Blogger Niki Yarte attended last December’s Mulat Pinoy website launch and blogger training at Astoria Plaza, and it is always a joy to be able to introduce new concepts and ideas to people. Like Niki, many people think population and development or popdev is the same thing as the RH bill. Niki writes:
It refers to how population growth affects a nation’s key socio-economic indicators. For example, what does it mean for the country when our numbers grow exponentially?
The good news is that there are nearly enough Filipinos to keep the world running. The bad news is that there isn’t enough of the Philippines for the Filipinos to run around in.
I remember that during the launch, I struggled with all the facts and figures the speakers were presenting. Yeah, they were compelling. Yeah, they were staggering. Yet, how do I put all that in a blog? How do I explain GDP, GNP and all these high-faluting acronyms?
Then I realized the sad truth that I don’t need numerical statistics to confirm the facts. Let’s play a game. I’ll throw in a few keywords and see how many of you would feel optimistic.
Education.
Employment.
Environment.
Well? How many of you thought we had enough of those to go around? None? Thought so. That list didn’t even cover the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing.