On May 13, 2024, at least 11 government agencies and groups battling child pregnancies, early marriages and the lack of a comprehensive campaign from both the public and private sector to protect minors from unwanted motherhood called on Congress to waste no time in enacting the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill.
While the House of Representatives approved the measure in September 2023, the Senate has to pass the proposed legislation, which has been languishing in the upper chamber since March 2023, and senators need to wake up from their slumber and approve the measure, Oxfam Pilipinas, Save the Children Philippines, Young Feminists Collective and Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLPCD) argued. The Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill or Senate Bill No. 1979 and its counterpart House Bill No. 8910 aim to address the alarming rate of adolescent pregnancies in the country. Once enacted, the measure will set preventive measures designed to safeguard adolescents.
Backing PLPCD’s stance, spokespersons from the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), National Youth Commission and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) stressed that unwanted pregnancies and early marriages can be prevented if the state musters enough political will, or common sense, to understand that the 1987 Constitution mandates the state to protect children by banning them from working and punishing parents who neglect their children or prevent them from studying. Under the Charter, the state is mandated to provide free education to children up to the secondary level.
PLPCD, Oxfam and Save the Children have conducted studies that paint early pregnancies rob children of their right to education and force them to take the burden of rearing children and working at the same time. The DOH, DepEd, CPD, CWC, PCW, and NYC are lobbying government to serve these minors, including providing them with comprehensive sexuality education, accessible and medically accurate, and age-appropriate health services, and support for pregnant and parenting adolescents.
An ongoing longitudinal study by the University of San Carlos (USC) and the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA Philippines) that tracked Filipino children since 2016 when they were 10 years old showed that early childbearing, early union or cohabitation, and unequal household labor militated against girls. Many of them technically became old as they reached the age of majority, all because of their maternal duties and their household responsibilities.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noted an upsurge of adolescent pregnancies in 2022. A 35% increase in live births among adolescent mothers aged 14 and younger. It meant 3,135 adolescents became mothers in that year. Aside from becoming mothers at a tender age, they end up being subjected to sexual abuse, violence and discrimination. A child’s body is simply not ready to carry a baby. Girls who become mothers end up with stunted personal development and loss of earning potential. With most girls denied comprehensive sexuality education and access to reproductive health services, they end up bearing more babies than they can handle.
Three years ago, PSA recorded 2,478 maternal deaths or 189.2 deaths per 100,000 live births. This translates to roughly seven deaths per day due to complications of pregnancy or childbirth, marking the third deadliest year for childbirth in the country in 69 years. The last time the Philippines experienced a similar rate of seven maternal deaths per day was in 1952. This number is also far behind the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target of 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Worse, the annual national budget for reproductive health has continuously decreased over the years, including a 17% decrease in the same year the record high maternal deaths were documented.
“The pressing issue of rising maternal deaths in the country underscores the need to increase financing for maternal health. Filipino mothers deserve access to high-quality care, and adequate funding is essential to ensure their well-being. They deserve nothing less,” PLPCD said. Lastly, it urged the speedy passage of House Bill No. 9349 and Senate Bill No. 2443, also known as the Divorce Bill, which offers Filipinos the chance to end irreparable marriages. Aside from the Vatican, the Philippines is the only country that denies divorce to unhappy, suffering women.
