THROUGHOUT the years, rising cases of teen pregnancies in the Philippines had become an issue that the society have dealt with. 

Due to its continuous increase, the Philippines tops the countries with the highest pregnancy rates in Asia.

In 2022 alone, a 35 percent increase was seen in the statistics of adolescent pregnancy amongst teenage girls aged 10-14. The number of cases had climbed up from 2,320 in 2021 to an alarming increase of 3,135. 

Because of this, the consequences of these become a burden not only to the physical being of the young mother and child, but also to their mental well-being and future.

Contributing factors of teen pregnancies

Cultural and religious beliefs: 

Living in a conservative country like the Philippines, talks relating to sex have become unacceptable and a taboo. For the conservative elders; topics of sex are often considered as a “dirty” topic that shall not be discussed and in consequence of this belief—topics that need to be discussed end up being stigmatized. 

Despite the attempts at progressing, the country is still tied down with the cultural and religious beliefs that shaped the attitude towards the values and behaviours around sexuality, family and marriage. 

Being tied-down close to their Catholic influence that strongly opposes the use of contraceptives and other forms for family planning, this religious belief created barriers for young people who are seeking contraception and other information about safe sex. In consequence, this contributes to a higher risk of unintended pregnancies.  

Aside from the said religious beliefs, some families who are mostly tied down in their conservative beliefs tend to avoid discussing these kinds of topics to their children due to stigma.

Limited access to comprehensive education

Thanks to the internet, information regarding safe sex, the use of contraceptives, and much more information related to sex education—people are now able to do a quick google search about what they want to know. 

While the convenience of having internet connections is something that we are all using, some areas in the country weren’t able to have the same privilege like other people. Not everyone can easily access the internet, so having a comprehensive sex education; especially for teens who are living in rural and isolated areas is a must.

Unfortunately, Filipino students don’t really have comprehensive access when it comes to sex education and because of this, students lack effective school mentoring and programs that can reduce the rates of teen pregnancy. 

Marcos threatens to veto sex education due to woke contents 

Just recently, the proposed adolescent pregnancy prevention act came under fire after President Marcos due to its “woke” and “abhorrent,” critique. 

Senate Bill no. 1979, widely known as the “Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act,” aims to usher a comprehensive sex education across the Philippine school. The bill is a piece of legislation aimed to address the root causes of adolescent pregnancy. 

The bill was filed by Senator Risa Hotiveros along with her colleagues Imee Marcos, Bong Revilla, Bong Ro, Raffy Tulfo, and former senator Sonny Angara as co-authors in March 2023. 

In the same year, the House of Representatives passed its counterpart bill. 

On the proposed curriculum, the SB 1979, CSE is described as the “process of acquiring complete, medically accurate, relevant, age-appropriate, developmentally appropriate, and culturally sensitive information and skills on matters relating to the reproductive system, its functions and processes, human sexuality, as well as forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, and gender roles.”

According to the bill, the CSE will cover topics such as:

• human sexuality
• informed consent
• adolescent reproductive health
• effective contraceptive use
• disease prevention
• HIV/AIDS and the more common sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• hygiene
• healthy lifestyles and health-seeking behaviors and practices
• gender sensitivity, gender equality and equity
• teen dating
• gender-based violence
• sexual abuse and exploitation
• peer pressure
• women’s and children’s rights
• Pornography

The bill stated that the purpose of the bill is to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values to make informed and responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships. 

It also emphasized that the delivery and implementation of CSE will not be left to the discretion of teachers and school administratiors. “It shall be integrated into the school curriculum, guided by DepEd and international standards.”

Upon the proposed bill towards comprehensive sex education, many critics interpreted that young children will be taught masturbation, even being echoed by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

According to him, it is “abhorrent” that four-years-old will be taught “how to masturbate” within the proposed bill. 

Senator Risa Hontiveros later defended the bill, stating that the said “masturbation” is nowhere to be found in the measure–assuring the public that they have no intention of copying any international standard. 

Either way, they’ll still do it. It’s up to us to guide them. 

With the news being talked around the nation, Gen-Z’s came to share their thoughts with republicasia regarding the sex education bill. 

“Either way, they’ll still do it,” said 20-year-old Anna. “The problem with some Filipinos kasi is that they’re not really open with the idea that children can do it too. Sure, elders can give them warnings all the way pero what made you think that they’re not gonna act upon it?” 

Anna shared that having to explore such acts is normal especially when you’re at the age where your body is starting to develop sexually also known as puberty. 

“Sure, we can always just say “huwag mong gawin yan kasi ganito ganyan,” but is it really enough to just go with that?” 

Anna continues to note that giving them warnings won’t just be enough and the best thing that one can do in that situation is to just guide them without making them feel ashamed of it. 

“Sex education is not only limited with the idea of teaching them about human sexuality, as far as I know; sex education is also aimed to give these students information on the types of contraceptives they can use to prevent unwanted pregnancies and why they should not feel ashamed about it.”  

While information about contraceptives can be easily searched on the internet, being taught at school is still better because in this way, they’ll be taught more accurate information about it; especially that contraceptives such as pills can have a serious effect on one’s health. 

Same things were also said by 22-year-old Kevin but within the topic of sex education, Kevin also pointed out the importance of teaching students about responsibilities and what’s acceptable or not. 

“Karamihan ng topics that are tackled sa sex education are based on common sense and human decency na lang din.” They said. “Oo, pwede natin tong matutunan through our parents guidance, pero iba pa din talaga if may matututunan tayo sa school tungkol dito. Gaya nung veffects ng pills sa babae. Mas okay pa din talaga if may knowledge tayo on the health effects noon.” 

“Maliban doon sa health, syempre for sure tuturuan din sila about doon sa socio-economical effect ng teen pregnancies. Yes, karamihan doon ay common sense na lang pero mas okay pa din talaga pag may datas and studies diba?” 

The link between poverty and teenage pregnancies are commonly seen in the Philippines. 

While most young mothers would say that having a kid at an early age is a “blessing from God,” struggles in poverty is also something that students are educated more of according to Kevin.