Manila: Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Ramon Revilla Jr. on Tuesday underscored the importance of protecting children and addressing adolescent issues that is consistent with existing laws and socially accepted norms.
According to Philippines News Agency, the senators made the statements after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. strongly criticized certain provisions of Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1979 or the teenage pregnancy prevention bill, particularly its perceived 'woke' approach to sex education. Marcos further emphasized the importance of parental rights in educating their children.
In a statement, Gatchalian said the Senate Committee on Basic Education, which he heads, will conduct an inquiry on the Department of Education's implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and its consistency with the mandate of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act or Republic Act No. 10354. 'It is worth noting that Section 14 of the RPRH Law already calls for age- and development-appropriate reproductive health education for adolescents,' he said.
He maintained that the country needs to do more in reducing teenage pregnancies and human immunodeficiency virus infections, but the role of parents and parent-substitutes is important in the formulation and implementation of policies that will have a lasting impact on the well-being of Filipino children. 'The Parent Effectiveness Service Program Act (Republic Act No. 11908) provides for these mechanisms and I call for their effective implementation to address challenges facing our youth,' Gatchalian said.
In a separate statement, Revilla reaffirmed his commitment to safeguarding children through SBN 1209, which he filed to create a framework that protects children from inappropriate content and supports adolescent parents. 'SBN 1209 aims to ensure that children are not exposed to bastardized concepts of sex, perversity, and vulgarity -- all of which contribute to adolescent pregnancy,' Revilla stated.
'We also want to provide support for adolescent parents to help them raise healthy and responsible children, breaking the cycle of 'children bearing children,'' he added. The senator highlighted the urgency of addressing issues such as underage rape, teenage pregnancies and child neglect.
'I will do everything in my power to protect our kids from obscenity and lewdness. We have to preserve the sanctity of procreation,' he said, as he pledged to oppose any provisions in SBN 1979 that contradict the principles of SBN 1209. 'Kung totoong itutulak 'yung mga pinangangambahan ng ilan sa ating mga kababayan, ako mismo, I will vote against it at haharangin ko na maipasa (If what some of our countrymen fear will really be pushed, I myself will vote against it and block its passage),' he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos clarified that SB 1979, though different from her version, does not undermine parental authority. 'My version of the bill tackled the overwhelming problem of teenage pregnancy. While the present bill is significantly different from mine, in no way does it intend to deprive parents of their primordial authority and guidance,' she said in another statement.
'Instead, the Department of Education, Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the entire community, are precisely enjoined to assist parents with medically accurate, culturally sensitive, non-discriminatory information.' She underscored the need for 'truthful and age-appropriate' sex education in schools, along with parental guidance, to address the alarming teenage pregnancy cases in the country.
With one out of 10 teenage girls pregnant or with a child, teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has been cited by the World Bank as both a moral issue and an economic setback for young women's education and future job prospects, she said. 'Given the plethora of false sex data in the media, the growing incidence of HIV and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), in addition to rising teenage pregnancy, I think truthful and age- as well as culturally- appropriate sex education in schools, together with parental guidance, is ever more important today,' Marcos said.
