Bishops to tackle sex education in next plenary

MANILA, Philippines - Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), bared yesterday that the controversial issue on sex education might be taken up in their plenary meeting next month.

Odchimar told the Church-run Radio Veritas that the proposal on sex education forwarded to them by the Department of Education (DepEd) has been sent to their legal department, which will study the proposal.

The legal team’s evaluation would then be forwarded to the CBCPs Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education (ECCE) and the Episcopal Commission on the Family (ECF).

The legal team would assess the implication if it is being legislated or if the government makes it a policy, he added.

Only after they have finalized their position would they set a meeting with DepEd officials.

Meanwhile, election lawyer Romeo Macalintal said the DepEd should work on the restoration of the moral values of the youth, instead of promoting sex education among students.

It seems to me that the Education department is lost and it does not know what it is going to do. We do not need sex education, what we need is to inculcate moral values, Macalintal told a news forum at the Ilustrado Restaurant in Manila yesterday.

He said the DepEd should work on restoring Filipino values that seem to have been forgotten by the present generation.

They should go back to the time when the teenagers value their families.

He recalled that during his time they learned how to say the Panatang Makabayan (pledge of allegiance).

The youth should also develop the traits of boy scouts and the girl scouts such as being cheerful, courteous, clean, cheerful, loyal and obedient.

Macalintal said that children are now exposed to pornographic magazines and other reading material, the Internet, lewd television shows and movies.

He said that children, at the age of five, could watch and later imitate dancers on noontime television gyrating and wearing provocative outfits.

He also hinted that it was possible that a condom or contraceptive manufacturer was behind the promotion of sex education.

I am just hoping that whoever would be appointed as DepEd secretary would study the matter closely. It would be easy to inculcate moral values to the youth and to our families, Macalintal added.