EDITORIAL — Fine-tuning

Perhaps President Marcos and Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Risa Hontiveros should compare notes on Senate Bill 1979, to see if they are talking about the same measure, or if someone is spreading disinformation about the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill.

After stressing that sex education in school is “very, very, very important” to prevent teenage pregnancy, the President yesterday vowed to veto Senate Bill 1979. He announced this after reading the measure, saying he was “shocked and appalled” by “ridiculous… abhorrent… woke… absurdities” that he found in SB 1979.

Someone may have to clarify what the President read exactly, since there seem to be dramatically divergent perceptions of the bill amid reports that there is a fake version being circulated apparently to incite opposition to the measure. Senate President Chiz Escudero stressed that SB 1979 is still undergoing “the rigors of legislation.” Hontiveros, principal author of the bill, urged Marcos to give the measure a closer look even as she welcomed amendments and debates based “on facts, not fabricated fears.”

Hontiveros denied that the bill promotes teaching masturbation to four-year-olds, or that young children would be taught that they have the right to try different sexualities – a “woke absurdity” condemned by President Marcos. She stressed that the measure is not based on liberal sexual standards in Western Europe. Instead, she said it is a response to the rising cases of teenage pregnancy, which since 2019 has been identified as a “national and social emergency” by the National Economic and Development Authority.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed 3,343 cases of pregnancy among girls under age 15 in 2023 – up from the 3,135 recorded in 2022. Angelo Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children said 72 percent of adolescent pregnancies involved older men, which often indicated child abuse. Juan Antonio Perez III, former executive director of the Commission on Population and Development, said pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 had increased by 50 percent since 2018.

Hontiveros has given assurance that the bill will conform with Filipino values and culture, and will not be a copycat of liberal international standards of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Marcos, in his statement yesterday, reiterated his belief that sex education, “in terms of teaching kids the anatomy of the reproductive systems of male and female, is extremely important.” School children must be taught “the consequences of early pregnancy, the prevalence of HIV,” he said. Hontiveros said they are on the same page in this. Since both are in agreement on the urgent need to discourage teen pregnancies, this initiative can continue to be pursued, with cultural fine-tuning and precise wording to prevent misunderstanding and dispel fears.