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Monday, February 17, 2025

Hontiveros open to amending Senate Bill 1979 amid criticisms

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday refuted claims that the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill (Senate Bill No. 1979) includes controversial provisions, and expressed her openness to amendments, saying she is committed to refining the bill to ensure its passage.  

“Comprehensive Sexuality Education or CSE contains the very same things you support: teaching kids anatomy and the consequences of early pregnancy. That is what we are also advocating for,” she said, responding to the latest statements of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on the bill.

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“I am willing to accept amendments to refine the bill so we can steer it to passage,” the senator added. 

Hontiveros assured the public that terms like “masturbation” or “try different sexualities” are not found in the bill and clarified that the measure promotes CSE, which focuses on teaching anatomy, reproductive health, and the consequences of early pregnancy. 

President Marcos earlier expressed his support for the bill, but later issued negative comments espousing the views of critics, who seem to be guided by misleading reports about the intentions of the proposed legislation.

“There is absolutely no provision in the bill that teaches or encourages masturbation for children aged 0 to 4 years old, nor does it include teaching ‘bodily pleasure’ to children aged 6 to 9 years old or promoting the idea that children have ‘sexual rights,” Hontiveros reiterated. 

“Absolutely none of these concepts exist in our bill,” she emphasized.

Based on the bill’s provisions, CSE will be guided by the Department of Education and international standards but tailored to align with Filipino cultural values and context.

“This means that it will only serve as a guide if it benefits the welfare of the youth. We will not copy or imitate any ‘international standard,’ especially when it is not suitable for our context and culture,” she said earlier. 

Hontiveros decried what she described as “outright lies” spreading online about the bill’s content, urging critics to focus on facts. 

Section 6 of the proposed legislation states that the CSE must be “age and development-appropriate,” ensuring that topics are tailored to the cognitive, emotional, and social maturity of students at different stages.

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