'Kabuwanan ni Nene,' dokumentaryo ni Sandra Aguinaldo ngayong Sabado sa I-Witness

I-Witness: “Kabuwanan ni Nene”
Airing date: July 21, 2018

Young, poor and pregnant-- this is the situation of most adolescent mums in the Philippines. While teenage pregnancies in Southeast Asia are declining, in the Philippines, its on the rise. Every hour, 24 babies are born to mothers who are children as well- some as young as 10 years old.

In Happyland, Tondo, stories of very young girls getting pregnant or becoming mothers are commonplace. They are often impregnated by men who are much older, lured into intimacy by offers of food or allowance for school. Here, "Angel", a 13 year old girl struggles to survive, sleeping on bike carts parked on a trash-laden road while heavily pregnant at 7 months from her 17 year old boyfriend whom she calls "asawa" or husband. They live as husband and wife, but without a home and only picking trash for a living, their future and that of their unborn child remain uncertain. 

Her friend “Andrea”, also 13 years old, is now living with her boyfriend’s family in a shanty in Happyland. She got impregnated at 12 but she lost her baby on her 7th month of pregnancy. “Andrea” says she has nowhere to go, her mother has no home and her father is in prison. Although her living conditions are far from comfortable, she says at least with her 22 year-old boyfriend, she is fed three times a day. Asked what she misses the most about being a child, she answers, “I miss playing”.

Meanwhile, in Fabella Hospital, the busiest maternity hospital in the world, 15 year old “Ann” gives birth to a baby girl. Doctors here say, they perform more than a thousand deliveries on adolescent girls like her every year. Witnessing childbirth is difficult, more so if the mother is not more than a child herself. But “Ann” seems to be destined to become a teenage mother as this is her second pregnancy, the first one ending in a miscarriage.  

This Saturday on I-Witness, join Sandra Aguinaldo as she takes a look at the plight of these vulnerable young girls and the possible solutions to stop children from having children.

Filipino

Habang bumababa ang bilang ng maagang pagbubuntis sa ibang bansa sa Southeast Asia, dumarami naman ang bilang ng mga batang ina sa Pilipinas.

Ayon sa datos ng Commission on Population, 24 na sanggol ang isinisilang sa bawat oras. Ang ilan sa kanila, mga batang isinisilang ng isa ring bata, na nasa 10 taon lang.

Sa Happyland Tondo, karaniwang kuwento na ang maagang pagbubuntis. Kadalasan, naaakit ang mga batang babae ng mas nakatatandang lalaki. Nililigawan sa pamamagitan ng pagkain o kaya pambaon sa eskuwela. Dito sa eskinitang tambak ng basura, makikita si "Angel" na natutulog sa sidecar ng nakaparadang tricycle. 13 taong gulong lang si Angel pero 7 buwang buntis na siya sa kanyang 17 taong gulong na boyfriend na tinatawag niyang asawa. Wala silang tirahan at pangangangalakal lang ang ikinabubuhay nila. Hindi pa raw nila alam kung ano ang magiging kinabukasan ng kanilang magiging anak.

Sa Happlyland din matatagpuan ang kailbigan ni “Angel” na si “Andrea”. Magka edad ang magkaibigan, pero si “Andrea” nabuntis noong 12 anyos pa lamang siya. Hindi natuloy ang pagbubuntis dahil sa ika-7 buwan niya, nakunan siya. Walang sariling bahay ang nanay ni “Andrea” at nakakulong ang tatay niya. Ngayon, nakatira siya sa isang barong-barong kasama ang kanyang 22-taong boyfriend. Bagama’t hindi pa rin kumportable ang buhay niya, dito kumakain siya ng tatlong beses sa isang araw. Nang tanungin kung ano ang namimiss niya bilang isang bata, ang sagot niya, “maglaro”.     

Sa Fabella Hospital, ang itinuturing na pinaka abalang maternity hospital sa buong mundo, nagsilang ng isang sanggol si “Ann”, 15 taong gulang. Sabi ng mga duktor dito, mahigit isang libo ang batang babaeng tulad niya ang nanganganak sa ospital na ito taon taon. Mahirap panoorin ang babaeng hirap sa pagluwal ng bata lalo pa kung ang ina ng bata ay isang bata rin. Pero tila kapalaran ni “Ann na maging isang batang ina dahil nung nakaraang taon, nabuntis na rin siya. Nakunan siya pero makalipas ang apat na buwan, nabuntis ulit.

Ngayong Sabado sa I-Witness, kikilalanin ni Sandra Aguinaldo ang mga batang ina at aalamin ang solusyon sa problema ng maagang pagbubuntis.