Teachers urge Marcos to tackle teen pregnancy in SONA

A coalition of teachers and parents has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to make adolescent pregnancy a national priority and push for the immediate passage of legislation aimed at addressing the problem.

Ahead of Marcos’ upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, Parents and Teachers for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (PTApp) urged the President to certify as urgent the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act, a measure that has been pending in Congress since it was first introduced in 2017.

The group raised concern over the prevalence of early pregnancy in the country, noting that 6.8% of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 have already begun childbearing. It also pointed to an increase in pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14.

PTApp said the proposed law would establish a more coordinated approach to preventing adolescent pregnancy by bringing together schools, families, communities, health providers and government agencies.

It would also seek to give young people access to age-appropriate information and services that could help them make informed decisions and protect themselves from unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and abuse.

PTApp spokesperson Maria Zaida Padullo, a public high school principal in Quezon City, said adolescents are already exposed to information about sex, relationships and their bodies from various sources, regardless of whether these subjects are discussed with them by parents or teachers.

“Every teacher knows this reality: when a young person enters adolescence, they are already receiving messages about relationships, bodies, and sex, through social media, classmates, online content, and people around them. In my experience as an educator for 30 years, there is not a year that goes by that there is no child getting pregnant,” Padullo said.

“The question is not whether young people are learning. The question is whether they are learning from trusted adults and safe spaces. And more often than not, we know from experience that the obvious answer is a resounding no,” she added.

PTApp cited the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study 5 (YAFS 5), which found that only one in eight Filipino youth had discussed sex at home. Meanwhile, 19% identified social media as their primary source of information about puberty.

Padullo warned that relying on unreliable sources could expose adolescents to misinformation that may contribute to unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, sexual harassment and abuse.

“This data is alarming. This means that Filipino adolescents are at risk of getting wrong information and fake news about sex, which leads to unwanted pregnancies, the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and sexual harassment and abuse. Teachers like me are seeing this reality every day,” she said.

The study also showed differences in where boys and girls seek information.

About 70% of girls said their mothers were their main source of information about puberty. But when they had questions about sex, only 39% turned to their mothers, while 22% sought information from friends.

Among boys, nearly half turned to friends for information about sex, compared with only 12% who sought answers from their fathers and 11% from their mothers.

PTApp said schools should complement the role of parents by providing young people with reliable information and helping them develop the skills needed to make responsible decisions.

“Families today are raising children in a world where they are constantly inundated by information that is unfiltered and often inaccurate. Schools should support parents by helping young people build the knowledge and decision-making skills to protect themselves,” Padullo said.

The group stressed that efforts to address adolescent pregnancy should focus on prevention rather than intervening only after a young person becomes pregnant.

“We cannot keep responding only after a child becomes pregnant. Protection starts before crisis. Young Filipinos deserve adults who are willing to guide them before misinformation, pressure, or exploitation does,” PTApp said. — MCG, GMA News