Published in its print edition on January 25 – 31, 2025
TO be able to reduce cases of teenage pregnancies and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the Philippines, helping hands are needed not only from the national government and private organizations but primarily from the parents and local government units.
This could be a vital option as bugging issues continue to hound the anti-teenage pregnancy bill.
At this point, the suggestion of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Senate Committee on Basic Education chair, for the “full and effective implementation” of the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program Act (Republic Act 11908) could be a lifeline.
Parents must instill “responsible behavior among adolescents to protect them from the consequences of risky behaviors” as amplified during the hearing on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in the Senate.
Take a look at it: the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data shows that pregnancies among adolescents aged 15 to 19 have declined while pregnant very young adolescents aged 10 to 14 are increasing. Much more, HIV cases are also hiking.
Take for instance, pregnancies among very young adolescents more than doubled to 3,342 in 2023, a far cry from only 1,629 in year 2013.
As to HIV, the average number of newly reported HIV cases per month rise to 1,470 in the first half of 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) revealed. At least 34,415 of these infected, or 29 percent, were among the youth aged 15 to 24.
Parents must be regularly informed and educated on curbing teenage pregnancies and let their children know the consequences of being a mother early.
Local governments must also come into the picture and join hands with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the DepEd.
The Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) must also collaborate with schools and local governments in instilling the values. This can be inspiring as parents and parent-substitutes are strengthened of their knowledge and skills in fulfilling their parental duties and responsibilities.
Protecting children’s rights and fostering positive early childhood development, among others, would be guiding lights to curb teenage pregnancies.#
