BIRTH CONTROL | IN THE PHILIPPINES (Who's in Control?)

Pea calls birth control "perhaps the most important subject to the future social and economic health" of the Philippines and backs it up with hard statistics before hitting the streets to interview real Filipinos about their contraception habits, fears, and misconceptions. The interviews reveal a stark pattern: people have access to information and even free contraception, but deep-rooted fears about the pill and religious pressure keep them relying on methods that don't work.

What's Covered ​

• The scale of the problem (statistics Pea opens with)

  • 4,570 babies born per day in the Philippines — 190 per hour
  • Often born to mothers who can barely feed themselves, and sometimes to mothers who don't even understand what got them pregnant
  • 50% unemployment rate in the Philippines; population growth ensures perpetuation of poverty and joblessness
  • Only 40% of Filipinos use contraception of any kind (2019 Philippine Daily Inquirer)
  • Only 13.7% of women use birth control pills — about one in eight (Philippine Statistics Authority)
  • 44% of Filipinas said reluctance to use the pill was due to fear of side effects including "ruining the reproductive system" (2010 Likhaan Center for Women's Health study)
  • Only about 4% of Filipinos use condoms

• Interview with Keith (young woman, single)

  • Knows birth control is about controlling population and agrees with it for family planning
  • Immediately wonders whether the Catholic Church approves — notes some methods are okay with the Church and some aren't, and "most Filipinos are religious"
  • Scared of taking the pill and has never tried it; was told at school it's "99%" effective but that the 1% failure could result in a baby with "failures" (birth defects) — this frightens her
  • Doesn't know much about male contraception beyond condoms
  • Knows about IUDs vaguely ("the letter T one") and injectable hormones
  • Believes the school taught enough about reproductive health and contraceptives, and her family also discusses it — but she remains personally uncertain about what she'll actually do
  • Pea's assessment: Keith is very concerned about religious prohibitions and terrified the pill will cause birth defects; she has the information but is paralyzed by fear and social pressure

• Interview with Mccoy (married food delivery driver, father of three — two boys, one girl)

  • Wife used to take the pill but stopped (no longer uses any contraception)
  • Doesn't know about other methods like ligation or vasectomy — when Pea explains vasectomy ("snipping"), he's uncertain
  • Got his birth control information from the internet
  • Believes contraception can ruin women's reproductive systems
  • Says both men and women should be responsible for contraception
  • Agrees the Philippines needs population control
  • Says he would discuss contraception with his daughter when she's the right age
  • Pea's assessment: his wife quit the pill due to reproductive harm fears; at least he accepts condom responsibility "at least on camera"

• Interview with Dolly (married mother of one young girl)

  • Currently taking contraceptive pills — chose to have only one child so they can afford to send her to school and give her a better future
  • Heard rumors that pills ruin reproductive systems but chose to use them anyway
  • Believes the Philippines doesn't need more children

• Interview with Alec and her friend (married women, friends)

  • Alec has two children; her friend has at least one
  • Alec used to take the pill but stopped — now uses the withdrawal method
  • Her friend also uses the withdrawal method
  • Both have heard and believe that birth control pills damage the reproductive system — Alec's mother also believed this
  • Both received education on different contraception methods from school and government sources
  • Alec got free pills from a government center initially, then bought them at drugstores before stopping
  • Alec's friend comes from a family of seven children — she ate only once a day growing up because her parents couldn't afford to feed everyone; this personal experience motivates her to limit her own family size
  • Both agree men should share responsibility for contraception but express frustration: "It's very hard for us, we're always controlling" while men just ask "did you drink your pills already?"
  • Frequency of sex: Alec's friend says about once a year (!); Alec says three times a week; Pea jokes "three times a day — it's like a meal"
  • Their husbands don't use condoms; both rely on withdrawal method
  • Neither is considering ligation — just "being careful"
  • Pea's assessment: both women stopped using the pill due to the same reproductive harm myth; both are currently using the withdrawal method, which has a failure rate over 20% (more than 20 out of 100 women using it for a year will have an unwanted pregnancy)

• Pea's overall findings from all interviews (including off-camera conversations)

  • Almost everyone agreed the Philippines doesn't need more people — but there's a huge disconnect between that belief and actual contraception use
  • People who said they wanted two kids often ended up with five, with a sort of "oh well, stuff happens" attitude
  • The withdrawal and rhythm methods are the go-to, and when they fail, people just accept the results and keep going
  • The government actually does a decent job providing information through schools and public health centers, where birth control can sometimes be obtained for free — so the problem isn't lack of access or information
  • The problem is deeper cultural beliefs: religious prohibitions against modern birth control, and getting information from family and friends instead of reliable fact-based sources

• Pea's direct advice to her countrywomen

  • At minimum, insist your partner use a condom — not just for pregnancy prevention but to stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases; buy condoms yourself if you have to so he has no excuse; or decline sex until he agrees
  • On the pill-ruins-your-body myth: tens of millions of women worldwide have used the pill for over 60 years — if it were making women sterile or causing mass birth defects, "don't you think we'd know about it by now? Don't you think they would have sued the pharmaceutical manufacturers into bankruptcy?"
  • Don't let rumors, neighbors, or bad information sources guide you on something this important — look at actual facts
  • "For the first time in human history almost all of us have the sum total of knowledge that mankind has ever accumulated right at our fingertips — use it for more than making TikTok videos"
  • Think about the future of Philippine society, your children's future, and your responsibilities as a parent and citizen

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