President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday, January 23, that he needs to read the substitute version of Senate Bill (SB) 1979, known as the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act, before considering any changes to his position on the measure.
In response to questions about whether removing the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) provision, previously guided by international standards, would influence his view, President Marcos emphasized the importance of reviewing the revised bill.
“I need to read the substitute bill first,” President Marcos said, as Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Cesar Chavez cited.
The original version of SB 1979 included a provision for CSE aligned with the so-called international standards, which President Marcos had previously called “abhorrent.”
In a media interview in Taguig City on Monday, Marcos said he was “shocked” and “appalled” by some of the bill’s provisions, which remove parental consent from the CSE and teach children as young as four years old how to masturbate.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who authored the bill, filed a substitute measure addressing concerns raised by various groups and the withdrawal of support from at least seven senators.
The revised bill removes the phrase “guided by international standards” and emphasizes that the CSE program should provide “comprehensive, age- and developmentally-appropriate information affecting the reproductive health and sexuality of adolescents.”
Additionally, the substitute bill requires parental or guardian consent for minors under 16 to access sexual and reproductive health information and services.
President Marcos has expressed support for CSE but has previously objected to certain provisions in SB 1979, describing them as “ridiculous” and “abhorrent.”
He has indicated that he would veto the measure if it were passed in its original form. (TCSP)
