聽Lito Atienza
Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza on Saturday criticized the plan of the Department of Health (DOH) to start distributing condoms in schools next year and said parents, not teachers, should give sex education to their children.
鈥淪chools should not be distribution centers [for] condoms,鈥� Atienza said. 鈥淲hat is the connection of a condom in a child鈥檚 education? None.鈥�
He disagreed with the sex education plus condom approach to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Good manners, right conduct
鈥淥ur public schools will be better off teaching our children 鈥� sports, culture, good manners and right conduct,鈥� he said. 鈥淧arents should be encouraged to teach sex education to their own children.鈥�
The senior deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives proposed reverting to the Department of Education鈥檚 old name鈥擠epartment of Education, Culture and Sports.
The plan to distribute contraceptives in schools was announced on Thursday by Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial amid the alarming rise in the number of youth living with HIV and AIDS in the country.
The DOH said 10,279 HIV cases were recorded among 15- to 24-year-olds from 2011 to 2016.
Atienza slammed the figure as part of a 鈥渟care tactic that is part of a world population control strategy.鈥�
鈥淭he Department of Health and the Department of Education are using wrong solutions to the real problem, which is children growing up without education and good values,鈥� he said.
Self-control
鈥淚f you reserve everything for your marriage, then AIDS will be gone,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et us fight this with self-control, with the education sector instead teaching children how to be good and not how to be bad.鈥�
Ubial said the condoms will be provided to students after proper counseling. School authorities, teachers and health-care providers will be prepared for the task, she said.
Atienza also said including sex education would be an added burden on teachers.