Introduction The AmBisyon Natin 2040 articulates Filipinos’ collective long-term vision and aspirations for themselves and for the Philippines in the next 25 years. It calls on all sectors of society to direct their efforts towards enabling a matatag (strongly rooted), maginhawa (comfortable), and panatag (secure) life for all Filipinos. Government and stakeholder actions to pursue the the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the President’s 0+10 Point Socioeconomic Agenda, align well and contribute to the achievement of AmBisyon 2040. These development strategies are anchored on the principles of sustainable development which involves: 1) long term planning, where present development should never be at the expense of future generations; and 2) inclusivity, where no one is left behind. Specifically, the AmBisyon envisions that by 2040, the “Philippines is a prosperous middle class society where no one is poor. People live long and healthy lives and are smart and innovative. The country is a high-trust society where families thrive in a vibrant, culturally diverse, and resilient communities.”6 However, our achievement of AmBisyon 2040, the SDGs and President Duterte’s economic agenda is under threat due to the country’s current population age structure. What is a demographic dividend? Demographic dividend stems from demographic transition when fertility (birth) and mortality (death) rates decline, such that the age distribution changes to an extent that lesser spending is required to meet the needs of the youngest and oldest age groups. This frees up the resources for investment in economic development and family welfare.8 Demographic dividend therefore is a benefit, a windfall that is good for the economy and society. Economies in East Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) began to reap this dividend as early as the 1980s, as did Singapore and Thailand in the 1990s, and Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 2000s. What is noteworthy is that, apart from reasonably good economic policies, all these countries have modern family planning (FP) programs beginning in the late 1960s to early 1970s sustained over time. The Philippines, although it started its FP program in 1969, discontinued the program in the late 1970s due to strong opposition from conservative groups. Figure 1 shows how the Philippines’ population pyramid by age compares with those of Thailand and South Korea. 8 Ross, John. 2004. Understanding the Demographic Dividend: POLICY Project, Futures Group. Retrieved from http://www. policyproject.com/ pubs/generalreport/Demo_Div.pdf Figure 1: Population Pyramids: Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea, 2015 The Philippines is only at the first phase of demographic transition characterized by a large proportion of the population in the under-15 years age bracket and with households having a large dependency burden.7 The population of the Philippines consists mostly of young children who, 6 http://2040.neda.gov.ph/about-ambisyon-natin-2040/ 7 Mapa, Dennis. 2016. Demographic Sweet Spot and Dividend in the Philippines:The Window of Opportunity is Closing Fast. Unpublished manuscript, Quezon City: University of the Philippines School of Statistics Source: esa.un.org 19 2019 Annual Report Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012