Benguet health board bats for boarding home regulation

lawmakers are being urged to regulate boarding houses to curb the cases of teenage pregnancy in the province.

The Provincial Health Board recommended to the 13 municipal council of Benguet to enact ordinances that would regulate boarding houses to help curb the prevailing teenage pregnancy rate.

The board approved Resolution No. 201801, “recommending to the municipalities of the province of Benguet enacting ordinance that would regulate boarding houses.”

Based on the recent census, Benguet has a population of 464,636 where some 92,930 belong to the 15-24 years old age group.

In 2017, the health board reported there

where at least 1,046 deliveries from teen where the youngest was recorded at 10 while the oldest was 19.

Based on studies conducted in Benguet, observations of health workers shows boarding houses seem to be one of the contributory factors for teenage pregnancy.

“There appears to be no regulation in some boarding houses as regards to curfew hours, sleeping over, drinking and smoking,” the resolution adds approved by Provincial Health Board Chairman and Benguet Governor Crescencio Pacalso.

The resolution was based on the the Department of Health Administrative Oder No. 2013-0013 or the National Policy and Strategic Framework on Adolescent Health Development Program which targets primarily adolescents 10-19 years old states that Adolescent Youth Health Program will complement existing program which serves to protect the rights of children under 18 years old.

As such, resources need to be directed to this age group to prevent pregnancies before the age 20, to decrease risky behaviors among adolescents.

The Cordillera Administrative Region recorded a teenage fertility rate of 18.4 percent higher than the national average rate of 13.6 percent.