BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in the Cordillera Region is calling on local government units, and all concerned government agencies and civil society organizations in the region to institute strategies to address the pressing issue of adolescent pregnancy.
CPD-CAR Regional Director Cecile Basawil made this appeal as she presented to the members of the Regional Implementation and Coordination Team (RICT) updates on the implementation of Executive Order 141 issued on June 25, 2021 declaring the prevention of teenage pregnancies as a national priority, and stressing the need to implement measures to address the root causes of the rising number of adolescent pregnancies.
CPD data show that adolescent birthrate for ages 15-19 is decreasing, while registered live birth to very young adolescents ages 10-14 is generally increasing. From 1,903 in 2016, it rose to 2,320 in 2021.
Basawil said more alarming is the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicating that births among adolescent mothers are generally sired by older men. Of the total number of live births,73 percent were sired by fathers 20 years old and above, with only 27 percent sired by adolescent fathers.
The CPD also noted the rise in the number of adolescent fathers, or the “Batang Ama”, from 5,054 in 2018 to 7,444 in 2021.
Basawil is encouraging all government agencies to implement interventions to raise awareness on adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
Moreover, she also calls on parents to be more open to talk about relationships, sexuality, and sexual behavior. based on the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study, adolescent Filipino youth do not consult anyone with their questions about sex.
“It is really important for us, as parents and as caring adults, to be sensitive that whenever our kids or any of the younger generations would ask us about sex, we will be able to openly discuss it with them, at hindi natin sasabihin sa kanila na “hay naka ub ubing ka pay lang ket dayta en ti kayat mo pay nga maammuan.”
For updates on the preparation of a Comprehensive Action Plan towards the prevention of adolescent pregnancy in the Philippines as provided in the EO, Basawil informed that the CPD convened a technical working group on July 15-17, 2024 to formulate a comprehensive action plan 2024-2028.
The plan has five key strategic areas, namely; comprehensive sexuality education, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and other social services, preventive and protective services and measures against sexual abuse and exploitation, socioeconomic interventions, youth development and participation.
The RICT is a quarterly inter-agency meeting led by the Department of Health– Cordillera that serves as an avenue for the cascading and discussion of the latest health policies, updates, activities, and concerns in the region geared towards the overarching goal of achieving a Bagong Pilipinas. (JDP/MAWC-PIA CAR)
