Senate Bill 1979: Bill or Bust?

_{Rave Kozume | January 13, 2025}

    The senate bill 1979 or the “Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy act of 2023” has been making the rounds in the media after President Bong Bong Marcos had a controversial response to the bill. The bill was filed in the Philippine Senate on March 7, 2023, by sen. Risa Hontiveros, Imee Marcos, Sonny Angara, Raffy Tulfo, and Bong Revilla in the hopes of mitigating the concerning rise of teen pregnancy and teen parenthood in our country.

    This bill was proposed and filed in the hopes of lessening the amount of such concerning cases in our country and also to institutionalize social protection for teen parents. With provisions that they hope will ease the burden on teen parents and stop—or at least minimize the cases—of adolescent pregnancy.

These are the key provisions that the committee has agreed upon :

• Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): The bill proposes the implementation of age-appropriate sex education in all schools. This is done to equip adolescents with the proper knowledge regarding sexual intercourse. This also tackles contraceptive uses such as birth control, condoms, and other practices in order to perform intercourse safely. The Department of Education, with assistance from the Council and in collaboration with other relevant agencies, shall develop and promote educational standards, modules, and materials to promote comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools, communities, and other youth institutions.

• Reproductive Health Access: This seeks to ensure that adolescents have access to immediate reproductive healthcare facilities, including family planning and guidance for unwanted pregnancy. Additionally, this also provides guidance and support for living with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). With this, the senate anticipates that students will receive proper knowledge on sexual intercourse, the results of carrying out this type of action, and what has to be done after with teens 16-18 having access to this information while adolescents 15 and under requiring consent from parents or legal guardians before gaining access. In cases of pregnant adolescents, a wider spectrum of SRH (Sexual and Reproductive Health) services shall be made available to them and their unborn child spanning the prenatal until the postnatal stages of pregnancy and its respective health care requirements.

• Social Protection for adolescent parents: This outlines measures to support teen parents whether in education or in livelihood. Assuring every teen parent won’t experience any type of discrimination or ridicule by the public. In cases of pregnant adolescents, a wider spectrum of SRH (Sexual and Reproductive Health) services shall be made available to them and their unborn child spanning the prenatal until the postnatal stages of pregnancy and its respective health care requirements. Such services shall include the following: Maternal health services including pre-natal and post-natal check-ups and facility-based delivery, post-natal family planning counseling and services for both adolescent 2 parents, and workshops on couples counseling, parenting, and positive discipline for the parents.

    The bill has not been passed yet and is currently undergoing a second read-through. Yet, the president has shared his thoughts about the ongoing bill, supporting the CSE but viewing the bill as “abhorrent” and “too woke” for younger children. He expressed “I was appalled by some elements of that. All this “woke” that they are trying to bring into our system … That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous. It is abhorrent. It is a travesty of what sexual and sex education should be to the children.”  The bill hasn’t been passed yet but the president assures the people that he will reject it at all costs.

    Limited information is available about the perspective of different groups in society since opinions vary depending on the person. However, when the topic is about Comprehensive Sex Education, studies suggest that around 72% of students, 95% of educators, and 67% of parents agree with teaching the youth about proper sex education. People that are part of the percentage believe the effectiveness of teaching SexEd in schools to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. To provide accurate, age-appropriate information relevant to students’ lives. Lastly, to teach teens respect, consent, and responsible relationships, supporting students’ emotional and social growth.