By Danilo P. Padua, PhD

In the last few years, teenage pregnancy in the country registered an alarming increasing trend. It is of much concern, that the Cordillera region is noted to have one of the highest cases of such pregnancies.
It is an unsavory crown that no one is really proud of. It is a real, definite sign that there is a breakdown of something somewhere-in the home, in the school, in religious groups?
The reality is staring at everyone right in the face. Why is it happening?
I have not yet known of a real study under the Philippine setting that aimed to dissect the problem. Maybe there was, but was not given widespread media play up that it deserves. I am aware though of a scientific study in a higher education institution in the region where freshmen and sophomore students were surveyed for their sexual experiences.
That was conducted before the 21st century or before the advent of 2000s. The result was actually published in a local journal. That was a time when the K-12 educational program was not yet in place. Respondents were therefore mainly teenagers at the age range of 17-19 years. The result showed that more than 25% of the surveyed students already had sexual experiences. Pregnancies though were not a part of the study. That result was already a portent of things to come.
Comes now Senate Bill 1979, already on its 3rd reading. It was actually filed middle of 2023 in the 19th Congress, by senator Risa Hontiveros, together with 4 other senators as co-authors. It was called, Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023. It is supposed to contain the bloating teenage pregnancies.
Among others, it talks about comprehensive sexuality education which will be integrated in school curriculum at all levels. According to senator Hontiveros, the Bill when enacted into a law, shall be for the best interest of the child, and will prevent teenage pregnancies.
There are so many individuals and groups though who are strongly opposed to the said bill. They talk about the folly of using international standards for sexual education. They said among others, that the bill promotes homosexuality and bisexuality, contradicts constitutional and spiritual values, promotes early sexualization, introduces topics about abortion, pre-marital sex, abortion, etc. at a very young age when they are not yet ready for such.
There is even an online petition to reject the Bill, to which I registered my unequivocal rejection of it becoming a law.
After reading and slowly rereading the proposed law, I found it so broad that I could not understand how it could ever be implemented. Besides, there are too many agencies to be involved such that that there is no clear cut lead in the implementation of the law.
The Bill defines adolescents as those with ages ranging from 10-19. Part of Section 11 says: “MTRCB shall review their existing guidelines to ensure that no television programs promote and encourage unsafe sexual activities among adolescents.” It goes without saying that it is okay for 10-year-olds to indulge in sex as long as it is safe. Horrific.
Even Without the benefit of a scientific study, discerning people think that some factors that may cause teenage pregnancies are the following, (singly or a confluence of them): Deployment of OFW parents in various countries worldwide, leaving the care of their children to others; Influence of media and films where teenagers are portrayed engaging in casual sex; The proliferation of young movie actresses, singers, models (who are being idolized by other teenagers), who even flaunt their being single moms out of wedlock; Lack of time of busy parents to attend to their children; Presence of other laws like Child protection act; Lack of determination of religious groups to instill discipline in their flock; Easy access to pornographic materials on line, even by young people; peer group influence.
It is the above factors that should be studied well to come up with a law responsive to the teenage pregnancy problem. Definitely not Senate Bill 1979.
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