The Commission on Population and Development announced that it is giving priority to isolated areas for family planning in line with the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling by the Supreme Court.

The Mandanas-Garcia ruling was brought about by the unprecedented SC ruling after the late Bataan governor and congressman Tet Garcia and Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas petitioned the High Court for additional share of taxes for the local government units in the country.

As this developed, CPD director for Central Luzon Lourdes Nacionales urged local government units in Central Luzon to reach out to the marginalized population in their localities to advocate for family planning.

Demand generation activities for family planning must target couples living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, and coastal and mountainous areas.

Nacionales stressed that there is a need to reach out to these people as they are the ones who do not have access to information and services.

"If we won't bring government services to them, we won't be able to help them. We have to reach out to the marginalized population to push for family planning so that we could reach development," said Nacionales.

She stressed that LGUs should ensure that they offer family planning information and services especially that the family planning program is being devolved to them as part of the full devolution brought by the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petition.

In addition, Nacionales highlighted that the national government will continue to work together with LGUs to gradually devolve the services to the local level as she emphasized that the goal of the family planning program is that all families are planned, and couples are responsible to talk about the number of children that they want based on their capacities as parents.

"What is happening right now is that we still have parents who are not very responsible for their children. Remember that if we know that we won't be able to provide a good future for our children, we have to rely on family planning methods," said Nacionales.