TACLOBAN CITY – The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) and the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO) in the region recently forged a memorandum of agreement to strengthen the Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning (RPFP) program through the conduct of classes in the workplace of government offices.
Popcom Regional Director Elnora Pulma said that there is a great demand for information and discussion on responsible parenthood, family planning, and clarification on the common myths and misconceptions of various contraceptive methods in workplaces, thus, RPFP is now being brought to the workplace.
Under the re-strengthening of the National Program on Family Planning (NPFP) under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, workers’ access to family planning information and services need to be increased by promoting RPFP in the workplace to include those in large companies, in various, informal economies and government offices.
“We have been bringing RPFP to the grassroots. It’s about time we bring it to our partner government offices because our workers also need family planning information and services,” Pulma said.
RPFP Program aims to help couples/parents exercise responsible parenting to achieve their desired number, timing and spacing of their children, and to contribute in improving the maternal, neonatal and child health, and nutrition (MNCHN) has been made in harmony with DOLE’s Family Welfare Program to which its first component is the RPRH.
The AGIO-8, which is under the auspices of the Philippine Information Agency, is a group of government information officers, who assists in all program advocacies of all its government partners.
Popcom tapped the AGIO-8 recognizing their role as potent partners in advocacy and help to ensure women workers to have access to comprehensive family planning, and to support their right to decide whether, when, and how many children they want to have.
As part of the agreement, AGIO member-agencies are to identify participants to undertake the appropriate programs/ lectures/ symposia and trainings in relation to RPFP who will be made aware of the FP programs and services under the principle of Informed Choice and Volunteerism (ICV) during the orientation; cascade and disseminate content information on RPFP through social media; and institutionalize the program by including RPFP as part of their Gender and Development and Health and Wellness Program.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)

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