Cartoon By: Aaron Paul C. Caril
EDITORIAL
Let’s talk about human dignity, not sex
The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is closely monitoring the alarming trend among Filipino girls, particularly concerning the hike in the number of very young adolescent mothers under 15 from 2,411 live births to 3,343 in 2023. These figures, released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, increased by 6.6%.
Repeat pregnancies also remain a major issue. In 2023, 38 young girls under 15 had repeat pregnancies. Data also show that 17 women had five or more live births before they turned 20.
In 2020, there were 56,428 live births among 10—to 17-year-old mothers. Earlier in 2017, at least 2,000 10—to 14-year-old Filipinas were pregnant. More than half of these pregnancies identified fathers in their 20s or older.
This situation is the problem that SB 1979, sponsored by Senator Risa Hontiveros, intended to solve. Under the proposed bill, the State intends, among other things, to provide full and comprehensive information to adolescents that can help them prevent early and unintended pregnancies and their life-long consequences, a proposed solution to the alarming increase in teenage pregnancies.
But no less than President Bongbong Marcos Jr. echoed what the fierce critics of the bill have been spreading on social media, such as leading children aged 0 to 4 years old to get taught how to masturbate and children having the right to try different sexualities.
Another prominent figure giving face to the opposition against the bill is Former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who pointed out that the Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) that the bill seeks to implement will be in line with “international standards set by UNESCO and the World Health Organization.”
Sereno said this curriculum by international organizations has provisions about teaching or encouraging masturbation for children aged zero to four years old, and teaching “bodily pleasure” or “sexual rights” to children ages six to nine.
Senator Hontiveros rebutted that the bill does not contain a provision on childhood masturbation. She, however, removed the words “international standards” from the bill, thus admitting that UNESCO’s and WHO’s standards may not be morally and culturally acceptable in the Philippines.
The proposed CSE under SB 1979, controversial it may be, exposes a problem crying out for a solution. A state-imposed sex education is a potential solution that has to be balanced with the rights of the child, particularly the child’s right to receive age-appropriate, morally, and culturally appropriate information.
Just because sex is too sensitive for public discussion does not mean we should shun away from finding a solution to the problem at hand. There are other aspects of the CSE aside from sex. Rather than focusing on sex that appeals to prurient interests, let’s talk about educating the youth on their overarching right to human dignity.