黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday assured President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that he has nothing to worry about the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023.

According to the principal author of Senate Bill (SB) No. 1979, it does not contain the provisions that the president finds problematic, such as teaching four-year-olds how to masturbate and the right to try different sexualities.

Marcos earlier claimed to have read SB No. 1979 and said he was 鈥渟hocked鈥� and 鈥渁ppalled鈥� by certain provisions of the proposed measure.

Marcos even guaranteed to veto the bill in its current form.

READ: Marcos 鈥榮hocked, appalled鈥� by anti-adolescent pregnancy bill鈥檚 contents

However, Hontiveros clarified that the bill does not contain the points he talked about.

鈥淢r. President, with all due respect, maliwanag na wala po sa bill kahit 鈥榶ung salita na 鈥榤asturbation.鈥� Wala din po 鈥榶ung 鈥榯ry different sexualities鈥�,鈥� the senator said in a statement.

(Mr. President, with all due respect, it is clear that the word 鈥渕asturbation鈥� is not in the bill.聽 It also does not contain 鈥渢ry different sexualities.鈥�)

鈥淐SE (Comprehensive Sexuality Education) contains the very same things you support: teaching kids anatomy, consequences of early pregnancy, 鈥榶an po ang atin ding sinusulong (that is what we are pushing for),鈥� she added.

READ: Hontiveros dispels 鈥榗onspiracy theories鈥� on adolescent pregnancy bill

Hontiveros likewise assured Marcos that she is open to amendments to further 鈥渞efine the bill鈥� to 鈥渟teer it to passage.鈥�

Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, welcomed Marcos鈥� remarks on the proposed measure. He also expressed support for the president鈥檚 stance on the issue, citing the opposition of 鈥渕illions of families鈥� to SB No. 1979.

鈥淲hile we agree that there is a need to address the rising cases of adolescent pregnancy in the country, it should not be at the expense of our children鈥檚 innocence and should not be detrimental to their health, studies, and morals,鈥� Villanueva said in a statement.

鈥淟et us also be reminded of the importance of families as stated in our Constitution which recognizes the natural and primary right and duty of parents to rear their children,鈥� he added.

This is not the first time Hontiveros tried to dispel 鈥渇abricated鈥� provisions of SB No. 1979, stressing they are mere misinformation.

She even previously assured Filipinos that all questions raised regarding the legislation would be threshed out once Senate floor debates on the bill are opened.

Hontiveros also clarified that under SB No. 1979, otherwise known as the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023, the implementation of the CSE will be guided by the Department of Education (DepEd) and international standards.

Based on a DepEd briefer, the agency affirmed 鈥渢here is no explicit focus on teaching young children topics such as oral or anal sex or encouraging exploration of bodily pleasure in inappropriate ways鈥� in its development of detailed lesson plans for CSE.