By Perfecto T. Raymundo, Jr.
QUEZON CITY –– President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was asked on Thursday (Sept. 19) to have Law on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention as “Christmas gift” as 396 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and government agencies urged the Senate to pass the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Bill.
The Philippine Legislator’s Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) spearheaded the call on the Senate for the passage of the controversial bill.
The period of interpellation of Senate Bill No. 1979 started in August 2024.
In a press conference at Novotel, the advocates against teen pregnancy said that every day that the passage of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Bill is delayed is another day young girls remain vulnerable to sexual abuse, infections, high-risk pregnancies, and mental health struggles.
Rep. Raoul Danniel A. Manuel, author of the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill, called on the Senate to pass its counterpart bill so much so that the comprehensive sexuality education has not yet been fully appreciated.
Manuel noted that the attempts underscore the importance of passing the TPP Bill into law coupled with information dissemination on comprehensive sexuality education for the youth.
It is possible that in the soonest possible time the Senate will pass its counterpart bill and will undergo the Bicameral Conference Committee and later on passed into law during the 19th Congress.
Dr. Dexter Galban, Education Assistant Secretary for Operations, said that Comprehensive Sexuality Education is not only about education to educate the schoolchildren on “What to touch?” and “What not to touch?”
Galban noted that roughly 33 percent of teenage pregnancy is “repeat pregnancy”, saying that, “investing heavily on Alternative Learning mode”.
“One teenage pregnancy is one too many pregnancy. Even one teenage pregnancy is too much,” he said.
“In 2019, the NEDA declared a National Social Emergency on Teenage Pregnancy, which was partly eclipsed by the pandemic,” he added.
The Covid-19 pandemic hit hard the Philippines from March 15, 2020 until December 2022.
Mylin Mirasol Quiray, Head of the Knowledge Management & Communications Division of the Commission on Population and Development, said that they join the more than 400 civil society organizations and government agencies in calling on the Senate to pass the TPP Bill the soonest possible time.
“The CPD, together with the other stakeholders, are calling to immediately pass the TPP Bill,” Quiray said.
Elizabeth Angsioco, National Chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, said “We, together with the 400 civil society organizations and government agencies are calling on the Senate to immediately pass the Teenage Pregnancy Bill.”
“402 babies were born daily to girls aged 15-19 in 2022. Among girls aged 10-14, the number of pregnancies has been consistently increasing from 2,250 in 2018 to 3,135 in 2022,” Angsioco added.
“The Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill offer these and more. The passage of this bill into law will help protect our girls from abuse, untimely death, and loss of a bright future. No senator should go against this,” she stressed.
Angsioco pointed out that the right information is needed in order to address the “curiosity” of the youth in so far as sexual education is concerned.
“There is a strong social protection provision in the Bill,” adding that, “There is no regulatory provision in the Bill.”
“We are a secular nation. There is a separation between the Church and the State. Hence, we are only talking about the laws without touching on religious matters,” she added.
Judy Miranda, Secretary-General of the Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking, cited that teenage pregnancy is not only prevalent in the movies, but is now a “common thing” in the youth today.
“We are 14-million strong workers who are struggling to survive. We are fighting against the teenage pregnancy. We are one in calling for the passage of the Teenage Prevention Bill now,” Miranda said.
Kaith Distor, youth advocate from the Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking, who hails from the biggest barangay – Bagong Silang in Caloocan City – said that the youngest pregnant girl in the area is aged 9 years old.
Distor noted that the figures about teenage pregnancies, included some of the young girls living in Barangay Bagong Silang.
She expressed the hope that the Senate will pass the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Bill the soonest possible time.
Rom Dongeto, convenor of the Civil Rights Network and Executive Director of the PLCPD, said that the Philippines is one of the countries in the ASEAN with the highest number of teenage pregnancies.
Dongeto noted that there were 2,100 teenage pregnancies in 2020, and 2,299 pregnancies in 2021 based on the data from the Department of Health, adding that, 55.5 percent of which, were fathered by men aged 20 years old.
He said that The Bill will provide an opportunity for easy access to education, out-of-school youth, and other stakeholders.
Dongeto clarified that the Bill has no penalty provisions, adding that, there is a “Romeo & Juliet” provision.
He cited Republic Act 11648 or “Increasing the Age of Statutory Rape”.
Dongeto said that some P33 billion is the economic loss due to early childbearing, adding that, pregnant adolescents are forced to stop schooling, noting that, there are high risks of health complications that may lead to deaths of both the adolescent mother and child, stressing that, it brings intergenerational cycle of poverty among families of adolescent mothers.
Teen pregnancy is the leading cause of school dropouts in the Philippines.
This severely limits the potential of young boys and girls in teen pregnancies — an outcome that harms both their lives as well as their children’s lives, and costs the country billions in lost opportunity.
The House of Representatives has already approved its version of the bill, but the Senate’s counterpart bill has been stalled in the Plenary since March 2023.
“Time is running out, with only a few session days left before Congress breaks for the 2025 mid-term elections. Now, we tell our Senators: This is an issue that is just as important as today’s headlines and should have been prioritized yesterday,” the advocates stressed.
