FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

Position paper on:

Contemporary Issues in the Philippines

Title:

Sex Education in the Philippines: A Solution or A Sin

Subject:

College Academic Skills in English

Submitted by

Rica Jane B. Cuntapay

Section-170

Course:

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Submitted to

Mr. Wayne Winter J. Uyseco

Date Submitted:

November 27, 2019

 SEX EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES: A SOLUTION OR A SIN
The issue of teenage pregnancy is one of the rampant problems that the Philippines is
currently facing. A survey conducted by the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS)
and the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFSS) showed that from eight percent in the
year 2003, there was a two percent escalation on the number of women getting pregnant at the age
of 15-19 in the year 2013. Moreover, based on the results of the survey, rural teenagers started
childbearing earlier than teenagers from the urban areas with ten percent and seven percent
respectively (Paupan, 2019). An article from the Department of Health (2018) stated that on the
year 2013, 1 out of 3 young adolescents reported that they are engaging in premarital sex. In
addition, data shows that NCR (41%) and Central Luzon (31%) regions have the highest report on
early sexual encounters.
The proliferating cases of sexually transmitted in the Philippines is alarming. An article
published by the Department of Health presented a statistical data from the UNAIDS global report
on HIV found out that the Philippines is one of the countries with rapid growth of HIV cases in
Pacific Asia with 4, 300 reported cases in 2010 to an estimated 10, 500 cases in 2016. In an
interview of the Philippine News Agency with Ms. Joy Morin, DOH Central Office National AIDS
and STI Prevention and Control Program Officer, stated that from 1984 until March of the present
year, approximately 65,463 cumulative cases have been recorded and sexual contact is the
principal mode of transmission. Ninety-four percent of Filipinos who were diagnosed with HIV
are male and the age range of the thirty-one percent of the male population are from 15 to 24 years
old. (Montemayor, 2019)
With regard to the aforementioned statistics, the government proposed the “Integrated
Population and Development Act” on year 1999 (Fonbuena, 2013) and after several years of public
criticisms and debates, the Republic Act No. 10354 or the Reproductive Health Law was finally
enacted by the Philippine Congress under the Aquino administration on the year 2012 (Cabral,
2013). The implication of the law includes the supply of contraceptive distribution for free,
demand public hospitals to offer reproductive health services and to order public schools to teach
sexual education (Fonbuena, 2013). The primary objective of the law is to control overpopulation,
increasing number of teenage pregnancies and rapid growth of cases of sexually transmitted
diseases (Montemayor, 2019). Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) is one of the major
features of the Reproductive Health Law. An article from the Philippine Star News stated that it
would cover seven core topics which are: human body and human development; personhood,
healthy relationships; sexuality and sexual behaviors; sexual and reproductive health; personal
safety; and gender, culture and human rights. The following lessons that are involved in CSE will
help in developing the child’s self-knowledge, self-protection and a sense of appreciation and
openness for other sexuality. The core topics will be integrated to subjects such as Music, Arts,
Physical Education and Health; Araling Panlipunan; Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao; Science; and
Personal Development. (Mateo, 2018)
I support the implementation of Comprehensive Sexual Education because it has several
benefits. First is it can reduce the stigma on sex. The University of the Philippines Population
Institute (UPPI) conducted a study in 2015 entitled Young Adolescent Fertility Study (YAFS)
confirmed that adolescents would choose to discuss sex-related issues to their peers instead of
consulting their parents. Since sex is considered as a taboo in this country, it allows students to
learn comprehensive and appropriate information from competent trainees that will help them to
understand reproductive health. Comprehensive Sex Education teaches students to be responsible
on their decisions and actions because it raises awareness about the prevalent problems in teenage
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It will also prevent risks of poor health outcomes. A
research conducted by Abrigo and Paqueo explained that reproductive health bill and teaching sex
education will help the regulation of adolescents’ sexual initiation. The efficacy of sex education
is supported by the following studies and surveys by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, the Medical University of South Carolina, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine,
the University of California, and the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Philippines, the predominantly Catholic country in Asia is known for its conservatist
culture. The Catholic Church condemns the Comprehensive Sexual Education which is under the
Reproductive Health Law and believes that sex should be taught at home by their parents. In an
interview of BBC News (2010) with Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, a spokesman for the highly
influential Catholic Bishops Conference, he stated that they are worried that there would be a
difficulty on how the topics of CSE will be delivered to the children especially those who are in
the elementary level. To relieve the problems of the Catholic Church, the representative of the
Department of Education, Mrs. Valisno, compromised that abortion and contraception will not be
mentioned in classroom discussions. According to her, the main goal of the program is not to
promote sex act instead it will be more focused on educating the young people about personal
hygiene and interpersonal relationships.
Comprehensive Sex Education will address the deficiency from sex-related information
that can save the future of the adolescents in the Philippines. Misapprehending sex only leads to
more dangerous situations. Knowing a clear information about sex does not make one person a
sinner, instead it will broaden a person’s understanding towards life especially in dealing with
decisions that involves health risks.
Sources:
BBC News. (2010, August 4). Church vs State in Philippine Sex Education Row. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-10552591.
Cabral, E. (2013). Reproductive Health Law in the Philippines. Retrieved from https://asean-
endocrinejournal.org/index.php/JAFES/article/view/48/471.
Commission on Population (n.d.). Comprehensive Sexuality Education: A Must in School
Curriculum. Retrieved from http://rpo10.popcom.gov.ph/index.php/8-featured-articles/134-
comprehensive-sexuality-education-a-must-in-school-curriculum.
Department of Health. (2018, October 17). Adolescent Health and Development Program.
Retrieved from https://www.doh.gov.ph/Adolescent-Health-and-Development-Program.
Department of Health. (n.d.). Philippines Addressing Rising Trend in New HIV Infections.
Retrieved from https://www.doh.gov.ph/node/10649.
Fonbuena, C. (2013, January 2). RH law: The Long and Rough Road. Retrieved from
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/18730-rh-law-the-long-and-rough-road.
Mateo, J. (2018, August 8). DepEd: Comprehensive Sex Education to Develop Responsible Youth.
Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/education-and-
home/2018/08/09/1840820/deped-comprehensive-sex-education-develop-responsible-youth.
Montemayor, T. (2019, June 13). DOH Sounds Alarm Over Increasing HIV Prevalence Among
Young Men. Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1072292.
Montemayor, T. (2019, April 4). Integrating Sex Education in Schools to Empower Learners.
Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066447.
Paunan, J. C. R. (2019, September 5). The Risks of Teenage Pregnancy. Retrieved from
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1026925.
Philippine Institute for Developmental Studies. (n.d.). Opposition to Sex Education Unfounded-
PIDS study. Retrieved from https://www.pids.gov.ph/press-releases/299.
World Health Organization. (2018, February 23). Adolescent pregnancy. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-pregnancy.