Pass teen pregnancy prevention bill – groups

MANILA, Philippines —  The Senate should pass the long-delayed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill to address the rising teen pregnancy rates in the Philippines, according to nearly 400 civil society groups and state agencies.

“We are also calling on President Marcos to support the measure,” Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population Development (PLCPD) executive director Rom Dongeto said.

The measure was approved last year by the House of Representatives. Second reading of the bill at the Senate plenary has been pending since March 2023.

Cases of abuse, infections and high-risk pregnancies are increasing due to the Senate’s inaction, representatives of 396 groups and agencies said yesterday at a press conference in Quezon City.

On Monday, Marcos said “We have not done enough for the Philippines” to combat online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

Teen pregnancy is reportedly the leading cause of school dropouts among girls, with nearly 60 percent of dropouts attributed to pregnancies.

The Philippines is losing “roughly P33 billion in annual lifetime earnings because of teen pregnancy,” Education Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban said at a recent press conference in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, former congresswoman Sarah Elago of the Gabriela Women’s Party criticized the Department of Education (DepEd) for failing to allocate additional funds for comprehensive sex education.

Without proper funding, Elago said the bill’s implementation will fall short and leave many children unprotected.

“Another issue that we find concerning and alarming is the lack of public financing for adolescent reproductive health programs under DepEd,” she said.

Aside from the PLCPD, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) also called for the passage of Senate Bill 1979.

Other groups supporting the bill’s passage are the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking and Partido Manggagawa.

Consent, abuse

Live births among young Filipino women aged 10-17 have increased, according to the CPD.

Minors who gave birth increased to 56,574 in 2022 from 50,790 in 2021, the CPD said, citing civil registration and vital statistics data.

Live births among children aged 10-15, or below the age of sexual consent, significantly increased to 10,826 in 2022 from 8,914 in 2021, which is “higher than the pre-pandemic level,” the CPD noted.

“These are indicative of sexual abuse anecdotally since these are below the age of sexual consent,” CPD Knowledge Management and Communications Division chief Mylin Mirasol Quiray said at a press briefing in Quezon City.

Most alarming, Quiray said, is the increase in live births among children aged 10-14, as the number went up to 3,135 in 2022 from 2,319 in 2020.

“The situation underscores a broader societal failure to uphold and empower children and people to fully exercise their rights,” she said. –  Rhodina Villanueva