The problem with the teen pregnancy prevention bill

Sex education has been a subject taught in the public school system since 2012 for students aged 10-19 due to the passage of the Reproductive Health Care law. Since then, and noting that the Philippines is still predominantly Catholic, the matter of sex education focuses on modesty and purity, including the 6th and 9th Commandments, with parents being the primary source of teaching done privately at home.

Most recently, the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) bill in the Senate was scrutinized by lawmakers, civil groups and even President Marcos Jr. himself on the teachings aimed at young learners due to a provision in the CSE bill under Senate Bill 1979, particularly found in section six of the bill that states the CSE will be integrated in the school curriculum guided by the Department of Education and international standards.

In the past week or so, many of us received messages and petitions on the matter that raised concerns, especially for parents and even grandparents, who fear for the young children in their families. Some of them even asked me if this bill would be pursued, as this was to them one of their reasons for migrating to another country. Thankfully, the President spoke up adamantly on the issue expressing that he was extremely shocked and appalled by some of the contents of SB 1979.

To be clear, however, it seems it is unknown to many that the CSE has been integrated into the K-12 curriculum even before this issue came out on how it was to be implemented under the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill. In 2018, the DepEd released the policy guidelines on the CSE implementation in all public and private elementary, junior and senior high schools nationwide. Signed by former secretary Leonor Briones under DepEd Order No. 31 series of 2018, the CSE was crafted as a “curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality that is scientific, age- and developmentally-appropriate, culturally and gender-responsive and with a rights-based approach.”

In its policy guidelines, the DepEd order also noted how the CSE teaches “life skills among learners to help them develop critical thinking about risk behaviors related to poor reproductive health outcomes, enhance self-esteem and develop respectful intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships that enable them to deal with the complex changes happening in them throughout their lives.”

All these and more brings me back to the issue of international standards where comprehensive sex education has provoked vigorous opposition, with many parents considering this vulgar and do not want their children to be learning it in school. So where exactly has sex education failed? That is the question.

Sex education is not new; however, comprehensive sex education includes more than the regular knowledge about menstruation and human reproduction. It begins in kindergarten and goes all throughout high school as it has been said to sweep across disciplines, which includes the sexology of masturbation and massage.

This all boils down to how realistic the approach truly is in solving teenage sex problems and pregnancy. To be even more precise, what evidence does one have in claiming that comprehensive sex education can achieve all of its stated goals that are able to respond to real life circumstances of teenagers today? Such opinions have been made mostly by Catholics who have been carefully studying the CSE bill and while there may be some that can contest to such statements, perhaps this can only be truly argued by proper evidence on effectiveness.

What sex educators are doing now when it comes to comprehensive sex education is actually described to be a training in sexual survival when we send our children into the world to fend for themselves. I am not that kind of parent and many Filipinos don’t seem to be either. If this bill will be instantly vetoed then rightfully so. The fact that senators have withdrawn their signatures is very telling as well. Sex education can be intimidating, yet God created sex; hence, a healthier approach to teaching the matter must be sought.