Senator Pia Cayetano stressed the importance of teaching "age-appropriate" sex education amid the backlash on Senate Bill (SB) No. 1979, otherwise known as the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023.

In an interview over DWIZ on Saturday, Jan. 18, Cayetano said that she had nothing against a bill that was specifically targeted to address the current adolescent pregnancy crisis.

She mentioned that the Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenting Law that she authored, sponsored, and fought for, already provides for age-appropriate reproductive health education.

"Can I just share with you what is age-appropriate sexual education? It’s children knowing their proper body parts," she said.

"Kasi noong bata ako, sabi ng classmate ko ang tawag daw doon sa personal body part ng babae which is sa english, vagina, is flower. Nalito ako. 'Sabi ko, may flower ba doon, mom?' Kasi flower daw yung tawag doon. (When I was a child, a classmate of mine said that the term for a woman's personal body part, which is called "vagina" in English, is "flower." I was confused and asked my mom, "Is there a flower there?" because that’s what they called it). So proper, even just knowing the names of your body parts is already age-appropriate, ganoon lang yon (that's just it)," she explained.

Cayetano shared that she's alarmed by instances of molestation even in safe spaces.

"It can happen, na mismo in safe spaces for our kids, namomolest sila (that even in safe spaces for our kids, they can get molested). I wanted my son to be able to protect himself, “basta walang nagta-touch sayo (just make sure no one touches you).” Ganun lang naman (That's just it), and that is age-appropriate," she added.

The senator also pointed out that great educators are well aware of this, "So President Marcos, along with [Department of Education (DepEd)] Secretary Sonny Angara, knows that we cannot remain blind to these issues."

"We cannot pretend that these things don’t happen. However, there are appropriate ways to address them.

"I’ve been a lawmaker for almost two decades. It is rarely black and white. Sasabihin mo wag mag educate? Eh paano? (Are you saying not to educate? But how?)  Where do you think these kids will get their information? On TikTok?" she said.

"You want them to learn on TikTok or do you want to pretend that they are not curious? They will find out," she added.

Cayetano said that she already spoke with Senator Risa Hontiveros, the bill's author, on the improvements that she can contribute to tthe bill.

Hontiveros already dismissed some criticisms hurled to the bill as "false information".

She clarified that there were no provisions regarding the teaching or encouragement of masturbation to children aged zero to four years old, or any instruction that supposedly teaches "bodily pleasure" to children aged six to nine years old, or that children will be taught their "sexual rights".