Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — About 14.1 percent of Filipinos still rely on traditional family planning methods such as withdrawal and the calendar method despite the steady rise in modern contraceptive use, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) said Thursday.
Mylin Mirasol Quiray, chief of the CPD Information Management and Communications Division, said the share of traditional-method users declined from 16.5 percent in 2022 but remained significant.
“The use of traditional methods like withdrawal and the calendar is also declining. In 2022, it was 16.5 percent, and then in 2025, it was 14.1 percent. But if we translate that into absolute numbers, 14.1 percent is still significant,” Quiray said in a Bagong Pilipinas interview.
Citing the National Demographic and Health Survey, Quiray said the modern contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 25 percent in 1993 to 44.5 percent in 2025.
She said the rate rose from 41.8 percent in 2022 to 44.5 percent in 2025, indicating that more Filipinos are using family planning to decide when to have children and how to space pregnancies.
“But there are still traditional method users, such as those who use withdrawal and the calendar method, so that is what we still want to address because we know that these methods are not effective for our fellow Filipinos,” Quiray said.
She said myths and misconceptions about contraception remain a challenge, particularly in communities where people continue to rely on traditional methods.
Among the misconceptions she cited were claims that contraceptive pills cause cancer and that vasectomy is equivalent to castration.
The CPD is working with local governments to improve information dissemination and ensure family planning services reach communities, particularly geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, Quiray said.
She added that health workers and population officers and workers remain crucial in providing accurate information directly to communities.
Despite increased family planning use, unmet needs remain among women with lower levels of education and those from poorer households, according to Quiray.
She said the CPD continues to coordinate with local governments to reach these groups and provide them with information and services.
For young people, the agency is also directing them to malayaako.ph and its “Usap Tayo sa Family Planning” Facebook page for reproductive health information.
The CPD will also launch Project Laya, a reproductive health initiative aimed at improving family planning and reproductive health services.
Quiray said the agency’s broader approach is to give Filipino men and women access to information that will help them make informed decisions about whether and when to have children. /dm