Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Thursday expressed hope that her colleagues in the upper chamber would give the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill a “fair chance.”

Hontiveros stressed that the Senate still needs to pass a measure to protect the interests of the Filipino people.

“The Senate cannot ignore this responsibility. This is why it is important for us to find common ground so we can pass this urgent and important piece of legislation,” she told reporters in Filipino at the Senate.

“So this time, I hope the Senate gives this [bill] a fair chance. That’s why I have no issue with the genuine and sincere concerns of various sectors and groups,” she added.

Hontiveros lamented that teenage pregnancy remains a national emergency that must be addressed by the Senate.

Her remarks came after she filed a substitute bill replacing Senate Bill 1979, incorporating amendments to address concerns regarding Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).

“CSE or Comprehensive Sexuality Education is just one of the preventive measures to combat adolescent pregnancy, which is just one of the provisions of the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill,” she clarified.

The senator noted that CSE has been “tried and tested” as an effective tool to lower teenage pregnancy rates.

“I, along with many advocates, civil society organizations, teachers, and parents, uphold that what we are pushing for is an age and development-appropriate and culturally sensitive response to this national and social emergency,” she said.