Calls for the implementation of science-based reproductive education resonated during a just-concluded conference in Legazpi that gathered population, demography and social science experts who discussed the dynamics of population and education.
Hundreds of participants convened at Bicol University on March 6-7 for the 2025 Philippine Population Association International Scientific Conference, where they discussed research, best practices, and policy insights on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), adolescent reproductive health, the impact of early pregnancies, and rethinking learning and career options for young people.
Dr. Juan Antonio Perez III, vice president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum), said in one of the sessions that, “the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has just recently reported that an eight-year-old girl gave birth in Mindanao.”
“Since 2018 when adolescent pregnancy was declared a national emergency, the growth in the number of pregnancies in the country have been occurring on girls 10 to 14 years of age,” Dr. Perez said.
“Girls 10 to 14 years old who became mothers have been the focus of this movement because their numbers have been increasing,” Dr. Perez added.
In 2019, Dr. Perez said two out of every 100 girls 10 to 17 have given birth, leaving them with the burden of becoming solo parents.
In 2023, he said the PSA noted that that one in every 10 pregnancies occur on teen girls in this age bracket, with a recorded 3,343 girls under 15 years of age who were reported to have delivered their first child.
Dr. Perez said adolescent girls who become pregnant face serious implications such as difficulties in pregnancy and delivery, and the infants that they give birth to usually have low birth weights.
“We are looking at all these data that shows us the need for CSE to be able to prevent early pregnancies on young people, help them delay their sexual activities, address coercion and abuse and provide social protection,” said Dr. Perez.
Dr. Elma Laguna, director of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), supported the call for CSE.
“CSE is a valid issue and we have all the data and the evidence to support the call for the implementation of CSE,” Dr. Laguna said.
Apart from adolescent reproductive health, the conference also gave space to discourses on the mental and emotional toll of bullying in schools, families and communities and how society can address the problem.
Also high in the discussions were effective practices in governance, exploring the need to better manage life cycle transitions until the ageing process, the role of culture and religion in the discourse on sexuality and preparing for the effects of migration in the population.
