The barriers of conservatism: Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines

By Jacinth Banite

Children mothering children should in no way be normalised nor tolerated, yet remains to be an often-disregarded dilemma in a society where conservatism prevails more than what is necessary.

Reality in numbers

The Philippines for many years has been one of the countries with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Asia.

In 2024, the country placed second in the teenage pregnancy index for the Southeast Asian region, according to the Commission on Population and Development. 

Between 2017 and 2022, the pregnancy rate among Filipina girls aged 15-19 has declined, but increased among girls aged 10-14, figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. 

According to PSA, one in 20 Filipino babies are born to girls ages 15 to 19, while in 2023, 3,343 children were born to children ages 10 to 14.

In separate findings by Save the Children foundation, it was revealed that prevalence of child-bearing among girls aged 15 and below was up by 35% between 2021 and 2022. 

The fear of sex education and contraceptives 

The exact reason for the alarming increase in teenage pregnancy in the Philippines is hard to pinpoint, but some studies have revealed that key contributing factors include the lack of sex education and proper access to contraceptives – subjects that are considered taboo in the Christian-majority nation where premarital sex is highly discouraged. 

In a recent round-table discussion in Manila, a group of 11 Filipina women who got pregnant by coercion during their teenage years, said they had no knowledge about the idea of “consent” prior to their pregnancy. 

“While the entire group admitted that they wanted to feel pleasure at an early age through sex, not in the slightest chance would they think that they would unwillfully have sexual intercourse at such a young age,” the Philippine Star newspaper, which facilitated the discussion, said in a report. 

The women, now in their early 20s, also noted that they remain absent-minded to the purposes of sexual contraceptives and birth controls. 

Above mentioned testimonies support the data from the Philippine chapter of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which revealed in May 2023 that of the 32 million young students (within the age range 15-19) in the country, only 1.1 million, or about 3.4%, have access to sex education.

In the same report, the UNFPA Philippines raised the need to grant adolescents access to sexual and reproductive health services “without parental consent,” with Country Representative Leila Saiji Joudane, noting that that adolescent (Filipina) girls “are already in need of family planning and requesting for family planning, but they cannot have access to family planning.”

READ MORE: Growth of aging population opens opportunity for adaptable system

Pending policies

Needless to say, the Philippines requires immediate and progressive actions to save its children from early pregnancy. 

However, recent attempts at the legislative branch remain on hold and heavily discredited by religious advocates and their allies in the government. 

In September 2023, the House of Representatives approved on the final reading House Bill 8910, which aims to prevent teenage pregnancies and institutionalise social protection for adolescent parents and their children. 

Meanwhile, a countermeasure at the Senate, specifically Senate Bill 1979 or more widely  known as the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill, remains wide open and pending for approval.

Last month, the latter legislation sparked controversy after President Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr., called some of its provisions “ridiculous” and  “abhorrent” for “encouraging masturbation” and “rights to try different genders”. 

This claim was denounced by Senator Risa Hontiveros, the principal author of the bill, as “fake news,” insisting there are no such words used in the legislation.  

An alliance of conservative Christians also launched a campaign urging both the Senate Bill and House Bill to be terminated. 

Following the backlash, seven of the 17 senators who initially endorsed the Senate Bill 1979 withdrew their support. 

This prompted Hontiveros to file a substitute bill amending the elements in concern, and called on the president and fellow lawmakers to give the updated version a chance. 

It takes a nation to raise a child

Indeed, one of the very few in-progress initiatives to combat teenage pregnancy in the Philippines deserves a chance, and should pass through the barriers of conservatism that continue to hamper progressive policy-making in the face of overpopulation, prevalence of child labour, out of school youths and unending cycle of poverty. 

As the famous saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child,” only in this case, an entire nation is responsible. 

With continued resistance to the mitigation of ignorance, numbers will continue to rise, more children will mother more children.

READ NEXT: US health, animal experts scramble to contain the spread of bird flu