Alfredo Tolentino

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supports the mandatory implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) program, a provision in Senate Bill 1979 or Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act, regarding it as a “very, very, very important” factor in raising awareness to children with the consequences of teenage pregnancy.

Photos Courtesy of Joe Torres/Presidential Communications Office.

Despite the bill’s provision on compulsory CSE receiving mixed responses and sparking debates among conservative groups, Marcos stressed the importance of letting children be knowledgeable about the options they have in the future.

“There are more teenage pregnancies, there are more single mothers, (and) there are more illnesses. [T]eenage mothers…don’t know how to (care for) themselves during pregnancy, what to eat. And when the baby is born, what to feed the child, how to take care of it,” Marcos said.

According to the policy guidelines previously set by the Department of Education (DepEd), CSE is “designed to ensure that the learners (receive) comprehensive and appropriate information that can advance gender equality and empowerment.”

The proposed implementation of CSE received negative feedback and denouncement from conservative group National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution (NCFC), citing parts of CSE promoting “inappropriate concepts’’ that threaten the “moral, societal and spiritual values” of children.

To fortify their opposition, NCFC launched Project Dalisay, a program that “seeks to safeguard the sanctity of the Filipino family and the innocence of our children by advocating for sex education that aligns with our cultural, religious, and constitutional foundation.”

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara welcomed these concerns and ensured that the CSE program would teach no “inappropriate concepts” and remain “age-appropriate and culturally relevant.”

Angara added that the current situation of rising early pregnancies, violence, and the increasing number of young Filipinos diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) calls for “scientifically accurate, realistic, and non-judgmental” data relayed to students.

“Nakatuon kami sa datos sa likod ng bawat polisiya. Kabilang na dito ang pinagdadaanan ng ating kabataan kagaya ng teenage pregnancy, HIV, and gender-based violence. We stand at a critical time in our commitment to the health and well-being of our youth. (DepEd) recognizes our role to shape life skills, values, and behaviors,” Angara said.

The Senate is set to deliberate the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act along with the mandatory implemenation of CSE on second reading after having its version on final reading passed by the House in September 2023.