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The fundamentals of sex education may be covered in health class, but teenagers may not hear or grasp everything they need to know. The Philippine Population Commission (PopCom) has expressed concern about the apparent increase in pregnancies among girls between the ages of 10 and 14 in 2022, the minor decline in teen births shows in the findings between 15 to 19 years old.
According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in the year 2020, over 2,113 pregnancies were confirmed for female preadolescent. Even so, the Department of Health (DOH) saw an increase in this figure, which reached 2,354 in 2021. The following year, however, it slightly reduced to 2,299 early childbearing instances.
Meanwhile, according to findings from the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), teen fertility rates declined from 13.7% in 2013 to 6.8% in 2021. These findings, however, scare some experts and groups that advocate for ending teen pregnancy. Plan International Philippines, a non-government organization that promotes the welfare of children, is demanding the proper implementation of comprehensive sex education (CSE) to enable young men and women to develop a sense of responsibility when engaging in acts of physical intimacy.
Young people make about one-third of the population in the Philippines. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, which was passed in 2012 and integrates sexuality education into the existing curricula for students in kindergarten through grade 12, has not yet been completely put into practice.
The Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) were released by the Department of Education in 2018 to address the rising numbers of teen pregnancies, sexual assault, and STIs like HIV among young Filipinos.
Teenagers who are well-informed and given sufficient information about relationships, sex, and the effects of safe and unsafe sex may be able to avoid diseases and make wise, responsible decisions in many situations.
