ditowins Gov’t urged to invest in education, health to counter teen pregnancy

Liza MazaINQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan bloc senatorial bet Liza Maza urged the government to increase funds for education and health as a counter-measure to teenage pregnancy, amid the controversy surrounding comprehensive sexual education (CSE).

“The government should put its money where its mouth is. Hindi sapat na kunin sa GAD (Gender and Development) fund ang pondo para lutasin ang teenage pregnancy (It’s not enough to get the budget from the GAD fund to solve teenage pregnancy),” Maza said in a statement Wednesday.

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The senatorial aspirant proposed allocating a budget equivalent to six percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for education; and five percent for health to meet international standards.

The country’s balance of payments (BOP) position recorded a $3.5-billion surplus in September, a reversal from the $414-million deficit posted a year ago, the BSP said in a report.

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The latest data from the World Bank shows that the Philippines had a GDP of US$437.15 billion in 2023. When converted to the local currency, this is roughly P25.52 trillion.

Six percent of this amount would be P1.531 trillion and five percent would be P1.276 trillion.

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Currently, the education and health sectors have P1.055 trillion and P267.8 billion, respectively, in the 2025 national budget, which are both below the budget allocation for education and health, respectively, proposed by Maza, who was formerly the country’s anti-poverty chief.

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READ: DepEd, DPWH get highest 2025 budget allocation

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“Maglaan ng sapat at makabuluhang budget sa mga pampublikong paaralan at ospital para maging libre para sa mahihirap na kabataan,” Maza stressed.

(Allocate an adequate and meaningful budget for public schools and hospitals so that they may be free for poorer youth.)

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The comment came amid the controversy surrounding Senate Bill No. 1979, which proposes instituting CSE in basic education to curb teenage pregnancy.

READ: Risa Hontiveros moves to save ‘sex ed’ bill, blames disinformation

Former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, through Project Dalisay (Pure) and the religious group National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution (NCFC), criticized CSE, calling it “incompatible” with the Philippine context.

READ: Comprehensive sex education ‘not compatible’ with PH, says Sereno

However, Maza defended the CSE provision, saying: “Mahalagang sangkap sa paglutas ng teenage pregnancy ang pagpapatupad ng comprehensive sex education.”

(Implementing comprehensive sex education is an important element in solving the issue of teenage pregnancy.)

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“Dapat itong maging siyentipiko at may pagsasaalang-alang sa kalagayan ng mga teenager, lalo na sa rural areas kung saan mas malawak ang kahirapan at mas mataas ang bilang ng mga nabubuntis,” the Makabayan senatorial bet added.

(CSE should be scientific and considerate of the context of teenagers, especially in rural areas where poverty is more widespread and teen pregnancy is more prevalent.)

In 2020, the United Nations Population Fund said the Philippines had one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Southeast Asia.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority previously showed that 5.4 percent of Filipino women aged 15 to 19 experienced pregnancy, with 1.6 percent of them currently pregnant in 2022.

Further, the non-profit Save the Children reported a 35-percent increase in live births among the 15-and-under age group from 2021 to 2022.

“Dapat aralin ang mga salik sa maagang pagbubuntis. Kabilang dito ang pagtuon sa mga kabataan sa kanayunan na nahihirapang makapag-aral dahil sa lumalalang kahirapan at kawalan ng serbisyong panlipunan,” Maza stressed.

(Factors behind teenage pregnancy should be studied. This includes responding to the needs of the youth in the countryside, who find it difficult to study because of worsening poverty and lack of social services.)

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“At the core of a progressive CSE program should be the basic rights and welfare of women and girls, especially those from the marginalized sectors. Susi ang matinoditowins, maasahan, at makamamamayan [na] gobyerno para maging matagumpay ito (A wise, reliable and citizen-centered government is key for this to succeed),” she added.

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