MANILA -- The decreasing fertility rate is a sign of economic development in the country, according to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa. 

During a symposium by the Food and Drug Administration in Muntinlupa City, Herbosa said every country improving economically goes through a stage of population decrease, citing the likes of Singapore and Japan.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fertility rate was at 2.1, and it declined to 1.9 after the pandemic's onset, according to Herbosa. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) supports this, saying the fertility level was at 1.9 children per woman in 2022 from 2.7 in 2017.

Herbosa added, the fertility rate is at 1.7 this year, below the 2 replacement level fertility. Replacement fertility refers to the number of children born to maintain the current population. 

For Herbosa, the fertility rate is no cause for concern, saying, "'Yung mga bansa kagaya ng Singapore, Japan, Korea-- nasa 0.3, 0.9 na 'yan. So non-replacement na. Matatanda na, so kailangan nila immigrants."

"So ako, tingin ko, nandoon tayo sa ating sweet spot-- tawag nila-- demographic sweet spot na maraming young people that can create jobs and can create economy's income. Nandoon tayo," he explained.

"'Pag winaste natin 'to, biglang gigising na lang tayo one day, matatanda na't mga may sakit na mga Pilipino. Tayo kailangan ng caregiver. Dati tayo nagbibigay ng caregiver sa mundo."

Herbosa added, unlike some other countries, the Philippines does not need to take in immigrants to be part of the workforce due to its presently young population.

But regarding the cause of the population decline, Herbosa said Filipinos in urban areas are now thinking twice about having children due to high living cost. However, he is counting on more births from the lower economic class.

"I think many people are what we call double income, and then the younger people like to travel, get that nice shot in the ano-- and ang hope natin mag-develop sila ng family," Herbosa told reporters.