Data reveals persistence of teen marriage in PHL

BEFORE reaching their 15th birthday, a total of 63 teenage women got married in the Philippines in 2021, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Of this number, PSA said 28 married men who were between 20 and 24 years old, while 23 teenage women married men aged 15 and 19 years old. The data showed seven of the young women married a man between 25 and 29 years old, and two of them married men aged 30 to 34 years old.

However, at least one them each married a man aged 40 to 44 years old and 35 to 39 years old. There was also one who married a young man who was below 15 years old.

“We should address this issue using the whole-of-society and the whole-of-government approach. Legislation will help and the House of Representatives and Senate are already working on their bills [e.g. House bill 79—An Act providing for a national policy preventing adolescent pregnancy of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman],” Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) Executive Director Lisa Grace S. Bersales told the Businessmirror.

However, legislation is not enough. Bersales said a dialogue to address Muslim and tribal practices that allow adolescent marriages and pregnancies is needed.

Based on the PSA’S data, of the 63 under-15 young women who were married in 2021, 32 were married through Muslim traditions and 29 marriages were solemnized through a tribal ceremony. Two others were married through other religious rites.

The data also showed that two young men aged below 15 years old were also married through a tribal ceremony and one was married through Muslim rites.

“[There is a need to] address Muslim and tribal practices that provide enabling environments for adolescent pregnancies, we need more dialogue for addressing this while being sensitive to their culture,” Bersales said.

“In my mind, one way to address this is to open the eyes of the leaders of the better benefits for their communities when girls are allowed to mature and develop themselves. We can choose Muslim women leaders to champion this,” she added.

Bersales added that education of both girls and boys in school on comprehensive sex education should be undertaken at all schools.

Local government units (LGUS), she said, should strengthen advocacies against Teenage pregnancies and should involve the Sangguniang Kabataan by creating programs other than sports development.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bersales said, can also help parents provide guidance to their adolescent children.

Young and old

BASED on the PSA data, apart from the 63 girls, a total of 15,190 teenagers aged 15 to 19 years old were married in 2021.

The bulk of these teenagers or 8,565 were married to men aged 20 to 24 years old followed by the 3,310 teenagers who married men aged 25 to 29 years old and 2,042 who married men in the same age bracket.

The data also showed that 126 teenagers married men who were at least twice their age or those who were 40 and above.

Some 68 teenagers married men aged 40 years old, while 24 married men aged between 45 and 49 years old.

The PSA data also showed 14 teenagers married men aged 60 and above; 11 teenagers married men aged between 50 and 54 years old; and nine married men who were 55 to 59 years old.

Meanwhile, the PSA data showed no woman aged 20 and above married a young man who was younger than 15 years old.

However, two teenagers aged 15 to 19 years old married a boy under the age of 15 while one girl aged below 15 years old married a boy of the same age.

Meanwhile, the data showed there were 18,731 women who were in their 40s and above who got married in 2021.

A total of 9,048 women aged 40 to 44 years old got married in 2021, followed by 4,295 women aged 45 to 49 years old; 2,443, 50 to 54 years old; 1,564, 60 and over; and 1,381, 55 to 59 years old.

Of the senior women, some 1,180 married men who were also seniors like them. However, 384 of these women married men who were younger than them.

Some 183 senior women married men aged 55 to 59 years old; 91 married those aged 50 to 54 years old; 49, 45 to 49 years old; 26, 40 to 44 years old; 17, 35 to 39 years old; 10, 30 to 34 years old; 5, 25 to 29 years old; and 3, 20 to 24 years old.