MORE EFFORT | Senator bats for effective sex education among youth amid rise in teen pregnancies

February 8, 2024 , 03:54 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(January 8, 2024) – Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday called for more effective sex education for the youth after an agency raised the alarm over the increase in teenage pregnancies between 2021 and 2022.

Gatchalian stressed that the spike of live births among girls under 15 years old—from 2,320 in 2021 to 3,135 in 2022—highlighted the need for a better rollout of the comprehensive sex education program under the Department of Education (DepEd), a policy that was approved in 2018.

“There is a need to ensure its effective implementation in schools,” said Gatchalian, who heads the committee on basic education.

In hopes of strengthening the DepEd’s order, Gatchalian filed a resolution calling for a legislative inquiry into the higher number of teenage pregnancies. His proposed probe also seeks to look into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among the youth.

“Nakakabahala ang pagdami ng bilang ng mga batang ina,” said Gatchalian. “Mahalagang tiyakin nating nasa paaralan ang mga babaeng mag-aaral at matatanggap nila ang epektibong sexuality education para sa kanilang sapat na kaalaman at proteksyon.”

Last Monday, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) expressed its concern about the larger number of young girls getting pregnant. CPD executive director Lisa Grace Bersales urged lawmakers to pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill (APPB) to help address the problem.

The House of Representatives unanimously approved its version of the measure last September. Its counterpart in the Senate, which was filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, is still pending.

“We cannot overemphasize the significance of having this bill enacted,” said Bersales in a media release. “It is my strong belief and that of the agency’s that its enactment will be essential in addressing the lingering concern of early child-bearing and motherhood among a great number of our juvenile Filipino girls.”

Even the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shared concern over teenage pregnancies in the Philippines, reiterating the need for the government to come up with a solution. It pointed out that teenage pregnancies do not only affect the health of young mothers but also their education and future.

“This concerning trend, which has been observed even before the pandemic, underscores an underlying and pervasive issue—that adolescents are unable to realize their full sexual and reproductive health and rights,” said the UNFPA, supporting calls for the passage of the APPB.

Under the APPB, there will be an Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Inter-Agency Council that will formulate and implement policies on sexual and reproductive health. It will also cover prevention, counseling, and post-delivery care for teenage mothers.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the bill, doubled down last year on the importance of the measure.

“Enacting a law preventing adolescent pregnancy will save young girls from the clutches of maternal death, unemployment, poverty, improve their future, and reinforce their self-esteem,” said Lagman.

(PM)

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