A senior citizen relishes the opportunity of being among young people. The vibrance and vitality of the young radiate. They are contagious in a most welcome affliction.

It is said that one does not have to search in vain for the Fountain of Youth, or concoct an elixir of life.

All one has to do is to commune with the youth, to dialogue in an assemblage of the young.

I immerse myself this morning in the fountain of youth – in your enviable and invigorating company.

Give yourselves a resounding applause to underscore your power and strength.


As leaders of the Sangguniang Kabataan National Federation, I know you are fully aware of your unique position of influence among your peers. However, you are not only instrumental in opinion formation within your age group; as elected representatives of the youth, you actually have the power to influence national policy.

I am, therefore, heartened that among the numerous issues that confront our nation, it is the Reproductive Health Bill that you have chosen for me to discuss today.

Since all of you here are teenagers, I shall focus on the provisions on sexuality education and adolescent reproductive health which are both advocated by the bill.

The current adolescent population in the Philippines is close to 20 million and this is the biggest in our history. This age group of 10-19 year olds, defined by the United Nations as the period of adolescence, comprises a whopping 22.5% or almost a fourth of the entire Philippine population of 88.5 million as of August 2007.

To put it more descriptively, the total number of adolescents in the Philippines is more than the combined number of all the citizens in the Scandinavian countries of Norway (4.7 M), Sweden (9.0 M) and Denmark (5.3), which have an aggregate population of only 19 million.

Even the entire citizenry of the whole sub-continent of Australia is only 1.3 million more than all the adolescents in a little archipelago called the Philippines.

The number of adolescents in the country is even a little bigger than the whole population of New York State which is 19.3 million.

The Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world, indeed a dubious distinction because we have admittedly limited resources and a huge young population which demands and deserves more benefits but gets much less.

Verily, the health concerns of adolescents should be an indispensable and integral component of public health.

Adolescence is a time of both diverse physical and emotional changes in a young person. It is also characterized as a period fraught with vulnerability and insecurities even as it is also a time when young people like you are most receptive to new ideas and values.

It is during this period that young persons are most likely to engage in risky behavior typical of the young but at the same time it is also the period wherein they naturally progress towards physical and psychological maturity and thus develop their adult identities and solidify their belief systems. Clearly, this is a time when young people need an environment that encourages them to seek proper and adequate information and guidance.

I am certain that most of you would say that you are in good health. I expect that most, if not all of you, do not have hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and other ailments common to older people. Given your young age, this is to be expected. But how about your reproductive health?

Reproductive health refers to the “state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. This implies that people have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so, provided that these are not against the law.  This further implies that women and men are afforded equal status in matters related to sexual relations and reproduction.” (Sec. 4[c])


Experts assert that although this is generally a period of good health for most young people, “many adolescents often are less informed, less experienced, and less comfortable accessing family planning and reproductive health services than adults.” It is precisely because of your age that you are also most likely to meet resistance or even outright hostility and opposition from adults when you do try to seek reproductive health information and services.

Making sure that the reproductive health needs of young people are met means that you should have access to accurate information about sexuality, family planning, pregnancy, childbearing and related diseases. It also means ensuring your access to values, information and measures that will prevent unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

The lack of information and access to reproductive health services exposes you to an increased risk of unplanned pregnancy, contracting HIV-AIDS and other STDs, unwanted sexual advances and other problems which may have health consequences that could affect your future.

The WHO says that young people between the ages of 14 and 24 have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases worldwide and half of all new HIV infections occur in people under 25.

It important to underscore that adolescent girls face serious reproductive health risks primarily because of their age. Because young girls’ bodies are not yet ready for pregnancy and childbirth, 75% of all maternal deaths happen to girls aged 14 to 19 years old. Out of every 100 pregnant women in the Philippines, 30 are adolescent girls (State of the Philippine Population Report 2004). It is alarming that almost 10% of all Filipino women aged 15-19 have already given birth even as this age group also has the lowest prevalence of contraceptive use (National Demographic and Health Survey 2003).

If these data were not disturbing enough, according to the Department of Health (DOH), not only is it more probable that girls below 20 years old will die from pregnancy and childbirth related causes, their children are also more likely to die before they reach the age of five.

Young men are also at greater risk of contracting STDs not only because peer pressure may force them to take on the services of sex workers but also because they are ignorant of methods that can protect them from disease and protect their partners from unplanned pregnancies and, moreover, they are not imparted with the proper moral values on delaying initiation into sexual relations and abstinence before marriage.

House Bill 5043 or the “Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development Act of 2007” will ensure that relevant information and appropriate life-saving services will not be withheld from young people.


I am sure that when you and your parents have arguments, they’ve told you with some exasperation to “grow up” or “act your age” or “act more responsibly”. That’s what parents usually tell their children when they get into disagreements with them.

But I think it is about time that you tell the adults who are insisting that sexuality education for the youth will make them sex maniacs that it’s about time they grow up and act their age.

If we want to drastically decrease the number of teenage pregnancies and effectively combat the spread of STDs and if adults truly want young people to act more responsibly, then it’s about time we adults grew up and trust young people enough that pertinent information and correct values about sex and sexuality will not make them immoral and promiscuous.

Comprehensive sexuality education has been shown to make adolescents more sexually responsible and adds a level of maturity to their attitudes towards sexual relations.

Programs and projects that ensure access to reproductive health services, provide accurate information, and help adolescents develop life skills like the ability to resist peer pressure when it comes to sexual initiation, are fundamental to their future.

These are precisely what House Bill 5043 aims to ensure. Section 3 (l) of the bill clearly states that “respect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health rights seek not only to promote the rights and welfare of adult individuals and couples but those of adolescents’ and children’s as well”. Adolescent and youth health is also one of the 11 elements of reproductive health under the bill [Sec. 4(g5)].

Ideally, it should be your parents who should be teaching you about sexuality and reproductive health. But who among you here can honestly claim that your parents sat down with you to talk about sex and sexuality? Most parents and children are uncomfortable discussing sex at home which is considered taboo in our culture.

Majority of teenagers get their information from the least reliable of sources – their barkada and the entertainment media. These result in myths about sex and sexuality like the claim that Colgate is a spermicide or that a girl cannot get pregnant if it is her “first time” or even that taking pills will create a hole in one’s stomach. To counter such widespread myths about sex, formal education is the answer.

But what will the youth learn if sexuality education becomes part of the curriculum? Adolescents will not be taught sexual positions or be encouraged to be hedonistic. You are going to be taught correct sexual values. You will be taught to understand, respect and value the reproductive functions of your bodies. You will be taught how not to give in to peer pressure when it comes to sexual initiation. You will be taught that men and women are equal. You will be taught to view abstinence before marriage as an ideal that should be aspired for. You will be taught that should you decide to engage in sexual relations, which is not encouraged before or outside marriage, it is important to protect yourselves from unwanted pregnancies and STDs. You will be taught to have greater appreciation for the joys and responsibilities of parenthood and a greater understanding of its challenges.

Moreover, these courses shall be taught in an age-appropriate manner by adequately trained teachers. Even if the bill mandates the teaching of sexuality education in the 5th Grade, teachers will not be teaching 11-year olds about contraception. “Age-appropriate” is the operative term and Grade 5 pupils will be taught about their reproductive system and the changes they will be experiencing as they mature into adults. Younger students will also be taught to recognize and report immediately unwanted sexual advances while older students will be taught how to assert themselves (like saying no to sex) and the importance of equality between men and women in all types of relationships.

Teachers will also be properly trained to ensure that they will be not only be comfortable about discussing family planning and intimacy within relationships; they will be confident in their ability to impart to their students correct values and attitudes towards sex and sexuality.

Sexuality education will not be a separate subject. It will be integrated into the various subjects already taught in school. This is similar to what other countries are now doing. It will be taught less from a detached scientific standpoint and more from a positive, dialogue-based approach that emphasizes values and mores and highlights sexuality as an integral aspect of physical and emotional wellbeing and sexuality education as a key component of health education.



Sexuality education seeks to assist young people in cultivating a positive view of sexuality; providing them with information and skills about taking care of their sexual health; and helping them make sound decisions now and in the future.

According to the United Nations Population Fund: “it has been repeatedly shown that reproductive health education leads to responsible behavior; higher levels of abstinence, later initiation to intimate sex, higher use of contraception and fewer sexual partners.”

A report released by the US National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy in 2001, concluded that: “(1) sexuality and HIV education do not hasten sexual activity; (2) education about abstinence and contraception are compatible rather than in conflict with each other; and (3) making condoms available does not increase sexual behavior.”

Moreover, the study entitled The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases states that the most effective reproductive health and sexuality education programs include: “stressing the importance of delaying sexual activity, providing contraceptive information, addressing social and media influences, and building communication and negotiation skills.” Again, this shows that teaching the youth about contraception together with abstinence is not contradictory.

Recently, the WHO published a review of 1,050 articles on sex education programs and it asserts that there is no proof that sex education encourages sexual experimentation or increases sexual activity. It concludes that sexuality education leads to “postponed initiation of sexual intercourse and/or effective use of contraception." 

An effective reproductive health education program will not only instill in you the consciousness of freedom of choice but responsible exercise of your rights. The failure to provide adolescents with appropriate, accurate and timely information and services concerning reproductive health will be a disservice to the youth because keeping them ignorant and misinformed is tantamount to putting both their health and future at risk.


Surveys have shown that adolescents are receptive to reproductive health and family planning services and results of youth surveys reveal that an increasing number of young people want no more than two children.

The State of the Philippine Population Report (2nd Report. Pinoy Youth: Making Choices, Building Voices) reveals that 90% of the youth believe that government should provide family planning services and 80% believe that these services should be provided to the youth.

Preference for a two-child family is increasing among adolescents. In 2002, the Youth and Adolescent Fertility Survey (YAFS) reported that 50.6% of young people preferred to have two children at most, a very significant increase from the 36% in 1982 and 38.3% in 1994.

If you take a survey among yourselves today, I am sure that it will show that the trend is to have smaller families because even Filipinos as young as you understand that having less children means an increased capacity to respond to the needs of the family and a better chance of becoming responsible parents.

While we’re in the subject of surveys, the latest SWS survey released last October 15 revealed that an overwhelming 76% of Filipinos favor the teaching of family planning in schools and a clear majority (54%) do not believe that sexuality education will lead to promiscuity.


The RH bill is not only for couples and adults. The bill is also for young people like you because it will ensure your right to correct reproductive health information and guarantee that should you need RH services, they will not be denied you.

Moreover, the enactment of this bill into a law will ensure that when you grow older and get married, you and your spouse will have the basic human right to determine when and how many times you will have children. You will have the right to plan your family using the method of your own choice. You will not be dictated upon nor will your freedom of choice be curtailed or derogated.

So it is incumbent upon you to join the debate on reproductive health and family planning. Stand up and be heard on this crucial issue. It is your right to be heard, do not surrender this right to voice out your opinions.

The RH bill will protect the health of adolescents, not put their wellbeing in jeopardy. It will be instrumental to their education on sexuality and reproductive health even as it will be crucial in getting rid of the fallacies on sex and reproduction that keep the youth not only ignorant but at greater risk of unplanned pregnancies and STDs.

The passage of HB 5043 will ensure that young Filipinos are not deprived of the necessary information and services that will secure their reproductive self-determination and guarantee good health for them and their future children.

Generations of Filipinos before you were denied the opportunity to have access to relevant information and services that they needed to plan their families. Do not allow yourselves to be similarly shortchanged.

The brunt of the ill-effects of high fertility in the past is being borne by the youth – instead of going to school, more children are working to augment the income of a growing family; more young people are deprived of quality education; more children are dying from preventable diseases; and increasing number of adolescents face unemployment.

A ballooning population impacts negatively on all indicators of human development – education, health, employment, mass housing, food security and the environment. Chronic poverty and high population growth rates are inextricably linked. A rapidly growing population all but negates any progress we may achieve in terms of economic growth and cancels out government’s efforts in poverty reduction.
You deserve more from your government. Demand more in terms of services for the youth. Demand more in terms of information that will be relevant to decisions that will affect your future.

Your endorsement of the Reproductive Health Bill will be invaluable to its enactment into law. You are the chosen leaders of the youth of this country. Study the issue of reproductive health and population development carefully. Take part in the debate. Do not forfeit the opportunity to be a part of the enactment of a policy that will have long term effects on your lives and the lives of your future children.

The UNICEF has declared that “family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race.”

Your sheer number alone makes you a powerful force to contend with. And if you are organized, well-informed and vigilant, then there is a greater chance that policymakers will not only listen but heed your advice.

You are not only the fountain of youth. You are the fountainhead of good counsel.