Gatchalian seeks enhanced social protection for teenage mothers

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday batted for the enhanced implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education and the provision of social protection for teenage mothers.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Committee on Basic Education, cited a recent report by the Commission on Population and Development that over 22,000 teenage mothers have experienced repeat pregnancies.

The data showed that those who experienced repeat pregnancies are usually aged 13 to 15.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is a factor in the surge of adolescent pregnancies, the Commission also cited cultural factors and lack of education as among the main reasons for the rise in repeat teenage pregnancies in the country.

It also cited the wide age gap between a teenager and the man who got her pregnant, which the Commission said shows unequal power relations and abuse in the relationship.

Gatchalian said one of the most important ways to protect girls is to keep them in schools, where they can learn comprehensive sexual education and access to child protection programs.

“Teenage mothers are deprived of good education and repeated pregnancies could be a sign of abuse. It is important that those who abused young girls should be held liable and teenage mothers should be given another chance,” Gatchalian said.

He also called for the enforcement of laws that seek to protect young girls from sexual abuse and violence such as Republic Act 11596, which prohibits child marriages or marriages where one or both parties are under the age of 18.

RA 11596 also prohibits the cohabitation of an adult with a child outside of wedlock while RA 1164 raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16.

Earlier, Gatchalian sought a more effective rollout by the Department of Education of its comprehensive sexuality education to address the growing problem of teenage pregnancies.

According to the DepEd, comprehensive sexuality education is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality that is scientific, age-and-developmentally appropriate, culturally and gender-responsive, and with rights-based approach.

Early this year, Vice President and Education