House, Senate told: Revise 'anti-teen pregnancy bill' or send to 'graveyard'

The House of Representatives and the Senate were urged on Tuesday to strike out some provisions considered violative of the law in the controversial anti-teenage pregnancy bill, which is expected to be vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairperson of the House committee on constitutional amendments, asserted that the proposed “Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act” will be effectively dead if both chambers obstinately pass the measure in “as presently worded.”

“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 warned. Otherwise, he said, the House and the Senate will waste “taxpayers’ money, time and effort.”

Marcos on Monday vowed to reject the Senate Bill (SB) 1979 if Congress passes it in its current form. The Chief Executive described it as abhorrent, with elements that promote “woke” ideologies.

“You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate, that every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous,” Marcos lamented.

“I’m already guaranteeing, this has not yet passed, [but] if this bill is passed in that form, I guarantee to all parents, teachers, and children, I will immediately veto it,” the President warned. 

Women’s group Gabriela appealed to Marcos to reconsider his position. 

“We need to break these cycles by ensuring every Filipino has access to comprehensive sexuality education in schools and communities, affordable and quality healthcare including reproductive health services, and safe spaces where they can ask questions and seek support without fear or judgment,” she said Gabriela Partylist’s first nominee Sarah Elago.

SB 1979 is the counterpart measure of House Bill 8910, passed by the lower chamber in September 2023. Both measures seek to prevent adolescent pregnancies, with some cases involving girls as young as 10 years old. 

The bills stirred up controversy and met strong opposition from conservative groups and some lawmakers, who took issue with the implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

The bills aim to institutionalize CSE that shall be implemented in schools at all levels in public and private basic education institutions with the end view of normalizing discussion about sex and gender. 

The CSE shall involve discussion on human sexuality, informed consent, effective contraceptive use, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, sexual abuse and exploitation, gender equality and equity, and gender-based violence, among others. 

The House’s version of the legislation provides full and comprehensive information to minors to ward off early and unintended pregnancy by giving them, among others, access to reproductive health information and services “without the need of consent from a parent or guardian.”

One provision of the bill states that if the minor’s parent or guardian refuses to give consent to give the minor access to health services, the latter can obtain it from a duly licensed and trained health service provider.

The National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution (NCFC) also expressed alarm about the institutionalization of the CSE, which may “undermine the innocence of children” and “strip away parental rights.”

The NCFC expressed strong disapproval of the program’s emphasis on sexual rights, which could be “interpreted as encouraging early sexual activity,” threatening “moral, societal and spiritual values” of Filipinos.

Rodriguez insisted that the House and the Senate rewrite the bill and “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.”

Last week, he filed House Resolution 2174 urging the House of Representatives to recall its approval of the bill.

According to Rodriguez, the measure contains provisions that bypass the Family Code of the Philippines. Cibac Rep. Eddie Villanueva, an evangelist, claimed that the bill contradicts Biblical principles and the Constitutional policy of the state’s responsibility to promote and protect the youth’s physical, moral, and spiritual well-being.

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., a pastor,  called the bills “garbage” legislation that Congress should not pass. Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Joel Villanueva have also expressed their reservations about the bill.