Premarital sex highest in MM, C. Luzon

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A study released by the Commission on Population (Popcom) revealed that Metro Manila and Central Luzon have the most number of youth who have engaged in premarital sex.

The 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS 4) covering 18,547 households nationwide indicated that at least one of three Filipinos aged 15 to 24 had sex before marriage, which is an increase of more than 20 percent compared to findings reported 10 years ago.

The Popcom regional office here released the results of the national study, which also showed that 49.9 percent of the youths in households in Metro Manila admitted to having had premarital sex, followed by 39.1 percent in Central Luzon.

The survey also indicated that of the youths who admitted having premarital experience, 35.5 percent were males while 28.7 percent were females.

The study showed a smaller gap between males and females as it noted that a similar study conducted 10 years ago indicated 31.2 percent were males while 16 percent were females.

YAFS 4 also reported that of those who have engaged in premarital sex, 78 percent did not use protection.

The study is a joint project of the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation.