Marcos 'shocked,' 'appalled' by Anti-Adolescent Pregnancy Bill

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Monday he was shocked and appalled by the contents of Senate Bill 1979 or the Anti-Adolescent Pregnancy Bill.

Marcos made the statement days after he said that teaching Comprehensive Sexuality Education to students is "very, very, very important."

''When I was talking about sex education, I remembered our sex education when I was in school. At ang itinuro sa amin ay anatomy. What are the – what is the anatomy of male and female reproductive systems. Naalala ko pa nanood kami ng video ng mga cell na nagdi-divide para maging baby. Iyon ang tinuro sa amin. Kailangan talagang malaman ng mga kabataan ‘yan (I remember we watched videos of cells that are dividing to become a baby. We were taught with that. The youth should really know that),'' he said.
 
''However, over the weekend, I finally read in detail Senate Bill 1979. And I was shocked, and I was appalled by some of the – some of the elements of that. Because this is – all this 'woke' that they are trying to bring into our system,'' he added.

''You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate. That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous. It is abhorrent. It is a travesty of what sexual and sex education should be to the children,'' the President further said. 

Marcos pointed out that as a parent and grandparent, he feels strong about this issue. He guaranteed that if the bill would include these ''absurdities,'' it will not stand a chance and he will immediately veto it. 

''So, let me be very, very clear,  I still believe that sex education in terms of teaching kids the anatomy of the reproductive systems of male and female is extremely important,'' he said. 

''The consequences of early pregnancy, the prevalence of HIV, kailangan ituro lahat ‘yan para alam nung mga kabataan. Pero ‘yung mga sinama nila na mga “woke” na absurdities are abhorrent to me. And I’m already guaranteeing, hindi pa napasa ito pero in that – if this bill is passed in that form, I guarantee all parents, teachers, and children: I will immediately veto it,'' he added. 

In a statement, Senator Risa Hontiveros, principal author of the bill, said the words "masturbation" and "try other sexualities" are not mentioned on the bill.

"Mr. President, with all due respect, maliwanag na wala po sa bill kahit 'yung salita na “masturbation.” Wala din po yung “try different sexualities” (it is clear that the word masturbation is not mentioned on the bill. The same with "try different sexualities)," the senator said. 

CSE contains the very same things you support: teaching kids anatomy, consequences of early pregnancy. 'Yan po ang atin ding sinusulong (That is also our advocacy)," she added.

Hontiveros said that she is willing to accept amendments to refine the bill "so we can steer it to passage."

The senator earlier refuted what she called "outright lies" that are being thrown against the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill being pushed in the Upper Chamber.

She denounced claims that the proposed measure has "inappropriate concepts" that threaten the Filipinos' "moral, societal, and spiritual values."

Contrary to the claims of the group behind "Project Dalisay", Hontiveros said her bill has no provisions about teaching or encouraging masturbation for children aged zero to four years old, and teaching "bodily pleasure" or "sexual rights" to children aging six to nine years old.

Former Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who is part of the Project Dalisay, insisted that the bill provided that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education would be in line with "international standards," which she deemed to be the curriculum set by the UNESCO and the World Health Organization.

"Kasi ang philosophy ng CSE, internationally developed 'yan nitong mga UN agencies—UNESCO, WHO— and then they say that it is the child's right to, the right of pleasure from his or her body. So kasama dun sa deriviation of pleasure is the touching of body. Nino-normalize," Sereno said in an earlier interview.

(The CSE philosophy was developed by international UN agencies like UNESCO and WHO. And then they say that it is the child's right to, the right of pleasure from his or her body. So, part of the deriviation of pleasure is the touching of body. They are normalizing this.)

SB 1979 has been sponsored in the Senate plenary and on second reading for interpellation and amendments.—AOL, GMA Integrated News