Anti-teenage pregnancy SB 1979 and substitute bill
Does the original Senate Bill 1979 or the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill contain "inappropriate" provisions?
Several groups have raised concerns on SB 1979, contained under Committee Report 41, due to the alleged "inappropriate concepts" in the proposed legislation.
Among their concerns are the supposed introduction of masturbation for children aged zero to four years old, and teaching "bodily pleasure" or "sexual rights" to children aging six to nine years old under SB 1979's provision on Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE).
Opposition over the program's discussion of concepts like "gender fluidity" and "sexual diversity," contraception, abortion, and non-traditional relationships were also raised.
Below is the original version of SB 1979 that was sponsored in the plenary:
Amid these concerns, Senator Risa Hontiveros, the principal author of the bill, said there were no such provisions in the proposed measure.
Contrary to the claims of some groups, the senator said the bill was not derived from the "Standards of Sexuality Education in Europe", but was referenced from the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law.
"An honest reading will show, kumpara du'n sa mga atake laban sa bill na walang wala 'yung mga atake na 'yun about sa masturbation, anal and oral sex, sexual rights, sa mga bata. Those are outright fabrications," she said.
(An honest reading will show that criticisms about provisions supposedly related to masturbation, anal and oral sex, and sexual rights are outright fabrications.)
'International standards'
Former Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who is part of Project Dalisay—a movement which opposes SB 1979—said the bill provided that the CSE will be in line with "international standards," including the curriculum set by 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 du'n sa derivation of pleasure is the touching of body. Nino-normalize," Sereno said in an ambush 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 derivation of pleasure is the touching of the body. They are normalizing this.)
"Siyempre hindi mo 'yan makikita sa bill. Wala 'yan sa bill but when the bill says, 'according to international standards' then ang dapat i-jump is tingnan mo 'yung international documents. They teach these things..." she added.
(Of course, this will not be seen in the bill. But when the bill says, 'according to international standards,' then one should jump to check the international documents. They teach these things...)
Section 6
The phrase "guided by international standards" is included in Section 6 of SB 1979 regarding Age and Development-Appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
Earlier, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. first acknowledged the need to address teenage pregnancy amid talks about the CSE implementation, saying that teaching the program to the students is "very, very, very important."
Amid criticisms raised against the proposed law, however, the President said Monday that upon reading the bill in detail, he was shocked and appalled by some of the contents of SB 1979.
"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," he said.
The President said that as a parent and grandparent, he feels strongly about the issue. He guaranteed that if the bill included these "absurdities," it would not stand a chance and he would immediately veto it.
In the Senate, Senators JV Ejercito, Nancy Binay, Bong Go, Cynthia Villar, Bong Revilla Jr., Loren Legarda, and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada later withdrew their signatures from the Committee Report 41, which contained SB 1979.
Phrase removed
Following this, Hontiveros manifested in the Senate plenary that she filed a substitute bill for SB 1979 which already removed the phrase "guided by international standards."
The new version of the bill limits mandatory CSE to adolescents aged 10 years old and above, and includes a provision guaranteeing academic and religious freedom.
The substitute bill for SB 1979 is shown below:
While she maintained that the original version of the bill did not include the contents that the President and some groups are concerned about, Hontiveros said the filing of a substitute bill is meant to "find a common ground" so the Senate can pass legislation that will address the national emergency that is teenage pregnancy. — VDV, GMA Integrated News