“Pass the Teen Pregnancy Prevention bill now!” is the call of four hundred civil society organizations and government agencies to the Senate, as the bill remains stalled despite being a national priority since 2021 due to the rising number of adolescent pregnancies.
“Nanawagan talaga tayo sa mga colleagues sa kabilang chamber sa Senado na i-prioritize na ang batas na ito [We are really urging our colleagues in the Senate to prioritize this bill],” Raoul Manuel, Kabataan Partylist representative said in his opening statement during a media conference on the Teen Pregnancy Prevention bill last Thursday.
Despite the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention bill, or House Bill (HB) 8910, being approved in Congress with a landslide vote of 232-0 on its third and final reading, the Senate version of the bill remains pending.
There are only a few session days left before the adjournment from September 28 to November 3.
“Each passing day without the enactment of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Bill leaves young girls vulnerable to an array of dire consequences, such as sexual abuse, infections, high-risk pregnancies, and mental health struggles,” Child Rights Network (CRN) Philippines said in a statement.
The delay of the bill continues amid the rising number of live births among minors aged 10-17, increasing from 50,790 in 2021 to 56,574 in 2022, according to the data of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.
More than 25,000 live births, including second, third, fourth, and even fifth births, were also reported from pregnancies among minors in 2022.
But what concerns the proponent of the bill is the increase in live births among minors aged 10 to 14, which are regarded as below the age of sexual consent.
“It is really alarming since 2020 from more than 2,000 to more than 3,000 in 2022. These are indicative of sexual abuse,” Myline Mirasol Quiray, head of the knowledge management and communications division of the Commission on Population and Development said during the media conference.
“They are already considered as statutory rape as per Republic Act 11648, or an Act promoting stronger protection against rape and sexual exploitation and abuse.”
Ms. Quiray emphasized the urgency of enacting the bill to protect the youth and save the country from the annual economic loss caused by teenage pregnancy.
“If we pass this bill, we take care of the 10 to 14-year-olds, we take care of the 15 to 19-year-olds, and we address the P33 billion economic loss due to teenage pregnancy,” Ms. Quiray said.
Local government units (LGUs) should also pass ordinances and policies in line with Executive Order No. 141, which identifies adolescent pregnancy as a national priority, she added.
Comprehensive Sexual Education
One of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention bills seeks to incorporate comprehensive and age-appropriate sexual education into the curriculum to teach children about consent and bodily autonomy, helping to protect them from sexual abuse.
“Ang approach ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon mula Kinder hanggang Grade 12 iba’t-ibang bahagi ng CSE ang ibibigay natin sa mga bata [The approach of the Department of Education is to provide various components of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to children from kindergarten to grade 12],” Dexter Galban, assistant secretary for operations at the Department of Education (DepEd) said during the media conference.
CSE will begin at kindergarten, teaching children the proper names for their body parts.
As they grow older, the value of consent is taught, along with the differences between good touch and bad touch, and where to go if they experience sexual abuse.
And when they finally reach the appropriate age, the students will be taught about the importance of family planning.
If enacted, the bill seeks to address the gap where 44% of young Filipino females and 39% of Filipino males lack accurate materials about sex, often relying on inaccurate sources, primarily social media.
“This is also coming into time, and we hope to break through the noise. With so much noise online, it’s so easy for our learners to gain access to pornographic sites and other dangerous websites that can twist their understanding of sexuality,” Mr. Galban said.
Apart from CSE, the bill seeks to ensure that young mothers and fathers can continue their education and access social protection, healthcare, counseling, employment opportunities, and life skills training.
The bill will also eliminate the requirement for parental consent for minors seeking family planning services while activating various agencies and organizations to prevent repeated pregnancies.
“One teenage pregnancy is way too much already, because when we have teenage pregnancy, roughly 33% are repeat pregnancies, so we have to find ways to take care of them,” Mr. Galban said. – Edg Adrian A. Eva