Parents and local government units can have a huge participation in reducing cases of teenage pregnancies and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the country.

This was suggested by Senator Win Gatchalian on Sunday, amid the controversies hounding the anti-teenage pregnancy bill.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, also called for the “full and effective implementation of the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program Act or Republic Act 11908.”

In a recent hearing on the Department of Education's (DepEd) implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), Gatchalian emphasized that parents should take the lead in “instilling responsible behavior among adolescents to protect them from the consequences of risky behaviors.”

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that pregnancies among adolescents aged 15 to 19 have declined.

However, there’s an increase in pregnancy cases among very young adolescents aged 10 to 14.

From 1,629 in 2013, pregnancies among very young adolescents more than doubled to 3,342 in 2023.

What is even more alarming, according to Gatchalian, is the ballooning cases of HIV infections among young Filipinos.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) shows the average number of newly reported HIV cases per month rising to 1,470 in the first half of 2023.

Among the total reported cases of HIV, 34,415, or 29 percent, were among the youth aged 15 to 24.

“We have to also focus on getting the parents more involved, not just by meeting them regularly but by really mobilizing them,” Gatchalian said.

“I really believe that mobilizing the parents is another way of curbing teenage pregnancies. When we mobilize the parents, we make them aware of these issues, and empower them by educating them on how to talk to their kids,” he added.

He then lamented the need to effectively operationalize the PES Program Act.

Gatchalian likewise emphasized the importance of collaboration between the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the DepEd in engaging Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).

He suggested that the DSWD, the lead agency in implementing the PES program, coordinate with the PTAs to help distribute the modules developed under the program.

The law establishes the PES Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program to assist all parents and parent-substitutes in strengthening their knowledge and skills in fulfilling their parental duties and responsibilities.

It also aims to protect and promote children's rights, foster positive early childhood development, and advance their educational progress.

Under the law, the PES program shall be implemented in every city and municipality.