Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Monday, August 21 claimed he was “taken out of context” over his statement saying Filipinos should bear more children to help lower the country’s debt per capita.

Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Senate PRIB Photo)

In a phone interview, Dela Rosa said he was quoting other people’s perception when he asked state economic managers about the country’s growing debt, which now amounts to nearly P15-trillion, and his unconventional idea of increasing the population as a means to alleviate it.

“I want to clarify, I was taken out of context, without malice or without intention or unintentionally taken out of context. I was quoting somebody,” Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa, during the Senate briefing on the proposed 2024 national budget last August 15, was quoted as saying :“Mas maganda siguro manganak tayo ng maraming anak para lumaki ang population natin, at pag lumaki ang population, mas marami mag hatihati są utang, mas bababa ang per capita utang natin (Maybe it would be better if we gave birth to more children so that our population could grow. With a larger population, the debt would be divided among more people, resulting in a lower per capita debt).”

The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief insisted that the suggestion was actually from other people and not from him.

“Hindi, sinabi ko nga narinig ko sinasabi ng mababa na tao na ganun solution di ganun ang solution ko. Ang babaw naman ng pagtingin nila sa atin kung ganun (No, as I said, I only heard that being said by other people, that they think that is the solution, but that was the solution I thought of. People’s perception of me is shallow if that’s the case),” he lamented.

In response to his query during the briefing, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno assured Dela Rosa that the country’s debt should not be a cause for concern when considering the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio.

Diokno explained that the mounting national debt is due to the government's need to borrow funds for infrastructure investments and which are important to drive the country’s economy forward.

In the end, Diokno said it is ultimately the poor members of the society who benefit from a robust economic growth.