The Child Rights Network (CRN) and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) have lauded the passage on second reading of House Bill No. 79 on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention which would empower tools to address the increasing cases of adolescent pregnancy in the country.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranks second to Laos on cases involving adolescent pregnancy. Published reports stated that from 2016 to 2021, birth rate among adolescents aged 10 to 14 had increased by 20 percent.
Based on government data from 2016 to 2020, one in four births to adolescent mothers was fathered by man three to five years older. Worse, the CRN and PLCPD also revealed that six to seven percent of babies born to these adolescent mothers during the same period have fathers who were a decade older than the mothers.
House Bill 79 seeks to have the reproductive health (RH) services available to ages 18 below without the consent of a legal guardian.
The proposed legislation also would have young individuals below 15 years of age who begun childbearing, experienced sexual abuse, miscarriage or are sexually active should freely access RH services.
In a statement, CRN and PLCPD said: "We thank the House of Representatives for swiftly approving the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill on its second reading last Aug. 30. To get past the second reading is often the toughest part in the legislative process. This marks the bill’s furthest progress, proving that we have come a long way in destigmatizing the issue of adolescent pregnancy."
CRN, the largest alliance of organizations and agencies pushing for children’s rights legislation in the Philippines, and PLCPD, the lead convenor of CRN, said that the future generation needs to be informed and make equally sound decisions about their reproductive health.
The two groups said that information and decisions on adolescent pregnancy can be achieved through an expansive government program that aims to transcend gender, culture, and social boundaries.
They cited the efforts done on House Bill 79 by Rep. Michael Carlos Dy, chair of the Committee on Youth and Sports Development; Rep. Edcel Lagman, the bill's principal author; and Rep. Raoul Manuel, who authored a similar measure that was integrated into the approved version.
"Our aspiration through this bill is to nurture a community where every young Filipino is equipped with the knowledge to make informed choices about their sexuality and reproductive health, where they are protected from sexual and gender-based violence, and where they can readily access government services – places where they won’t face judgment but will instead receive guidance as they navigate their adolescent years," CRN and PLCPD said.
The two groups urged the Senate “to align with the House in giving this bill the urgency that the national government has declared and to work towards its passage at the soonest possible time.”
"Our endorsement is strongly supported by the voices of children and young people engaged in our consultations, who have consistently highlighted adolescent pregnancy as a paramount issue for their generation,” they stressed.