President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Facebook)

House leaders have hailed President Marcos' pronouncement that he would veto the proposed anti-adolescent pregnancy bill, especially if its contents aren't amended.

Applauding the President’s statements on the controversial measure were Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr., and Pasig lone district Rep. Roman Romulo.

Rodriguez chairs the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Abante chairs the Committee on Human Rights, and Romulo chairs the Committee on Basic Education and Culture.

“We laud the President for committing to reject this bill as approved by the House of Representatives and as presently being discussed in the Senate. His statement speaks volumes of his moral values,” Rodriguez said in a statement Tuesday morning, Jan.21.

“If the bill’s objectionable provisions are not removed, this measure is headed for the graveyard. It is DOA (dead on arrival) at the Palace,” said the Mindanaoan.

In an interview on Monday, Jan. 20, the President said he has read the details of the Senate bill on sex education and preventing adolescent pregnancies.

"I was shocked and I was appalled by some of the elements of that (bill). All this woke that they are trying to bring into our system. That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous, this is abhorrent. This is a travesty of what sex education should be to the children,” he said. 

Abante echoed this in a manifestation before his congressman-colleagues in plenary Monday afternoon, Jan. 20.

"Mr. Speaker, the President has condemned this bill and said, that if this bill pass in both Congresses that he would veto it. So I would also like to commend our President for being pro-family and pro human rights, Mr. Speaker," he said.

In the same manifestation, Abante said he would file a resolution that would recall the previously approved House Bill (HB) No.8910, titled "An Act providing for a national policy in preventing adolescent pregnancies, institutionalizing social protection for adolescent parents". 

Rodriguez had previously filed a resolution to this effect. Abante, who is a pastor-preacher, had called HB No.8910 "garbage legislation".

In a subsequent statement Tuesday, Abante said: “While we should recognize the need to address adolescent pregnancy, we must address it in such a way that it does not violate the rights of our people—especially the freedom of religion.” 

“I am concerned that this bill could violate the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions, such as Baptist schools and Catholic schools. These schools have their own moral and doctrinal teachings regarding human sexuality and reproductive health, and forcing them to introduce sex education and reproductive health programs that contradict their deeply held beliefs would be an infringement on their rights,” added the founder of the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries.

Also backing President Marcos' promise to veto was Romulo. "I fully support the President on this matter," he said.

"As we pointed out in the meeting of the Committee on Basic Education last Wednesday, everyone wants a solution to the challenge posed by the increasing number of teenage pregnancies, an objective way of educating learners on the reproductive system age appropriate and on HIV and AIDS and so on but the vagueness of the language in the bills and in the RH (Reproductive Health) Law may lead to an abuse in its implementation," Romulo said.

"Let us review the implementation of the RH Law on this matter and study further the language used in the CSE (Comprehensive Sexuality Education) bill," he said.