Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, June 30 urged the government to strengthen the implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and the social protection program for adolescent mothers.
Gatchalian made the call following the Commission on Population and Development’s (CPD) report that over 22,000 teenagers experienced repeat pregnancies.
Data from the CPD showed that those who experienced repeat pregnancies are usually aged 13 to 15.
“Napagkakaitan ang mga batang ina na magkaroon ng magandang edukasyon at ang paulit-ulit na pagbubuntis ay maaaring senyales ng pang-aabuso (Teenage mothers get deprived of a good education and repeated pregnancies could be a sign of abuse),” said Gatchalian.
“Mahalagang panagutin natin ang mga nang-aabuso sa mga batang kababaihan at tiyaking mabibigyan natin ng pangalawang pagkakataon ang mga batang ina (It’s important to criminally hold responsible those who abuse young girls and to make sure that we give these teenage mothers a second chance in life),” he added.
At the same time, Gatchalian called on law enforcers to strictly implement the laws that seek to protect young girls from sexual abuse and violence.
One of these is Republic Act No. 11596, which prohibits child marriages or marriages where one or both parties are under the age of 18.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education also noted that the law also protects those aged 18 or above who cannot fully take care of and protect themselves due to physical or mental conditions.
The said law, which also raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16, also prohibits the cohabitation of an adult with a child outside of wedlock.
According to the CPD, while the COVID-19 pandemic is a factor in the surge of adolescent pregnancies, cultural factors were also one of the reasons for the phenomenon. One example is when a teenage mother and the man who got her pregnant are forced to live together.
The CPD flagged the commonly wide age gap between a teenager and the man who got her pregnant, which shows unequal power relations and abuse in the relationship.
Gatchalian said one of the most important ways to protect girls is to keep them in schools, where they can learn CSE and access child protection programs.
He also emphasized the need to give young mothers the chance to be reintegrated into the education system.