Teachers and school officials grab free reading materials regarding sex health education during the Health Information Dissemination Program at the Araullo Highschool held on October 01, 2019. The program aims to educate students on various sex health topics and to discourage pre-marital sex to avoid teenage pregnancy. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA (UPDATE) — The Senate Committee on Basic Education will investigate the Department of Education’s (DepEd) implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education.

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Panel chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said this was triggered by the lawmakers' debate on Senate Bill 1979 or the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Law filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

"Amid debates on implementing sex education in schools, where the President has emphasized the important role of parents, the Senate Committee on Basic Education will conduct an inquiry on the DepEd’s implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and its consistency with the mandate of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Act of 2012 or Republic Act No. 10354," Gatchalian said in a statement.

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"It is worth noting that Section 14 of the RPRH Law already calls for age- and development-appropriate reproductive health education for adolescents," he added. 

Critics of the bill have claimed that the proposed law will mandate age-inappropriate sex education in schools, and purportedly strip parents of their authority to rear their children. Hontiveros and advocates of the bill have denied this.

Gatchalian maintained his support for the need to curb teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

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"[B]ut we must do so in a way that recognizes the important role of parents and parent-substitutes in the formulation and implementation of policies that will have a lasting impact on the well-being of our children," Gatchalian also said.

In a separate statement, Sen. Imee Marcos maintained that Senate Bill No. 1979, while different from her version of the bill, would not strip off parental authority to rear their children.

"While the present bill is significantly different from mine, in no way does it intend to deprive parents of their primordial authority and guidance. Instead, the DepEd, DSWD, DOH and the entire community is precisely enjoined to assist parents with 'medically accurate, culturally sensitive, non discriminatory' information," the senator said.

On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said he was appalled by some elements of Honitiveros' teen pregnancy prevention bill, calling out its "woke absurdities."

Hontiveros said critics of the bill were making false claims but added that she was willing to "accept amendments to refine the bill so we can steer it to passage."  

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