7 senators withdraw support for teen pregnancy measure

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SEVEN senators yesterday withdrew their signatures from the Committee Report on Senate Bill No. 1979 or the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill, saying more discussions are needed amid various concerns stakeholders have raised on the proposed measure’s provision for Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

In separate letters addressed to Senate President Francis Escudero last Tuesday, Senators Joseph Victor Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Cynthia Villar, and Christopher Go said “it is our position that further dialogues with stakeholders are essential in order to accurately dispel misconceptions and remove objectionable portions from the bill.”

Ejercito, in a chance interview, said: “Before we pass the law, we just want to be sure.”

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Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada, in a letter to Escudero, said he has also withdrawn his signature after carefully considering the “sentiments and grave concerns of various private organizations that have expressed strong opposition to the proposed legislation.”

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said: “I henceforth disassociate myself from Senate Bill No. 1979 and thus withdraw my signature from Committee Report No. 41. I find myself in conflict with the possible outcomes should the said legislative measure be enacted into law.

“Addressing critical issues, such as adolescent pregnancy and supporting comprehensive protection measures for adolescent parents, I believe that certain aspects of the proposed legislation require further refinement to better align with my advocacies and the interests of our constituents,” he added.

Villar, in a statement, said the withdrawal of her signature in the Committee Report and co-authorship of the bill “does not signify a rejection of the bill’s objectives but is a gesture of respect for the concerns raised and a commitment to support a version that better reflects the values of our people and gains broader acceptance.”

Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros, principal author and sponsor of the bill, said she understands the sentiments of her colleagues as they may have some considerations in mind about the bill.

Hontiveros earlier said the Committee Report has garnered 18 signatures from senators.

But with the present controversies, she said she plans to file a substitute bill that would address the issues against SB No. 1979.

“Nevertheless, I hope that they will read the substitute bill that I plan to file which will take into consideration the concerns of various stakeholders,” she said.

She added that the withdrawal of her colleagues’ signatures from the Committee Report gave her “much thought to the opposition raised against the bill.”

“Mr. President, I am saddened that the discussions on the bill have been muddled by so much disinformation. They are saying that masturbation is encouraged in 0-4-year-old children, anal sex, oral sex, and so many more concepts inappropriate to children. The country was terrified. But I will repeat, those things are not in the bill, and I will assure you that such provisions will never be included in any bill that I will push for,” she said.

Amid the concerns, Hontiveros said she has deleted in the bill the provision that CSE would be guided by international standards, and CSE would be taught to adolescents or those aged 10 years old and above, while they have also introduced a provision that guarantees academic and religious freedom.

Hontiveros filed an amended bill late Wednesday afternoon.

Committee Report No. 41 of SB No. 1979 was reported out in March 2023 by the joint committees on women, children, family relations, and gender equality; social justice, welfare. and rural development; health and demography’; and finance.

Several cause-oriented groups recently aired concerns on certain provisions such as that which says that CSE will be integrated into all levels of the school curriculum based on international standards, including that of the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Hontiveros had earlier belied this.

Sen Joel Villanueva earlier said he would block the passage of the bill since Section 6 of SB No. 1979 (Age Development-Appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education) is questionable.

Portions of Section 6 reads: “The CSE shall be a compulsory part of education, integrated at all levels with the end goal of normalizing discussions about adolescent sexuality and reproductive health and remove stigma at all levels. The Council shall ensure that the CSE is medically accurate, culturally sensitive, rights-based, and inclusive and non-discriminatory towards LGBTQIA adolescents.”

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President Marcos Jr. earlier this week said he would veto Senate Bill No. 1979 if it is passed in its current form since he found some “woke” elements which he described as “ridiculous” and “abhorrent.”

Hontiveros, in an interview with GMA-7’s Unang Balita yesterday, said the President’s remarks to veto the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act is “very premature.”

Hontiveros said she does not know what version of the bill Marcos has read even as she reiterated that there are no provisions in the proposed measure that encourage children to masturbate or try different sexualities.

“Common sense dictates that we will only include provisions that aim to help protect, support, and teach our children based on the Constitution and the context of our country’s culture,” she added.

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