MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The recent announcement by China that it would soon abandon its controversial one-child policy in favor of allowing all couples to have two children has caught the attention of a Philippine senator.

China’s controversial one-child policy was introduced nationally in 1979 to slow the population growth rate, and is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births.

Though there were exceptions to the policy, most couples who violated it faced punishment, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions.

It said the decision was made because of China’s rapidly ageing population and to help support the economy.

In the Philippines, Senator Nancy Binay, daughter of the country’s vice president, is sponsoring a new bill that would put in place a mandatory four-child policy in the country.  No more, no less.

Binay says her proposal constitutes a middle ground between the country’s overpopulation and the need to boost economic productivity.

“While overpopulation is the root of poverty in our country, we also recognize that we need the manpower to fuel the economy, especially at a time when many international corporations are outsourcing their labor requirements,” Binay said.

The Philippines is fast becoming the center of  business process outsourcing (BPO) because Filipinos are hard-working and speak English very well compared to their counterparts in the rest of Asia.

“Four is the magic number,” says Binay, “because it limits families from having too many children  whom they can hardly feed or send to school.  On the other hand, families who could afford to have more than one or two kids, will be encouraged to have more as their contribution to strengthening and stabilizing our labor force.”

The Philippine Senate will soon be conducting public hearings to determine the appropriate punishment or penalties for families who have less than four children, or, more than four.