The Commission on Population and Development-Cordillera Administrative Region (POPCOM-CAR) expresses concern over teenage pregnancy getting younger in the region.
In the data released by Bontoc, Mt. Province Municipal Civil Registrar (MCRO) following the recording of the youngest mother at the age of 13, the number of teenage mothers in 2022 has increased by 39.28% compared to the previous year. The MCRO has registered a total of 767 Live Births and 39 of which were to teenage mothers in 2022.
According to POPCOM-CAR Acting Regional Director Cecile A. Basawil, while data shows decreasing teenage pregnancy regionwide, recording a 13-year-old girl as a mother is very alarming because teenage pregnancy records are getting younger in the region.
She said “This is a point to push more and call on LGUs, CSOs, RLAs and other stakeholders and partners to strengthen sexual education so that root causes of adolescent pregnancies will be addressed through Executive Order 141, declaring teenage pregnancy as a national priority.”
In 2013, CAR was found to have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country based on the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFSS) 4 of UP Population Institute (UPPI).
However, in the latest 2021 YAFSS 5, CAR portrayed a large decline in teen pregnancy among 15 to 19 years old from 18.4% in 2013 to 7% in 2021. From the figures, it was found that 53.1% of youth in CAR aged 15-24 used contraceptives on their first pre-marital sex (PMS).
“In light of this, POPCOM is doing its mandates to prioritize and ensure the health and well-being of teenage mothers including their children as well as to avoid repeat teen pregnancy. We need to not only stop teen pregnancies from happening but to also protect those who are already young mothers to not have any more children while they are still in their teens.” she added.
POPCOM continues to collaborate efforts and initiatives in partnering with LGUs and CSOs in reducing teenage pregnancies through responsible sexuality, provision of effective life skills, support to the comprehensive sexuality education, effective information and service delivery network and inter-agency collaborative efforts and structure such as partnerships to ensure harmonized and well-collaborated planning, coordination, funding, implementation and monitoring of AHD-related interventions at the local level.
One of the continuing efforts of the Commission along AHD is its support to the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program of the Department of Education. Through POPCOM-CAR’s provision of technical assistance and training of teachers using the Sexually Healthy and Personally Empowered Adolescents (SHAPE-A) module by the end of 2022, POPCOM and DepEd CAR trained a total of 166 teachers from the six schools division of DepEd CAR on the SHAPE-A module.
SHAPE-A is an educational tool which aims to increase the awareness of young people on issues and concerns affecting them particularly on fertility awareness, sexual and reproductive health and equip young people with practical life skills to be able to deal with the demands of everyday life against risky sexual and non-sexual behavior.
Another program of the Commission is the implementation of the Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and their Children (SPPMC) that will be piloted in Baguio City. This aims to contribute to better and improved quality of life and well-being of adolescent mothers and their children through provision of financial assistance, support to health, education, family planning, basic life support training and assessment of nutritional status.
With the various concerns faced by the families today, we continue to appeal to the Local Chief Executives, to designate/appoint local population officers who will focus in implementing the Philippine Population and Development Program (PPDP) strategies in the localities, especially along adolescent health and development.**
