I. Introduction
INTRODUCTION: The current human population growth continues to increase over time. Overpopulation is considered as a serious problem among countries which are less developed. The growth of population of a developing country such as the Philippines consistently increases as the years go by. Statistics show that the population of the Philippines is estimated at 102,607,652 as of December 10, 2015. The Philippines ranked 12 among the world 's most populous countries. Debates continue to rise whether the Philippines can be classified as "overpopulated." An area is overpopulated when the environment which supports the population starts to deplete due to the drastic increase of inhabitants. (Brown, Gardner, & Halweil, 1999) Thus, renewable and non-renewable resources become scarce which cannot provide all of the inhabitants’ needs.
As the world population increases, so does the need of the Earth’s resources – food, water, land, and such. Various levels of economic development have major implications on population growth. These transformations lead to a transition – from low to high fertility rates. Hence, population growth may lead to economic progression or regression. Several theories on Population growth were proposed. For instance, Neo-Malthusians supported the concept of population control in order to minimize environmental squalor. They see population growth as a bridge which may lead to poverty, and widespread calamity. (Weeks, 1992) On the other hand,