A reproductive health initiative reached the Philippines’ largest public high school this Love Month, providing sex education to 600 students, both boys and girls, as new government data show rising adolescent pregnancies nationwide.
PAD-Ibig Diaries, a collaboration between advertising agency Black Pencil Manila, Palawan-based reproductive health NGO Roots of Health, and menstrual pad brand Charmee, uses illustrated diary-style content on menstrual pad packaging to spark conversations on puberty, consent, relationships, pregnancy, and contraception.
As part of the rollout, Charmee left a dedicated drawer of free menstrual pads in the school clinic to ensure students can continue accessing both products and information.
Recent figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Commission on Population and Development show that in 2024, there were 138,697 registered live births to adolescent mothers aged 10–19 nationwide, with births among girls under 15 rising to 3,612, the highest on record. Experts say these figures underscore the urgent need for localized and age-appropriate reproductive health education.
“Teen pregnancy continues to reflect gaps in access to reproductive health education,” said Marcus Swanepoel, Deputy Director of Roots of Health. “The ideal scenario is for the full implementation of reproductive health education in the school system, but we are not there yet. In the meantime, programs like PAD-Ibig Diaries provide young people with credible information before misinformation fills that space.”
Now in its third year, PAD-Ibig Diaries builds on earlier runs in Palawan and Rizal, which combined pad packs with interactive discussions and games to help students ask questions often left unaddressed in traditional curricula.
“We are committed to reaching as many high school students as we can,” said Kat Gomez-Limchoc, Executive Creative Director of Black Pencil Manila. “We see that there really is a great unlock in learning when you do it through storytelling, in a language that considers and respects the audience you are wanting to teach and inspire.”
“I strongly advocate for students to learn more and for schools to teach more about the reproductive system, sex, and pregnancy for both boys and girls. It takes two to tango,” said Leslie Jennica M. Brosas, a Grade 10 student from Parañaque High School. “If this is taught earlier, young people will better understand consequences and responsibilities.”
The expansion of PAD-Ibig Diaries comes as educators, health advocates, and policymakers renew calls for sustained, evidence-based sexuality education to help address adolescent pregnancies nationwide.
The PAD-Ibig Diaries are available online at https://ugatngkalusugan.org/pad-ibig-diaries/.
