Message from the POPCOM Executive Director With the release of the sixth edition of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law Annual Report, we take stock of the collective triumphs and gains generated by the program since its institutionalization in 2012. These accomplishments, as measured by the extensive discussions on the key result areas, and as reflected by the accomplishments stated herein, would not have been possible without the various stakeholders involved apart from the Commission on Population and Development, the National Economic and Development Authority, as well as the Department of Health. The pages of this report, which document all our concerted efforts, attest to the indefatigable workings of the many “moving parts” of the program: from partner government agencies, civil society organizations, to international development partners, which have effected legislation concerning the program, and many others. They include the committed men and women who played a role in making all these come to fruition: those who work “on the ground,” as well as the acceptors of the program who saw and understood its manifold benefits for their families and in their lives. We cannot overemphasize the integral intersections of the sectors of health and development in directly and positively impacting the RPRH program. Where health of the members of the population start and is constantly being improved, it ultimately augurs well to the overall growth and development of the country and its entire people. As the aforementioned elements cannot exist by themselves, or exclusively as a one-two strategy, we will find that extraneous forces had also affected or influenced their progress or results: current events which unfolded locally, and those global in scale and perspective. Similar to a union or marriage, we have seen that the dimensions of health and development of the Filipino nation need to coexist within a setting where they need to adapt, as well as evolve to effectively serve and fulfill their higher mandates. With that in mind, if there were time-tested best practices in the spectrum of the RPRH program that were already established, there will also be strategies which required revisiting or recalibrating, in the hope that they will bear positive outcomes, if not in the immediate future, then hopefully in the next couple of years. Despite the work being entailed by the program and the road being paved ahead, we could deem all these as long-term investments, or seeds being planted that will play a crucial role in our continuing journey for RPRH. I invite the reader to peruse this annual report in order to cultivate a further appreciation of the comprehensive approach and reach of the Philippine government in tackling and addressing the goals of the RPRH program, as well as the accompanying challenges that are part and parcel of the country’s population narrative. Undersecretary Juan Antonio Perez III, MD, MPH 7 2019 Annual Report Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012