Abante

Marcos veto of bill on teen pregnancy backed

January 21, 2025 Jester P. Manalastas 113 views

TWO lawmakers have expressed support to the pronouncement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on vetoing the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023 if it is not amended.

According to Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., the divisive measure would impinge on the rights of Christian-based educational institutions.

For his part, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said that the House-approved bill on promoting sex education and preventing teenage pregnancies is now effectively dead with the commitment of President Marcos Jr. to veto it.

Under Section 6 of Senate Bill 1979, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) will be “implemented in all public and private basic education institutions. CSE delivery shall not be dependent upon the discretion of the school administration or on its teachers. It shall be integrated in the school curriculum, guided by DEPED and international standards.”

The same provision states that schools that refuse to include CSE in their curriculums will be subject to sanctions. Per Section 6, “in order to ensure proper compliance, the provision and delivery of CSE in public and private basic education institutions shall be listed as one of the criteria and an accreditation requirement of DEPED’s Philippine Accreditation System for Basic Education (PASBE). Schools refusing to implement CSE shall have their accreditation reviewed by the PASBE board.”

“I fully support the President’s position to veto the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023 if it is not amended. In fact, I believe this bill should not even be passed in the first place,” Abante said.

“While we should recognize the need to address adolescent pregnancy, we must address it in such a way that it does not violate the rights of our people—especially the freedom of religion,” he added.

As founder of Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries, Abante said he is concerned that this bill could violate the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions, such as Baptist schools and Catholic schools.

These schools have their own moral and doctrinal teachings regarding human sexuality and reproductive health, and forcing them to introduce sex education and reproductive health programs that contradict their deeply held beliefs would be an infringement on their rights.

Abante said any law related to teenage pregnancy “must respect the family as the primary institution of moral guidance, and it should ensure that faith-based communities are not coerced into complying with teachings that are in conflict their beliefs.”

Rodriguez stressed that if the bill’s objectionable provisions are not removed, this measure is headed for the graveyard.

In an interview on Monday, the President said he has read the details of the Senate bill on sex education and preventing adolescent pregnancies.

Rodriguez said the President’s veto assurance “is a message for the House and the Senate to no longer waste precious taxpayers’ money, time and effort on the bill as presently worded.”

“The two chambers should rewrite it to delete provisions which violate the constitutional natural and primary right of parents to rear and educate their children and offensive to the sense of morality of parents, teachers, children, and the general public. The final copy should be acceptable to them and the President, who has to sign it for it to become a law,” he said.

Last Friday, Rodriguez filed House Resolution 2174 urging the House of Representatives to recall its approval of the bill proposing a national policy “in preventing adolescent pregnancies and institutionalizing protection for adolescent parents.”

The House approved the bill on Sept. 5, 2023 and had sent it to the Senate, which has a separate but similar version.