STOP THE EXPLOITATION. An advocate campaigns for the creation of a national program that will deal with the alarming number of adolescent and teen pregnancies. Picture taken in an event held in Quezon City in October 2019. According to the Commission on Population and Development, about 40 to 50 children aged 10 to 14 give birth in the country each year. 鈥擫YN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. intends to read the substitute version of Senate Bill No. 1979, also known as the proposed 鈥淧revention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023,鈥� before commenting on it.
Reporters on Thursday asked the president whether he had changed or would change his stance on the controversial bill after the removal of the provision on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) 鈥済uided by international standards.鈥�
READ: Risa Hontiveros moves to save 鈥榮ex聽ed鈥� bill, blames disinformation
鈥淚 need to read the substitute bill first,鈥� Marcos responded.
A pregnant woman stands for a portrait in Dallas, Thursday, May 18, 2023. On Friday, August 4, 2023, US health officials approved the first pill, Zurzuvae, specifically intended to treat severe depression after childbirth, a condition that affects thousands of new mothers in the United States each year. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
On Wednesday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the author of the bill, filed a substitute version of SBN 1979 following a backlash from critics, including Marcos himself.
鈥淭inanggal na po natin ang phrase na 鈥榞uided by international standards鈥� dahil sa mga pangambang inihain ng iilan,鈥� said Hontiveros during a short manifestation delivered during the Senate plenary session.
(We have removed the phrase 鈥榞uided by international standards鈥� due to concerns raised by some.)
鈥淣ilimitahan na natin ang CSE sa adolescents o ang 10 years old and above. We have also introduced a provision guaranteeing academic and religious freedom,鈥� she added.
(We have limited CSE [Comprehensive Sexuality Education] to adolescents, or those aged 10 years old and above. We have also introduced a provision guaranteeing academic and religious freedom.
鈥淗aving expressed this, with the consent of the body and after discussions with the Senate President, who I am very grateful to for allowing this space for discourse, I am filing an amendment by substitution that seeks to address the objections in the bill,鈥� she added.
In an interview on January 10, Marcos vowed that he would veto the bill due to its 鈥渞idiculous鈥� and 鈥渁bhorrent鈥� provisions.
READ: Marcos 鈥榮hocked, appalled鈥� by anti-adolescent pregnancy bill鈥檚 contents