THE House of Representatives has unanimously approved on third and final reading a bill that aims to prevent teenage pregnancies and protect young mothers.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said House Bill (HB) 8910 seeks to address the social problem of early pregnancy and young mothering, which has adverse effects on both the mother and the baby, and on society in general.
He said based on surveys, the problem worsened during the pandemic when the government advised people, including the youth, to stay home to stave off the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus.
“The social cost of this issue and the negative impact on the national budget could run into billions – in terms of the government having to take care of young mothers and their babies. There is also the human development aspect,” Romualdez said.
He added that the state has to prepare the youth for a healthyadolescent and adult life, as well as responsible parenthood by instilling in them the appropriate moral and sexual values.
One of the bill’s principal authors, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman lauded the overwhelming support of the House in its passage on third reading of HB 8910.
Lagman emphasized in his explanation of affirmative vote that “legislating a comprehensive law on preventing adolescent pregnancy is imperative to institutionalize policies and strategies on eliminating or mitigating adolescent pregnancy, and extend social protection to adolescent parents and their children.”
To show the gravity of the problem, Lagman, a staunch reproductive health and women’s rights advocate, said the United Nations Population Fund reported in 2020 that the Philippines had “one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member-states.”
He said the Fund documented that “more than 500 Filipino adolescent girls are getting pregnant and giving birth every day,” or in excess of 182,500 births yearly.
He estimated that the cost of early pregnancies to the economy at about P33 billion a year.
The consolidated bill is entitled, “An Act providing for a national policy in preventing adolescent pregnancies and institutionalizing social protection for adolescent parents.”
It establishes the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Inter-Agency Council (APPIAC), composed of the Population Commission executive
director as chairperson with the executive director of the Council for the Welfare of Children as co-chairperson.
Its members would be senior officials (at least undersecretary) of the Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Social
Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Commission on Women,
National Youth Commission, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the chairpersons of the leagues of provinces,
cities and towns, two representatives from women’s rights groups, one adolescent representative, and one youth representative.
The council’s principal mandate is to formulate and implement a national action plan on the prevention of teenage pregnancies. It
shall recommend relevant legislative and administrative measures.
It shall create regional, provincial, city, and municipal counterparts to ensure proper implementation of its action plan and programs.
The bill also defines the roles and duties of each participating department and agency.
Within 60 days from the effectively of the proposed law, the APPIAC shall convene to appoint the two representatives from women’s rights
groups and one representative each from adolescents and youth.
The council is then mandated to issue the implementing rules and regulations.
A joint congressional oversight committee will be formed to oversee the implementation of the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Act.