Manila Rep. Benny Abante FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. has warned Department of Education (DepEd) officials that he will go to the Supreme Court to protest the constitutionality of the comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), as it is being implemented without an enabling law.
Abante at the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on basic education and culture on Monday noted that the DepEd’s CSE under Department Order No. 31 series of 2018 differs from reproductive health education under Republic Act No. 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.
Article continues after this advertisementPrior to Abante’s manifestation, committee chairperson and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo already noted that DepEd’s definition of CSE adheres with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) description — where sexuality includes discussions on emotional attachment, love, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, intimacy, and pleasure.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO FDA flags vlogger Rosmar Tan over 'unauthorized' beauty products NEWSINFO Teachers set national rallies to demand VP Duterte’s impeachment NEWSINFO Fire hits a residential area in UP Campus, Quezon City“In Section 14 of the Reproductive Health Law, it is stated: ‘the State shall provide age and development appropriate reproductive health education to adolescents.’ Never did it state anything about sexuality or sex education,” Abante pointed out.
“Order No. 31 is highly unconstitutional […] we already wrote an opposition to this Adolescent Pregnancy Protection Act and Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of the Senate Bill No. 1979. But also, we would like to say, we might question the Supreme Court. Why? Because this is highly unconstitutional,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementEducation Undersecretary Filemon Javier said that the DepEd’s executive committee headed by Secretary Sonny Angara recently met to discuss the issue. While there was no decision to suspend the implementation of the CSE, Javier said there was a directive to thoroughly review the topic.
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Article continues after this advertisement“Your Honors, I’m sure you are asking whether there’s a decision to suspend the Department Order No. 31. As of the moment, your Honors, there’s no decision to suspend, but the directive from us is to thoroughly review Department Order No. 31, and not only that, not only the text, but also to ensure that its implementation is correct, meaning our operations strand and our curriculum strand are currently working,” Javier said.
Article continues after this advertisement“We take the cue from the President. We admit that it should be sex education and not sexuality education, and that would be very first on our list, your Honors, and that’s the directive of the Chief Executive, your Honors, and we will do so,” he added.
When Abante asked where the former Education secretary got the idea to implement a CSE, Javier said they would look into it.
Article continues after this advertisementDepartment Order No. 31 was issued in 2018, when former Education secretary Leonor Briones was at the helm.
“I do not know, I do not know where the former Secretary got these policy guidelines on the implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education. Do you know where she got this policy guideline?” Abante asked.
“Your Honors, I do not know also, but I undertake to discover and report to the committee as soon as possible, your Honors,” he added.
Earlier, Romulo also criticized the DepEd for supposedly making it appear that Department Order No. 31 is innocent, when its documents indicate that it will include teaching intimacy and reproduction to Kindergarten to Grade 3 students.
Education Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Teaching Janir Datukan however assured the House panel that discussions on CSE especially for K to 3 or Kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils are always age-appropriate.
andro slot“Foundational, we don’t really talk about sexuality at that point, what we’re doing is we’re making them aware of certain things that they need to know. For example, in kindergarten, they identify the body parts, which is part of their lessons,” Datukan said.
“For Grade 1, for example, in Makabansa, it is stated here for example, there is a need to teach students about the different kinds of physical traits […] For Grade 2, for example, in GMRC, to exercise patience by using courteous words and proper behavior. For Grade 3, for example, in science, describe the characteristics of living things, they grow, they respond, and they reproduce. So those are already existing,” he added.
READ: DepEd thinks CSE directive is innocent, Romulo says it’s contradicting
Discussions on CSE gained traction after several groups raised apprehensions with Senate Bill (SB) No. 1979, or the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023 — which contains provisions about institutionalizing CSE in all grade levels.
According to several groups, the CSE aims to discuss sexual concepts to children who may not yet be able to grasp these issues properly.
Project Dalisay, a pro-children wing of the National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution, has submitted an online petition seeking to junk SB No. 1979, claiming that the legislation poses a significant threat to the country’s societal, moral, and spiritual foundations.
The issue raised by these groups appeared to stem from Section 6 of the bill, which makes CSE a “compulsory part of education, integrated at all levels with the end goal of normalizing discussions about adolescent sexuality and reproductive health and to remove stigma at all levels.”
READ: Marcos ‘shocked, appalled’ by anti-adolescent pregnancy bill’s contents
But Senator Risa Hontiveros, principal author of the bill, claimed that criticisms towards the bill are mere fabrications and lies, saying that the proposed measure does not contain any provision seeking to encourage masturbation to children aged 0 to 4 or teach bodily pleasure to children aged six to nine.
READ: Hontiveros refutes critics of prevention of adolescent pregnancy bill
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. initially supported the billjili no.1, saying that Filipinos need to understand how detrimental to health and to society as a whole teenage pregnancies are. However, the President last Monday said he is shocked and appalled by some of the details of the proposed law.
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