Senate minority leader Senator Risa Hontiveros said she is willing to accept refinements to Senate Bill No. 1979 or the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act but insists that there are no provisions in the bill that runs counter to the country’s sex education policies.
Hontiveros stressed this out after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. himself said he was “shocked by some of the elements” in the measure.
The President said he himself is opposed to the risky clauses in the bill particularly one that would lead to the teaching of children about masturbation and the introduction of different sexualities that the bill reportedly encourages under the proposed Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).
But Marcos said he supports teaching children about human anatomy which is already present in the current curriculum.
“Mr. President, with all due respect, maliwanag na wala po sa bill kahit yung salita na (there is no word in the bill that says) ‘masturbation..’ Wala din po yung (There is also nothing about) ‘try different sexualities’,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“CSE contains the very same things you support: teaching kids anatomy, consequences of early pregnancy. Yan po ang atin ding sinusulong (That is also what we are pushing),” she said.
“I am willing to accept amendments to refine the bill so we can steer it to passage,” Hontiveros said.
The senator earlier dispelled the “facts” circulating about SB No. 1979 saying these are mere misinformation.
Nevertheless, Hontiveros said all questions about the bill would be discussed once the Senate floor debates on the bill are opened.
Sen. Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, lauded the President for supporting his earlier warning against the passage of SB 1979.
“While we agree that there is a need to address the rising cases of adolescent pregnancy in the country, it should not be at the expense of our children’s innocence and should not be detrimental to their health, studies, and morals,” Villanueva said.
“Let us also be reminded of the importance of families as stated in our Constitution which recognizes the natural and primary right and duty of parents to rear their children,” he stressed.
Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri echoed Villanueva’s call and urged their colleagues in the Senate to carefully review the provisions of this bill.
“Let’s ensure that our legislative measures reflect the values and beliefs of the majority of Filipinos. Hindi natin dapat ipilit ang mga polisiya na maaaring magpahina sa moralidad at pagkatao ng ating kabataan (let’s not force policies that may weaken the morality and personality of our youth),” Zubiri said.
Zubiri said he doesn’t support the bill in its present form saying the goal to provide support to teenage mothers and address adolescent pregnancy can be achieved without resorting to adopting controversial sex education programs “that could do more harm than good.”
“This proposal does not align with our conservative values as a nation and could have serious repercussions on our youth. Instead of preventing adolescent pregnancy, baka magkakaroon pa tayo ng mas maraming (we may end up with more) adolescent pregnancy because of experimentation,” he pointed out.
“We have seen the effects of liberal sex education policies in other countries, where children as young as six years old are being taught how to use contraceptives and engage in sexual activities. We are a conservative society, and our cultural and moral values must be preserved,” Zubiri stressed.