting chilren commensurate to the

financial capacity of a family. But how can we prevent the increasing number of people? One of the

possible ways is by implementing the 3-child policy. It imposes a maximum number of children into (3)

three. Thus, this thesis aims to examine the effiectiveness of the 3-child policy and to explore its

possible effects into the society.