While there is so much hullabaloo over the “sex-ed” bill currently pending in the Senate, it is safe to say that there is really a need to teach children about sex and sexuality. Teenage pregnancy is real and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS is undeniably increasing.

In fact, the total live births among girls aged 15 or under rose by 35 percent from 2,320 live births in 2021 to 3,135 births in 2022. This partly explains why we are overly populated. The Philippines may be smaller than the state of California in terms of land area. Yet, we remain the 12th most populous country in the world with at least 120 million people.

Meanwhile, HIV cases are rising at an alarming rate, with 58 daily new cases reported in 2024. In terms of infections, we have actually recorded a 543 percent rise in cases between 2010 and 2023. Sadly, one in three people living with HIV is diagnosed at a late stage, and that is compounding our health challenges.

This is the reason why we need to educate our young people. The problem though is that while everyone believes the government should institutionalize a comprehensive sex education program, there are those opposed to it because of the contents and methodologies which they think could harm children. And there lies the rub.

Some senators have already withdrawn their support of the bill because as pointed out by some conservative and religious groups, the proposed measure is likely to teach lewd and inappropriate lessons on sexuality to Filipino children. Even the President has chimed in, calling it unacceptable since it doesn’t conform to our existing value system that says children should not be exposed to these harmful content.

Anyway, this is my take on the issue. Firstly, we need to understand that incorporating sex education in schools is non-negotiable because the evils it seeks to prevent are real. Secondly, the curriculum should not obsessively focus on teaching kids about sex per se or the birds and the bees and the flowers and the tress.

More than anything else, it should be about teaching them the value of families and relationships, the impact of responsible parenthood, and the deleterious effects of teenage pregnancy. More than anatomy and physiology, it should concentrate on equipping kids with the ability to address sexual abuse, avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and making responsible choices about their future and the fulfillment of their potentials.

The problem with most of us is that we zero in so much on issues relating to lewd and inappropriate topics like masturbation or use of contraceptives that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Besides, there is nothing about sex or sexuality or anything related to it that children nowadays haven’t encountered or heard about.

The advent of social media has made possible access to all kinds of information. Pornography for instance is readily available on the internet. Back in the day, you can only watch an x-rated film when your parents were asleep. You have to rewind the tape when you’re done and you’re screwed when it’s eaten by the machine.

At the end of the day, children will find a way to learn about these “lewd” things because their raging hormones wire them to do so. Even if you don’t teach about masturbation, for example, they would discover it somehow. Ask Jim Paredes. He knows.

So, it makes sense if we guide these kids instead of allowing them to discover these things on their own. By teaching them, we can provide them with the know-how to survive life basically and become productive members of society.