Health chief faces rough sailing in CA over condoms
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial will face stiff opposition in the Commission on Appointments (CA) if she insists on distributing condoms in public high schools, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said yesterday.
Sotto said the planned distribution of condoms among high school students is a “wrong approach” to stem the rising incidence of HIV and teenage pregnancy cases.
“I assure you the secretary will not pass the CA if they do that,” Sotto said.
He said the Departments of Education (DepEd) and Health (DOH) should undertake values education and information drive if they want to curb the rise of HIV and teenage pregnancy cases.
Sotto, a staunch opponent of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law but supporter of capital punishment, said condom distribution would confuse teenagers on matters of sex.
“Secretary Ubial wants our children and grandchildren to play with fire. Don’t they realize the repercussions of distributing condoms in high schools? Are they saying there is no more crime of statutory rape? Isn’t it a crime to have sex with a minor?” he added.
Sotto also reminded them that the distribution of condoms in schools runs counter to the intention of Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”
The DOH came up with the idea of distributing condoms in public schools nationwide to stop the spread of HIV/ AIDS among Filipino youth.
The DOH said Filipinos are increasingly engaging in sex at a very young age. Its records show that there are 209,000 teen pregnancies in the Philippines, which is equivalent to over 500 pregnancies daily, a situation prevalent since 2011.
The condom distribution will be piloted among students aged 15 to 24 in selected public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon (CaviteLaguna-Batangas- Rizal- Quezon), the regions with the highest number of HIV/ AIDS cases.
DOH data show this age group accounted for 4,509 of the 8,514 HIV/AIDS cases recorded from January to November 2016.
Ubial said the DOH is coordinating with DepEd and they “are finalizing the guidelines” for the condom distribution in schools.
Ubial noted that teachers and other school personnel who would be involved in the program would have to undergo training and capacity building on how to carry out the campaign.
The DOH and DepEd also have to make sure that student-beneficiaries have taken sexuality education and primers on responsible parenthood and reproductive health before they can avail themselves of condoms.
“The school system is not prepared for it. And also the Philippine culture and society, to talk about sexuality and sex and the RH in general because it is considered taboo in the country, especially for children. So we really have to prepare the entire system and the entire community for this particular program,” Ubial added.
But Sotto also questioned the insistence of the DOH on the move when it has not been distributing condoms to barangays as mandated by the government’s RH program.
He said he has been asking barangay officials all over the country and the latter have told him the DOH has not provided any condoms to be given to couples.