Boda de Oro (Golden wedding anniversary of Mama and Tatay)

Fifty years ago (November 24, 1960), my mother and father said to each other, "I do."

On that day, they pledged their love and commitment to be together for better or worse, for poorer or richer, in health or in sickness, to cherish their companionship until death forced them to part .

My father parted last year. He was 71.

He left behind his 68-year old lifetime partner, seven children, and fourteen grandchildren.

Had he survived until this year, he and my mother could have had a grand boda de oro or golden wedding anniversary. Very few couples are able to have this kind of celebration in their lifetimes. My parents missed it by just a year.  But forty-nine (49) years of togetherness is enough reason to celebrate and be thankful for.

That togetherness produced seven children. I am the sixth one in a relatively poor family. Each day, as I remember, was a struggle to cope with insufficiencies. However, it was in those difficulties and struggles that we held each other closer to our hearts. The bonding brought about by daily challenges and shared hardships in life could never make us who we are. And yes, those times were dificult and yet meaningful to live by and with.

Imagine if the Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) that encourages a 2-child policy was enforced at that time; you would not be reading this. Primarily because I would not be here. And many of us would not be here. This is one of my major reasons why I challenge the bill. Another major reason why I resist RHB is that Filipino couples nowadays are reproducing less babies than ever before. And the trend is going down and down, even without the RHB. In 2008, the population growth rate stands at 1.8 as compared to 3.08 in 1970s. Thus, what will the RHB do to our population when our population growth rate is already going down?

To provide couples the freedom to choose their family size is the best our government can do, rather than strongly encouraging a 2-child policy . Having small or big family size has benefits and costs. Our experiences and education cause us to be wise to know what is better for us. Who else know this better than ourselves?

In my family, this is very evident in the number of children of my brothers and sisters. The most number of children in one family is four while others have either two or one. This phenomenon and/or trend is observed in communities I visited, my friends' families, and relatives.

I  feel so blessed to be born in the generation without a bill that encourages contraceptions and 2-child policy. And I would like to extend this blessing to the future generations of my country in the way I know how and as long as I can. I believe each child is a gift to humanity as parents are gifts to children.

Thank you Mama and Tatay. You are such wonderful gifts to us, your children. I love you.