Lawmaker files bill on sex education, abstinence

A PARTY-LIST representative has filed a bill seeking the implementation of a community-based sex education program that will advocate both abstinence and contraception. Rep. Narciso Santiago of the Alliance for Rural Concerns (ARC) said there is a need for a comprehensive sex education program to provide full, complete, and accurate medical information on sexuality, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention, teenage pregnancy and sexual abstinence.

“This program must respect the diversity of values and beliefs represented in the community and must complement the sex education children receive from their families.” Santiago said.

The measure seeks to entitle cities and municipalities to a grant from the Department of Health for family life education programs that will include abstinence and contraception to help check the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

Santiago said the program should be age-appropriate and medically accurate, teach the value of abstinence, provide data on the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier methods, and encourage family communication about sexuality, among others.

The bill mandates the secretary of Health to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and submit reports to Congress.

Santiago cited research by the United States Institute of Medicine, which showed that teenagers who undergo sex education courses are more likely to delay sexual activity than those who do not.

“These same teenagers, when they become sexually active, according to the same research, use contraceptives, thus protecting them from the dreaded sexually transmitted diseases and even unwanted pregnancies,” Santiago said. –Manila Times