SEN. Raffy Tulfo yesterday pushed for the stricter sale of liquor that he said would help prevent pregnancies among adolescents.
During a Senate committee hearing on rising teenage pregnancies, Tulfo said adolescents often engage in drinking bouts with male friends, some of whom are way older than they are, and unknowingly engage in sexual acts.
“Teenagers get pregnant due to drinking sprees. So, I am suggesting that we craft a legislation that will require all stores selling alcoholic drinks to secure a license,” Tulfo said in the hearing conducted by the committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
He said the license of a store found violating the law should be “cancelled forever,” adding if they persist, they should be meted with imprisonment.
Tulfo said he will also recommend that stiffer penalties be imposed on adults who buy liquor on behalf of minors.
He said there should also be strict monitoring of clubs, hotels, and motels to make sure that minors do not get in.
He said the PNP, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Education should coordinate with social media platforms to implement the know-your-client policy since some of them stream programs which entice minors to engage in sexual activities.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, panel chairman, said she conducted the first hearing to address the “alarming increase” on pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds based on resolutions filed by her colleagues.
Citing records from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Hontiveros said pregnancies among the 10 to 14-year-old bracket increased from 2,113 births recorded in 2020 to 2,299 in 2021.
“Last 2021, it was reported that there were 386,000 Filipino girls (or 6.8 percent of girls aged 15 to 19) who have begun child bearing. This translated to around 306,000 girls who have already given birth, and 79,000 girls who are then pregnant with their child,” Hontiveros said.
“These numbers, believe it or not, are an improvement of the childbearing rates reported a decade ago, when the teenage childbearing rate was at 13 percent,” she added.
She said there is an urgent need to improve the current legal framework that limits the remedies addressing the prevention of teenage pregnancies.
Tulfo said that problems on teenage pregnancies “are difficult to address because there is no one formula” to prevent it.
“Each incident comes with its own story. But I believe that going back to basics and to the root of the problem will be our best bet. The program laid down is most admirable because it makes use of what we already have — our schools, our parents, and even the youth community to which these teenage women belong,” he said.
“Strengthening these groups and arming them with the right skills, training, and formation building, will provide the best support for the adolescent youth. We must strengthen the Filipino family and the Filipino family values,” he added.
Tulfo said most teenagers have been longing for “genuine love” in the family but they often find it elsewhere.
“Teens go looking for this love in other forms because of over-exposure to promiscuous materials online. It is so accessible and free. We must reassess our values formation for our children,” he said.
Sen. Robin Padilla said lawmakers should craft a measure which will define the freedom of social media platforms.
“I hope we in the Senate and the House of Representatives can have the right description of what freedoms in social media are. We will just be wasting time and money if we cannot limit that freedom,” Padilla said.
Sen. Imee Marcos said a task force should be in place to implement EO 141, signed by former President Duterte which declared the prevention of teenage pregnancies as a national priority.
Marcos came up with the suggestion after Romeo Dongeto, executive director of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development, reported during the hearing that the EO was not strictly implemented even if it had an action plan.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing much that happened in the national action plan… We are expecting that the Department of Education will respond to the EO by expediting the rollout of the comprehensive sexuality education. Unfortunately, up to now, it has yet to be implemented,” Dongeto said.
