Teen pregnancy bill ‘effectively dead’ – solon

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CAGAYAN de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez yesterday said the controversial bill seeking to promote sex education and prevent teenage pregnancies is now “effectively dead” with the commitment of President Marcos Jr. to veto it even if it has been passed by Congress.

“We laud the President for this commitment to veto this bill as approved by the House of Representatives, and it is now being discussed in the Senate. His statement speaks volumes of his moral values,” Rodriguez said. “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,” Rodriguez said.

The President on Monday vowed to veto the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act if it is enacted in its current form, describing Senate Bill No. 1979 as “abhorrent,” “appalling,” a “travesty,” and “full of “absurdities.”

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The President said he feels “strongly about teaching kids age-appropriate lessons and raised concerns about very young children learning about masturbation and trying different sexualities.”

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, principal author of the bill, said such objections and comments to its provisions “have no basis and are not in the SB No. 1979.” She reiterated that she and co-authors of the bill are open to discussing provisions in the proposed legislation in the Senate plenary.

On Friday, Rodriguez filed House Resolution 2174 urging the House of Representatives to recall its approval of the bill.

The House approved the bill on Sept. 5, 2023 and subsequently sent it to the Senate, which has a separate but similar version.

Rodriguez said the measure is “deceptive” and also violates several provisions of the Constitution and the Family Code, including a prohibition against a bill having more than one topic.

He said many provisions of the bill aim to institutionalize Comprehensive Adolescent Sexuality Education (CASE), which is a different and separate subject matter from adolescent pregnancy.

“This is violative of Article IV, Section 26, Paragraph (1) of the Constitution,” he said quoting the section which states that: “Every bill passed by Congress shall embrace only one subject matter which shall be expressed in the title thereof.”

The veteran lawyer-lawmaker said HB No. 8910 “is very deceptive considering that while a reading of the title of the bill will show that it deals with the prevention of adolescent pregnancies and protection of adolescent parents, the bill in fact is mainly on institutionalizing CASE.”

“The two chambers should rewrite it to delete provisions which violate the constitutional, natural and primary right of parents to rear and educate their children and offensive to the sense of morality of parents, teachers, children, and the general public. The final copy should be acceptable to them and the President, who has to sign it for it to become a law,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also echoed the apprehensions expressed by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and Public Policy Review Commission Chairperson former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that CASE, which is being promoted by three United Nations agencies, “is an international program…that will hyper-sexualize children at a very early age.”

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, founder of the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries, said: “I fully support the President’s position to veto the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023 if it is not amended. In fact, I believe this bill should not even be passed in the first place.”

“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,” said Abante.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said that he will initiate an investigation on Senate Bill No. 1979 “next week or the week after.”

Gatchalian said the Committee on Basic Education will conduct the inquiry to find out how DepEd is implementing CSE through Department Order No. 31 after several concerns on the bill were brought to his attention, specifically by the Christian community.

In a separate statement, he said the inquiry aims to determine if the DepEd is implementing CSE in accordance with the mandate of RA 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act of 2012.

“It is worth noting that Section 14 of the RPRH Law already calls for the age and development-appropriate health education for adolescents,” he said.

“I maintain that the country needs to do more in reducing teenage pregnancies and HIV infections, but we must do so in a way that recognizes the important role of parents and parent-substitutes in the formulation and implementation of policies that will have a lasting impact on the well-being of our children,” he added.

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Gatchalian said RA 11908 or the Parent Effectiveness Service Program Act provides for these mechanisms and “I call for their effective implementation to address challenges facing our youth.”

Sen. Imee Marcos said she has also filed a bill on the “overwhelming problem of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines” since she acknowledges the problem.

“While the present bill is significantly different from mine, in no way does it intend to deprive parents of their primordial authority and guidance. Instead, the DepEd, DSWD, DOH and the entire community is precisely enjoined to assist parents with ‘medically accurate, culturally sensitive, non-discriminatory information,” Marcos said in a statement. – With Raymond Africa

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