LEGAL RESEARCH

“Sex Education should be Implemented

to Elementary Students”

Members:
Bragais, Raielene B.
Bracino, Domenique
Chavez, Zeus
Faurillo, Cyril
Julia, Jay Ronwaldo
Omar, Jamal

October 19, 2010

 INTRODUCTION

Sex education

Without sex we are not here, and without education we wil not be able
to discuss this topic. Too much of this is sex education could result to
opening of pandora’s box to elementary pupil.
Sex education in elementary would be a waste of budget and time,
probably an additional burden because they will never appreciate that
topic because of their innocent and sweet mind. Just like teaching a
trigonometry or algebra in elementary. Their mind is not ready for this
kind of subject matter, with their tender age, they have a lot of time to
play with toys not sex toys.
The most dangerous disadvantages of sex education is that it may
spark the curiosity of an innocent person, which would lead him or her
to try it or worst, force someone to do it. Your otherwise good
intentions could turn to inadvertently promoting it. Learning about sex
before being mature enough to handle the importance and
consequences can sometimes lead to promiscuity and even perversion.
This is because knowing how to escape the undesirable effects of sex
would encourage people to keep doing the sexual activities they do.
They will never learn the consequences of their action till something
irreversible happens in their lives that no amount of regret can take
back.
teaching sex education is not only limited to getting pregnant and
about being a parent. it also involves the danger of numerous diseases
out there. STD’s, and AIDS. a lot of factors(feelings, responsibility,
maturity, health, etc..)
 I. RELEVANT QUESTIONS ASKED IN THE DEBATE AND
SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION

1. Do you think an elementary level is already an appropriate age to expose

children about sex education? Yes or No?

2. Can a grade 5 or grade 6 student comprehend what the teacher will

discuss them regarding use of condoms, safe sex, family planning as part of
the topic? Yes or No?

3. What would be the scope of comprehensive mandatory sex education?

4. According to the Section 12 of the RH Bill, will sex education include

Values Formation? Isn’t it already included in other subjects? Ye or No?

5. How much is the allocated budget? Where would we get the budget for
such program or policy?

6. Should it be the parents that should teach their children? (Responsible

Parenthood)

7. Do you agree that the person who knows you best is you parents?

8. Why should we start teaching sex education to elementary students rather

than to high school students?

9. How would teaching sex education at such an early age affect these
students?

Discussion:

According to Section 2 of the RH Bill, which is the Mandatory Age-

appropriate Reproductive Health Education also know as the Mandatory teaching
of Sex Education to Elementary and High school level, Sex Education shall be
thought in an age appropriate manner by adequately trained teachers. First of all,
haven’t they even had a study if at that certain age of a child which is from 11
years old to 13 years old, these age bracket are already capable of absorbing
sensitive topics that will be discussed in class. It is clearly stated in the Bill that
discussion should be done to those already of age and ready to understand it.
Based on the study conducted by the Sigmund Freud about Human
Development, a person has different stages to undergo. We have what we call as
the Latency Stage; this is from ages five to thirteen (5-13 years old). During this
stage, the child’s focus or efforts are directed at establishing same sex friendship,
strengthening ties with parents, meeting social intellectual demands, it is only
during the Genital stage (Age of Puberty) that a child starts to get curious; the
brain is ready to absorb those ideas regarding sexuality. The reason why we
have a step by step manner of learning is because the human brain has
limitations too as to what should be thought at a certain age. If sex education will
push through, we will just corrupt the minds of these innocent children.

Second point would be, according to the government side, the reason why
they wanted to implement Sex Education is that there is an alarming number of
teenage pregnancy; it would help if the child would be thought at an early age to
avoid pregnancy. But if we will base it from the study of Anna Freud, it is also at
this stage of a child that they are undergoing what she calls as Reaction
Formation or commonly known as the “believing the opposite”. So if we will teach
them not to do this for example, what they will do is the opposite of it. That’s why
we strongly think that we will just give a wrong signal to these children and
instead of achieving the purpose of educating them we will create a flame that
will burn the mind of these children. As what the saying goes,” there’s a right time
for everything” but sad to say elementary years is not the right time for this
mandatory sex education. The disadvantages can range from becoming curious
enough to try and force someone to have sex, becoming sexually promiscuous,
learning about sex before they're mature enough to comprehend the severity of
the issue, or not receiving adequate and responsible sex education.

Third point would be, we at the opposition side, believes that it should be
the parents who should teach their own child for they are the one who knows
their children well. Even the Philippine Constitution recognized that the rearing of
the youth should be vested on their parents, it is clearly stated in Article II,
Section 12. Instead of allocation of budget for sex education to children, why not
invest it on educating parents on how to teach their children? Such topics should
be discussed in a one on one manner and should be closely monitored. This
topic is not a one plus one equal two matter; this is a topic that could ruin the
lives of these young blood.

Fourth point regarding the case at bar, we recognize the importance of sex
education as a strategy of the government in population control given the fact
that our Filipino population is steadily rising through the years. But what we
oppose regarding this contention is teaching it at such an early and immature
stage where the children are not yet ready to comprehend the necessary
information given to them. Moreover, it is a high probability that the lessons that
will be taught to elementary students would be the basic information regarding
sex and the reproductive system which is already incorporated in some of their
subjects.

Logically then, it would be impractical and inappropriate for us to apply this

policy to this age bracket. It would be expensive on the part of the government
sustaining the funds for such program which would take more than five years
from elementary to high school. Come to think of it, it would be an extra avenue
for crooked politicians to corrupt the funds already allotted for this plan. Thus, our
contention on applying this strategy to the more mature age group would be the
more sensible option to take. Less expense for the government and we are all
the more certain that this population is apt for sex education.

Finally, it is said that our minds can be compared to a tabularasa. This

means that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their
knowledge comes from experience and perception. Elementary students are
known to be very curious and have an active imagination. Introducing information
about sex would open the gate for them to explore on such sensitive issues. Our
knowledge then comes from our experiences and how we perceive the things
that is happening in our very lives. There is a chance that information regarding
sex would be misunderstood by these generation and they then would imitate or
emulate the wrong things.

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The following are the materials and resources that we deem important
regarding the subject matter. These resources can be classified as primary or
secondary authority.

A. PRIMARY AUTHORITY

1. The 1987 Philippine Constitution

Section 12.

”The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen
the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life
of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and
primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic
efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the
support of the Government.”

2. Reproductive Health Bill (House Bill No. 5043)

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE

HEALTH, RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD AND POPULATION
DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines

in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Reproductive Health
and Population Development Act of 2008“.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State upholds and promotes responsible

parenthood, informed choice, birth spacing and respect for life in conformity with
internationally recognized human rights standards.

The State shall uphold the right of the people, particularly women and their
organizations, to effective and reasonable participation in the formulation and
implementation of the declared policy.

This policy is anchored on the rationale that sustainable human development is

better assured with a manageable population of healthy, educated and
productive citizens.

The State likewise guarantees universal access to medically-safe, legal,

affordable and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices,
supplies and relevant information thereon even as it prioritizes the needs of
women and children,among other underprivileged sectors.

SEC. 3. Guiding Principles. – This Act declares the following as basic guiding
principles:

a. In the promotion of reproductive health, there should be no bias for either

modern or natural methods of family planning;

b. Reproductive health goes beyond a demographic target because it is

principally about health and rights;

c. Gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of

reproductive health and population development;

d. Since manpower is the principal asset of every country, effective reproductive

health care services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and care of
healthy children and to promote responsible parenting;

e. The limited resources of the country cannot be suffered to, be spread so thinly
to service a burgeoning multitude that makes the allocations grossly inadequate
and effectively meaningless;

f. Freedom of informed choice, which is central to the exercise of any right, must
be fully guaranteed by the State like the right itself;

g. While the number and spacing of children are left to the sound judgment of
parents and couples based on their personal conviction and religious beliefs,
such concerned parents and couples, including unmarried individuals, should be
afforded free and full access to relevant, adequate and correct information on
reproductive health and human sexuality and should be guided by qualified State
workers and professional private practitioners;

h. Reproductive health, including the promotion of breastfeeding, must be the

joint concern of the National Government and Local Government Units(LGUs);

i. Protection and promotion of gender equality, women empowerment and human

rights, including reproductive health rights, are imperative;

j. Development is a multi-faceted process that calls for the coordination and

integration of policies, plans, programs and projects that seek to uplift the quality
of life of the people, more particularly the poor, the needy and the marginalized;

k. Active participation by and thorough consultation with concerned non-

government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs) and
communities are imperative to ensure that basic policies, plans, programs and
projects address the priority needs of stakeholders;

l. Respect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health rights seek to

promote not only the rights and welfare of adult individuals and couples but those
of adolescents’ and children’s as well; and

m. While nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion, as abortion remains a
crime and is punishable, the government shall ensure that women seeking care
for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-
judgmental and compassionate manner.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall
be defined as follows:

a. Responsible Parenthood – refers to the will, ability and cornmitTrient of

parents to respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children more
particularly through family planning;

b. Family Planning – refers to a program which enables couple, and individuals to

decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to
have the information and means to carry out their decisions, and to have
informed choice and access to a full range of safe, legal and effective family
planning methods, techniques and devices.

c. 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 funcitions and processes. This implies that
people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, that they 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.

d. Reproductive Health Rights – refers to the rights of individuals and couples do

decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children; to
make other decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion
and violence; to have the information and means to carry out their decisions; and
to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.

e. Gender Equality – refers to the absence of discrimination on the basis of a

person’s sex, in opportunities, allocation of resources and benefits, and access to
services.

f. Gender Equity – refers to fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and
responsibilities between women and men, and often requires. women-specific
projects and programs to eliminate existing inequalities, inequities, policies and
practices unfavorable too women.

g. Reproductive Health Care – refers to the availability of and access to a full

range of methods, techniques, supplies and services that contribute to
reproductive and sexual health and well-being by preventing and solving
reproductive health-related problems in order to achieve enhancement of life and
personal relations. The elements of reproductive health care include:

1. Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition;

2. Promotion of breastfeeding;

3. Family planning information end services;

4. Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications;

5. Adolescent and youth health;

6. Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections (RTIs), HIV/AIDS

and other sexually transmittable infections (STIs);

7. Elimination of violence against women;

8. Education and counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health;

9. Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers and other gynecological
conditions;

10. Male involvement and participation in reproductive health;,

11. Prevention and treatment of infertility and sexual dysfunction; and

12. Reproductive health education for the youth.

h. Reproductive Health Education – refers to the process of acquiring complete,

accurate and relevant information on all matters relating to the reproductive
system, its functions and processes and human sexuality; and forming attitudes
and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, interpersonal relationships, affection,
intimacy and gender roles. It also includes developing the necessary skills do be
able to distinguish between facts and myths on sex and sexuality; and critically
evaluate. and discuss the moral, religious, social and cultural dimensions of
related sensitive issues such as contraception and abortion.

i. Male involvement and participation – refers to the involvement, participation,

commitment and joint responsibility of men with women in all areas of sexual and
reproductive health, as well as reproductive health concerns specific to men.

j. Reproductive tract infection (RTI) – refers do sexually transmitted infections,

sexually transmitted diseases and other types of-infections affecting the
reproductive system.

k. Basic Emergency Obstetric Care – refers to lifesaving services for maternal

complication being provided by a health facility or professional which must
include the following six signal functions: administration of parenteral antibiotics;
administration of parrenteral oxyttocic drugs; administration of parenteral
anticonvulsants for pre-eclampsia and iampsia; manual removal of placenta; and
assisted vaginal delivery.

l. Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care – refers to basic emergency

obstetric care plus two other signal functions: performance of caesarean section
and blood transfusion.

m. Maternal Death Review – refers to a qualitative and in-depth study of the

causes of maternal death with the primary purpose of preventing future deaths
through changes or additions to programs, plans and policies.

n. Skilled Attendant – refers to an accredited health professional such as a

licensed midwife, doctor or nurse who has adequate proficiency and the skills to
manage normal (uncomplicated) pregnancies, childbirth and the immediate
postnatal period, and in the identification, management and referral of
complication in women and newborns.

o. Skilled Attendance – refers to childbirth managed by a skilled attendant under

the enabling conditions of a functional emergencyobstetric care and referral
system.

p. Development – refers to a multi-dimensional process involving major changes

in social structures, popular attitudes, and national institutions as well as the
acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication
of widespread poverty.

q. Sustainable Human Development – refers to the totality of the process of

expending human choices by enabling people to enjoy long, healthy and
productive lives, affording them access to resources needed for a decent
standard of living and assuring continuity and acceleration of development by
achieving a balance between and among a manageable population, adequate
resources and a healthy environment.

r. Population Development – refers to a program that aims to: (1) help couples
and parents achieve their desired family size; (2) improve reproductive health of
individuals by addressing reproductive health problems; (3) contribute to
decreased maternal and infant mortality rates and early child mortality; (4) reduce
incidence of teenage pregnancy; and (5) enable government to achieve a
balanced population distribution.

SEC. 5. The Commission on Population (POPC0NI). – Pursuant to the herein

declared policy, the Commission on Population (POPCOM) shall serve as the
central planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring body for the
comprehensive and integrated policy on reproductive health and population
development. In the implementation of this policy, POPCOM, which shall be an
attached agency of the Department of Health (DOH) shall have the following
functions:

a. To create an enabling environment for women and couples to make an

informed choice regarding the family planning method that is best suited to their
needs and personal convictions;

b. To integrate on a continuing basis the interrelated reproductive health and

population development agenda into a national policy, taking into account
regional and local concerns;

c. To provide the mechanism to ensure active and full participation of the private
sector and the citizenry through their organizations in the planning and
implementation of reproductive health care and population development
programs and projects;

d. To ensure people’s access to medically safe, legal, quality and affordable

reproductive health goods and services;

e. To facilitate the involvement and participation of non-government organizations

and the private sector in reproductive health care service delivery and in the
production, distribution and delivery of quality reproductive: health and family
planning supplies and commodities to make them accessible and affordable to
ordinary citizens;

f. To fully implement the Reproductive Health Care Program with the following
components:

(1) Reproductive health education including but not limited to counseling on the
full range of legal and medically-safe family planning methods including surgical
methods;

(2) Maternal, pen-natal and post-natal education, care and services;

(3) Promotion of breastfeeding;

(4) Promotion of male involvement, participation and responsibility in

reproductive health as well as other reproductive health concerns of men;

(5) Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications; and

(6) Provision of information and services addressing the reproductive health

needs of the poor, senior citizens, women in prostitution, differently-abled
persons, and women and children in war AND crisis situations.

g. To ensure that reproductive health services are delivered with a full range of
supplies, facilities and equipment and that service providers are adequately
trained for reproductive health care;

h. To endeavor to furnish local Family Planning Offices with appropriate

information and resources to keep the latter updated on current studies and
research relating to family planning, responsible parenthood, breastfeeding and
infant nutrition;

i. To direct all public hospitals to make available to indigent mothers who deliver
their children in these government hospitals, upon the mothers request, the
procedure of ligation without cost to her;
j. To recommend the enactment of legislation and adoption of executive
measures that will strengthen and enhance the national policy on reproductive
health and population development;

k. To ensure a massive and sustained information drive on responsible

parenthood and on all methods and techniques to prevent unwanted, unplanned
and mistimed pregnancies, it shall release information bulletins on the same for
nationwide circulation to all government departments, agencies and
instrumentalities, non-government organizations and the private sector, schools,
public and private libraries, tri-media outlets, workplaces, hospitals and
concerned health institutions;

l. To strengthen the capacities of health regulatory agencies to ensure safe, high-

quality, accessible, and affordable reproductive health services and commodities
with the concurrent strengthening and enforcement of regulatory mandates and
mechanisms;

m. To take active steps to expand the coverage of the National Health Insurance
Program (NHIP), especially among poor and marginalized women, to include the
full range of reproductive health services and supplies as health insurance
benefits; and

n. To perform such other functions necessary to attain the purposes of this Act.

The membership of the Board of Commissioners of POPCOM shall consist of the

heads of the following AGENCIES:

1. National Economic DevelopmentAuthority (VEDA)

2. Department of Health (DOH)
3. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
4. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
5. Department of Agriculture (DA)
6. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
7. Department of Education (DepEd)
8. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
9. Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
10. University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI)
11. Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAFI)
12. National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPQ
13. National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW)
14. National Youth Commission (NYC)
In addition to the aforementioned, members, there shall be three private sector
representatives to the Board of Commissioners of POPCOM who shall come
from NGOs. There shall be one (1) representative each from women, youth and
health sectors who have a proven track record of involvement in the promotion of
reproductive health. These representatives shall be nominated in a process
determined by the above-mentioned sectors, and to be appointed by the
President for a term of three (3)years.

SEC. 6. Midwives for Skilled Attendance. -Every city and municipality shall
endeavor to employ adequate number of midwives or other skilled attendants to
achieve a minimum ratio of one (1)for every one hundred fifty (150) deliveries per
year, to be based on the average annual number of actual deliveries or live births
for the past two years.
SEC. 7. Emergency Obstetric Care. – Each province. and city shall endeavor to
ensure the establishment and operation of hospitals with adequate and qualified
personnel that provide emergency obstetric care. For every 500,000 population,
there shall be at least one (1) hospital for comprehensive emergency obstetric
care and four (4) hospitals for basic emergency obstetric care.
SEC. 8. Maternal Death Review. – All LGUs, national and local government
hospitals, and other public health units shall conduct maternal death review in
accordance with the guidelines to be issued by the DOH in consultation with the
POPCOM.
SEC. 9. Hospital-Based Family Planning. -Tubal ligation, vasectomy,
intrauterine device insertion and other family planning methods requiring hospital
services shall be available in all national and local government hospitals, except:
in specialty hospitals which may render such services on an optional basis. For
indigent patients, such services shall be fully covered by PhilHealth insurance
and/or government financial assistance.
SEC. 10. Contraceptives as Essential Medicines. – Hormonal contraceptives,
intrauterine devices, injectables and other allied reproductive health products and
supplies shall be considered under the category of essential medicines and
supplies which shall form part of the National Drug Formulary and the same shall
be included in the regular purchase of essential medicines and supplies of all
national and lord hospitals and other government health units.
SEC. 11. Mobile Health Care Service. -Each Congressional District shall be
provided with a van to be known as the Mobile Health Care Service (MHOS) to
deliver health care goods and services to its constituents, more particularly to the
poor and needy, as well as disseminate knowledge and information on
reproductive health: Provided, That reproductive health education shall be
conducted by competent and adequately trained persons preferably reproductive
health care providers: Provided, further, That the full range of family planning
methods, both natural and modern, shall be promoted.

The acquisition, operation and maintenance of the MRCS shall be funded from
the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of each Congressional
District.

The MHCS shall be adequately equipped with a wide range of reproductive

health care materials and information dissemination devices and equipment, the
latter including but not limited to, a television set for audio-visual presentation.

SEC. 12. Mandatory Age-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education. –

Recognizing the importance of reproductive health rights in empowering the
youth and developing them into responsible adults, Reproductive Health
Education in an age-appropriate manner shall be taught by adequately trained
teachers starting from Grade 5 up to Fourth Year High School. In order to assure
the prior training of teachers on reproductive health, the implementation of
Reproductive Health Education shall commence at the start of the school year
one year following the effectivity of this Act. The POPCOM, in coordination with
the Department of Education, shall formulate the Reproductive Health Education
curriculum, which shall be common to both public and private schools and shall
include related population and development concepts in addition to the following
subjects and standards:

a. Reproductive health and sexual rights;

b. Reproductive health care and services;

c. Attitudes, beliefs and values on sexual development, sexual behavior and

sexual health;

d. Proscription and hazards of abortion and management of post-abortion

complications;

e. Responsible parenthood.

f. Use and application of natural and modern family planning methods to promote
reproductive health, achieve desired family size and prevent unwanted,
unplanned and mistimed pregnancies;

g. Abstinence before marriage;

h. Prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other, STIs/STDs, prostate cancer,

breast cancer, cervical cancer and other gynecological disorders;
i. Responsible sexuality; and

j. Maternal, peri-natal and post-natal education, care and services.

In support of the natural, and primary right of parents in the rearing of the youth,
the POPCOM shall provide concerned parents with adequate and relevant
scientific materials on the age-appropriate topics and manner of teaching
reproductive health education to their children.

In the elementary level, reproductive health education shall focus, among others,
on values formation.

Non-formal education programs shall likewise include the abovementioned

reproductive Health Education.

SEC. 13. Additional Duty of Family Planning 0ffice. – Each local Family
Planning Office shall furnish for free instructions and information on family
planning, responsible parenthood, breastfeeding and infant nutrition to all
applicants for marriage license.

SEC. 14. Certificate of Compliance. – No marriage license shall be issued by

the Local Civil Registrar unless the applicants present a Certificate of
Compliance issued for free by the local Family Planning Office certifying that they
had duly received adequate instructions and information on family planning,
responsible parenthood, breastfeeding and infant nutrition.

SEC. 15. Capability Building of Community-Based Volunteer Workers. –

Community-based volunteer workers, like but not limited to, Barangay Health
Workers, shall undergo additional and updated training on the delivery of
reproductive health care services and shall receive not less than 10% increase in
honoraria upon successful completion of training. The increase in honoraria shall
be funded from the Gender and Development (GAD) budget of the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Health (DOH) and
the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

SEC. 16. Ideal Family Size. – The State shall assist couples, parents and
individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible
parenthood for sustainable development and encourage them to have two
children as the ideal family size. Attaining the ideal family size is neither
mandatory nor compulsory. No punitive action shall be imposed on parents
having more than two children.
SEC. 17. Employers’ Responsibilities. – Employers shall respect the
reproductive health rights of all their workers. Women shall not be discriminated
against in the matter of hiring, regularization of employment status or selection
for retrenchment.

All Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) shall provide for the free delivery by
the employer of reasonable quantity of reproductive health care services,
supplies and devices to all workers, more particularly women workers. In
establishments or enterprises where there are no CBAs or where the employees
are unorganized, the employer shall have the same obligation.

SEC. 18. Support of Private and Non-government Health Care Service

Providers. – Pursuant to Section 5(b) hereof, private reproductive health care
service providers, including but not limited to gynecologists and obstetricians, are
encouraged to join their colleagues in non-government organizations in rendering
such services free of charge or at reduced professional fee rates to indigent and
low income patients.
SEC. 19. Multi-Media Campaign. – POPCOM shall initiate and sustain an
intensified nationwide multi-media campaign to raise the level of public
awareness on the urgent need to protect and promote reproductive health and
rights.

SEC. 20. Reporting Requirements. – Before the end of April of each year,the
DOH shall submit an annual report to the President of the Philippines, the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on a
definitive and comprehensive assessment of the implementation of this Act and
shall make the necessary recommendations for executive and legislative action.
The report shall be posted in the website of DOH and printed copies shall be
made available to all stakeholders.

SEC. 21. Prohibited Acts. – The following acts are prohibited:

a) Any health care service provider, whether public or private, who shall:

1. Knowingly withhold information or impede the dissemination thereof, and/or

intentionally provide incorrect information regarding programs and services on
reproductive health including the right to informed choice and access to a full
range of legal, medically-safe and effective family planning methods;

2. Refuse to perform voluntary ligation and vasectomy and other legal and
medically-safe reproductive health care services on any person of legal age on
the ground of lack of spousal consent or authorization.
3. Refuse to provide reproductive health care services to an abused minor,
whose abused condition is certified by the proper official or personnel of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or to duly DSWD-
certified abused pregnant minor on whose case no parental consent is
necessary.

4. Fail to provide, either deliberately or through gross or inexcusable negligence,

reproductive health care services as mandated under this Act, the Local
Government Code of 1991, the Labor Code, and Presidential Decree 79, as
amended; and
5. Refuse to extend reproductive health care services and information on account
of the patient’s civil status, gender or sexual orientation, age, religion, personal
circumstances, and nature of work; Provided, That all conscientious objections of
health care service providers based on religious grounds shall be respected:
Provided, further, That the conscientious objector shall immediately refer the
person seeking such care and services to another health care service provider
within the same facility or one which is conveniently accessible: Provided, finally,
That the patient is not in an emergency or serious case as defined in RA 8344
penalizing the refusal of hospitals and medical clinics to administer appropriate
initial medical treatment and support in emergency and serious cases.

b) Any public official who prohibits or restricts personally or through a subordinate

the delivery of legal and medically-safe reproductive health care services,
including family planning;

c) Any employer who shall fail to comply with his obligation under Section 17 of
this Act or an employer who requires a female applicant or employee, as a
condition for employment or continued employment, to involuntarily undergo
sterilization, tubal ligation or any other form of contraceptive method;

d) Any person who shall falsify a certificate of compliance as required in Section

14 of this Act; and

e) Any person who maliciously engages in disinformation about the intent or

provisions of this Act.

SEC. 22. Penalties. – The proper city or municipal court shall exercise
jurisdiction over violations of this Act and the accused who is found guilty shall be
sentenced to an imprisonment ranging from one (1) month to six (6) months or a
fine ranging from Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) to Fifty Thousand Pesos
(P50,000.00) or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. If
the offender is a juridical person, the penalty shall be imposed upon the
president, treasurer, secretary or any responsible officer. An offender who is an
alien shall, after service of sentence, be deported immediately without further
proceedings by the Bureau of Immigration. An offender who is a public officer or
employee shall suffer the accessory penalty of dismissal from the government
service.

Violators of this Act shall be civilly liable to the offended party in such amount at
the discretion of the proper court.

SEC. 23. Appropriations. – The amounts appropriated in the current annual

General Appropriations Act for reproductive health and family planning under the
DOH and POPCOM together with ten percent (10%) of the Gender and
Development (GAD) budgets of all government departments, agencies, bureaus,
offices and instrumentalities funded in the annual General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Republic Act No. 7192 (Women in Development and Nation-
building Act) and Executive Order No. 273 (Philippine Plan for Gender
Responsive Development 1995-2025) shall be allocated and utilized for the
implementation of this Act. Such additional sums as may be necessary for the
effective implementation of this Act shall be Included in the subsequent years’
General Appropriations Acts.
SEC. 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from
the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Health shall promulgate, after
thorough consultation with the Commission on Population (POPCOM), the
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), concerned non-government
organizations (NGOs) and known reproductive health advocates, the requisite
implementing rules and regulations.
SEC. 25. Separability Clause. – If any part, section or provision of this Act is
held invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions not affected thereby shall remain
in full force and effect.

SEC. 26. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, Orders, issuances, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 27. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of national circulation.

B. Secondary Authority: selected articles on sex education and its

application.

Sex education should start in kindergarten—DOH

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) - Health secretary Esperanza Cabral said sex
education should be taught as early as kindergarten, and not when a teen is
already pregnant.

"Actually, maski kindergarten dapat binibigyan ng konting information tungkol

diyan. Hindi yung kapag buntis na, saka pa lang makakaalam kung papaano siya
nabuntis. Mula pa sa batang edad, dapat may pagtuturo na appropriate sa
kanilang edad," Cabral told reporters at the sidelines of the Conferment of
Presidential Citation to Agencies Involved in Anti-Poverty Programs in
Malacanang.

The Department of Education (DepEd) is going to start offering sex education

this schoolyear on a pilot testing program to students in some public schools in
grades 5 and 6, and high school. Sex education will be integrated in subjects
such as science and values education.

According to Cabral, DepEd should be able to expound on what topics will be

discussed in the sex education lessons in each grade or year level in the
program. The Department of Health (DOH) is ready to provide technical
assistance to DepEd in the program implementation.

DepEd secretary Mona Valisno said the experimental program will be carried out
in 79 out of 6,000 public high schools, and in 80 public elementary schools in the
country.

The coverage of sex education classes will be based on materials prepared by

experts, psychologists and educators. Among the topics to be taught is the
importance of making the right decision and avoiding vices.

"That is the general terminology but it will be what will be appropriate to certain
level of grade and age level kaya may specialist, psychologist na gumawa ng
materials na ito," Valisno said.

"There are areas by which they could expose themselves to preventive measures
to protect themselves [from] getting things like infections [and] diseases," Valisno
said.

Program results will be presented to various sectors, including the Catholic

church.

Malacañang wants to include the church in consultations to be conducted about

this matter, said executive secretary Leandro Mendoza.

Church reaction
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), on the other hand,
expressed dismay at Cabral's positioin that sex education should be taught in
kindergarten.

"Nakakagulat. Di maintindihan kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin. Nakaka-shock

yun, ituturo ang reproduction, safe sex sa kinder," said Msgr. Quitorio, CBCP
spokesman.

According to Msgr. Quitorio, "lahat naman ng panahon, may tanong, may tamang
sagot. Di mo isasagot sa kinder ang para sa teenager. Malaking kamalian yun."

He said parents have the responsibility to explain to their children answers to

questions such as why they have siblings and where they came from.

Msgr. Quitorio added that a child is not taught to hold a gun. The same should be
true of sex education.

Sex education is oriented toward reproduction, explained Msgr. Quitorio, and he

believes there is no appropriate sex education for kindergarten.

But he said the Catholic church has long been teaching sex education in the right
context and to the right ages. Sex is not just an act but is something sacred.
"Hindi dapat tinuturo ng ganun na lang," he said.

The right time to teach sex education, according to Msgr. Quitorio, is when
students are in third year high school. -- Report from Willard Cheng and Niña
Corpuz, ABS-CBN News.

Sex education debate heats up in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - A new sex education campaign in Philippine schools has

sparked widespread debate in Asia's bedrock of Catholicism, where the high birth
rate is blamed for desperate poverty.

The United Nations-backed program, which is being piloted this month in primary
and high schools, aims to promote safe sex, limit the spread of HIV-AIDS and
prevent unwanted pregnancies.

However, the Catholic Church and powerful conservative crusaders have struck
back with a high-profile campaign to shut down the project, saying it breaks the
nation's religion-based moral codes.
"Sex education in schools is not the answer to our population problem and
poverty," Eric Manalang, head of the conservative political party Ang Kapatiran
(The Brotherhood), told AFP on Monday.

"It promotes promiscuity among children... it does not promote the proper values
that we want our children to receive in schools and we believe sex education
should strictly remain a family affair."

Manalang said his party and church had filed a petition in court on Monday
requesting an injunction to stop the program.

He said the chances of the legal bid succeeding were high with the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines, as well as various parent groups,
supporting the fight.

Their legal bid claims the program impinges on parents' constitutional right to
educate their children based on their religious beliefs.

"Issues that are not for children should not be taught in schools," the bishops'
conference said in a statement.

While Ang Kapatiran is only a small political party, conservative religious forces
led by the Church hold a lot of sway in the Philippines, where more than 80
percent of the nation's 90-million people are Catholic.

The bishops last year succeeded in blocking a proposed law in parliament that
would have made it easier for the public to access state-funded contraceptives.

Nevertheless, the education department has so far held firm.

It says the program is aimed at curbing a population growth rate of over two
percent, among the highest in Asia, and does not promote out-of-marriage sex.

The scheme covers topics such as reproductive systems and cycles, hygiene,
pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, according
to the education department.
Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the teaching modules were designed by
professionals, including psychologists, who made sure the discussions would be
educational.

"Sex education will be integrated in other subjects such as science and they are
designed to be scientific and informative," she said.

"They are not designed to titillate prurient interests."

The United Nations has become embroiled in the controversy because it partly
funded the project, and issued a statement last week rejecting the Church's
position.

Manalang hit out at the United Nations Population Fund, the body involved in the
project, saying it was interfering with internal Philippine issues.

But the fund's Philippine director, Suneeta Mukherjee, said opponents of the
program had nothing to fear.

"We are not encouraging people, or children, to have sexual relationships. We

are only helping students handle their sexuality as part of the process of growing
up," Mukherjee told AFP.

"Children at this age are very sensitive and must be taught by people in
authority."

She pointed out that HIV was on the rise among young Filipinos, and many of the
nation's poor -- a third of the population lives on less than a dollar a day -- did not
have access to sound education on sexual matters.

"We just want the children to make responsible decisions," Mukherjee said.

A controversy over sex education in the Philippines

From IRIN a sex education plan proposal has generated a lot of controversy do
toPhilippines social stigmas.
A controversy is raging in the Philippines over a sex education programme aimed
at cutting the population growth rate, which is blamed for massive poverty in the
Southeast Asian country of about 92 million.

Openly talking about sex remains taboo in many quarters of Philippine society
but all that is changing as the government introduces a controversial sex
education programme to public school pupils.

The influential Roman Catholic Church is demanding the plan be scrapped, but
the cash-strapped government is struggling to contain an annual population
growth rate of more than 2 percent.

Education Secretary Mona Valisno said she was open to meeting church leaders
about the sex education campaign, which was launched this week at the start of
the school year. The plan is to introduce the Adolescent Reproductive Health
programme to children from the fifth grade and older in 80 public elementary and
79 high schools, but it will soon be expanded nationwide.

“Our role here is to educate the young people on issues that directly affect them
and empower them to make informed choices and decisions,” Valisno told
reporters, explaining that the sex education modules would be integrated in
various subjects, including science and health.

Topics will range from personal hygiene to reproductive health. Issues relating to
pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy, as well as HIV and AIDS, will also be
discussed, she said.

“Among those who prepared the modules are psychologists because we want to
ensure that specific topics for discussions will be made in the appropriate year
levels,” she said.

Consultations

However, she said government was “still open for consultations” with the church,
and it is not known if the programme will be fully implemented, revised or
scrapped.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which in the past
has succeeded in blocking a proposed law that would have provided public funds
for information on and access to artificial birth control, quickly voiced its
opposition to the programme, and demanded that it be scrapped on moral
grounds. It also argued that sex education was better taught in the privacy of the
home, not in the public sphere.

“These issues are not for children,” said Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, CBCP’s
media director. “This is better left to the parents. This will just lead to promiscuity.
Sex should be taught as a gift from God and not just the physical aspect of it.”

Combating poverty and HIV

The UN, in a statement on 18 June, meanwhile threw its weight behind the
programme, pointing out that the Philippines was a signatory to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child that obliges it to ensure adolescent girls and boys are
given accurate and appropriate information on how to protect their health and
practise sexually safe behaviours.

“Since 47 percent of the population in the Philippines are below 19, a critical
element to helping young people out of poverty is providing them with the
information to enable them to grow up healthy and enable them to make the right
choices for themselves and their families,” the UN said.

Suneeta Mukherjee, the Philippine country director for the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA), sought to allay widespread fears among parents that the school
lessons would encourage children to be sexually active.

“These are life skills modules. This is not necessarily about contraception. Sex
education is a misunderstood term,” Mukherjee told IRIN.

“The young ones are excitable, willing to take risks. They must be properly
informed of what is right for them, what risks they are taking. This will definitely
not lead to promiscuity,” she said, adding that the UNFPA remains committed to
seeing the programme through with the Manila government.

According to the UN, the country remains off-track in achieving most of the
Millennium Development Goals, with 33 percent of Filipinos still living on less
than US$1 a day. In addition, about 5.2 million school-age children are not
enrolled in education, while 11 mothers die each day due to pregnancy-related
causes.

But even worse is that the incidence of HIV among youth has increased five-fold
just over the past two years, the UN said.
Sex vs God in the Philippines
By Jennee Grace U Rubrico

MANILA - Armin Luistro is embroiled in a fierce debate between church and

state. As the Philippines education secretary, it's his job to steer government
plans to introduce sex education into elementary and high schools in the
predominantly Catholic nation.
Since announcing last month that he planned to review the program, Luistro, a
member of the De La Salle Brothers - a group of full-time religious educators who
are not priests - has sought to distance himself from a longstanding issue that is
putting politically powerful church leaders at loggerheads with the government for
the second time in five years, saying it is not his priority.

As in a similar tie-up between the department and the United

Nations Population Fund in 2005 - which was suspended at its pilot stage - the
government again finds itself at odds with the politically powerful Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which wields enormous
influence, including the formulation of national policies. While Luistro has yet to
decide on the future of the program, he has met with church leaders, whose
stance on the issue is clear.

"The position of the CBCP even before is that it [sex education] should be left
to parents, especially if we are talking about children who are underage," CBCP
spokesman Pedro Quitorio III said.

Spearheaded by the Education Department, the government's initiative aims to

teach students about health, wellness, values and
character development through modules that include discussions on the human
reproductive system, parts of the body and puberty. As planned by the previous
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, sex education is to be integrated in
subjects including geography, history and civics and mathematics, with the
church's position on pre-marital sex included alongside data on pre-marital sex,
teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

In a memorandum detailing the focus of the earlier program, the Education

Department stressed the need for sex education by pointing out that 71.1% of
young females and 35.7% of young males reported contracting genital diseases.
It had also noted a 5% rise in early unprotected sex between 1994 and 2002, as
well as a lack of adequate knowledge among adolescents to prevent unwanted
pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

To address those matters, the Education Department had pushed for "more
specific and focused topics", including safe motherhood, fertility awareness,
misconceptions and myths on family planning methods, and adolescent
reproductive health, and for parent-child counseling. The revived program was
scheduled to be pilot tested this year in 79 public secondary schools and eight
elementary schools across the country.

The church is not without its backers since about 82% of country's 90 million
people are Roman Catholic. The Education Department now faces a lawsuit filed
on behalf of 30 parents who oppose the sex education plan for allegedly
promoting “contraceptive imperialism” that assaults Christian sensibilities and
values.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a political force that claims to be
fighting for the right of Muslims in the Philippines, has also joined the fray. "This
is like preparing the child to be competitive for the next world of sex," said Sheikh
Muhammad Muntassir, head of the MILF Da'wah committee, who also added that
the policy was "hastily designed" and did not consider child psychology.

The Education Department has for the last month been firefighting, giving out
interviews and issuing press statements to defend the program. In an attempt to
manage the backlash, former education secretary Mona Valisno clarified that
"classroom discussions on sex education [are] not about the sex act but on the
science of reproduction, physical care and hygiene, correct values and the norms
of inter-personal relationships to avoid pre-marital sex and teenage pregnancy.

"Our role here is to educate our young people on issues that directly affect them
and empower them to make informed choices and decisions," Valisno said,
adding the modules were prepared by psychologists "to ensure that specific
topics for discussions will be made in the appropriate year levels".

She admitted, however, that it would be up to the new administration to decide on

the implementation or scrapping of the contested project. Many take a pragmatic
stance, citing the dismal results of the country's population control drive to argue
their point. Now the twelfth-most populous country in the world, the Philippines
has a population that grows at a rate of 1.96% per year.

Of its 90 million people, 40% are aged 14 years old and below. East Timor is the
only Southeast Asian country that has a faster population growth rate, at 2.03%.
Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, has a population growth rate
of 1.14% per year, while China and India, the two most populous countries in the
world, see their population grow yearly by 0.66% and 1.55% respectively.

"Personally, this is not a moral issue. Whether we should follow the church's
teaching, I don't agree. The situation is that the country needs to manage its
population," said Donald Dee, vice chairman of the Philippine Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, the country's largest business organization. "But when
and how sex education should be taught is something that we leave to the child
psychology experts."

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute of Political and Electoral

Reform, notes that population growth control is paramount, as a runaway
population puts the country at risk of running out of resources.

"Having a big population has some advantages, like having a big labor pool, but
there's a possibility that we would run out of food to feed our people," he said.

He raised the possibility that the name - the Adolescent Reproductive Health
program - and approach of the initiative may have contributed to the conflict
between the church and government. While acknowledging that the church as an
institution was not likely to change its position, Casiple said he still believed that
the program had a good chance of survival.

Luistro's move to review the program, he said, would open up discussion and
debate. He added that even within the church, the sex education initiative
enjoyed some support.

"The beauty of having a cabinet [in government] is that issues can be discussed
and resolved by consensus. The country needs to manage its population, and
most likely, the [government's position] will be leaning towards reproductive
health, including sex education," he said.

PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

The concept of psychosexual development, as envisioned

by Sigmund Freud at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the
20th century, is a central element in his sexual drive theory, which
posits that, from birth, humans have instinctual sexual appetites
(libido), which unfold in a series of stages. Each stage is
characterized by the erogenous zone that is the source of the
libidinal drive during that stage. These stages are, in order: oral, anal,
phallic, latency, and genital. Freud believed that if, during any stage,
the child experienced anxiety in relation to that drive, that themes
related to this stage would persist into adulthood as neurosis.

Freud observed that, at somewhat predictable points during early

development, children's behavior often orients around certain body parts
(the mouth during breast-feeding, the anus during Toilet-training, and later
the genitals). Believing, due to his previous work with hysterical patients,
that adult neurosis often has root in childhood sexuality, Freud proposed
that these behaviors were childhood expressions of sexual fantasy and
desire. He suggested that humans are born "polymorphously perverse",
meaning that infants can derive sexual pleasure from any part of the body,
 and that it is only through socialization that libidinal drives are focused into
adult heterosexuality.
Due to the fairly predictable time-line that the childhood behaviors in
question follow, Freud developed a model for what he considered to be the
normal sexual development of the child, which he called "libido
development". According to this theory, each child passes through five
psychosexual stages. During each stage, the libido has a different
erogenous zone as the source of its drives. The libido refers to various
kinds of sensual pleasures and gratifications.
However, in the pursuit of satisfying these sexual urges, the child
may experience failure or reprimands from its parents or society and may
thus come to associate anxiety with this erogenous zone. To avoid this
anxiety, the child becomes preoccupied with themes related to this zone, a
phenomenon Freud termed fixation. Freud believed the fixation persists
into adulthood and underlies the personality structure and
psychopathology, including neurosis, hysteria and personality disorders.
Freud called this psychosexual infantilism.
Freud's model of psychosexual development

Age Erogenous
Stage Consequences of Fixation
Range zone(s)

Orally aggressive: Signs include chewing

gum or ends of pens.
Orally Passive: Signs include
Birth-1
Oral Mouth smoking/eating/kissing/fellatio/cunnilingus[3]
year
Fixation at this stage may result in passivity,
gullibility, immaturity and manipulative
personality

Anal retentive: Obsession with organization

1–3 Bowel and bladder or excessive neatness
Anal
years elimination Anal expulsive: Reckless, careless, defiant,
disorganized, Coprophiliac
 Oedipus complex (in boys only according to
3–6 Freud)
Phallic Genitals
years
Electra complex (in girls only, later
developed by Carl Jung)

6- (People do not tend to fixate at this stage,

Dormant sexual
Latency puberty but if they do, they tend to be extremely
feelings
years sexually unfulfilled.)
Puberty-
Sexual interests Frigidity, impotence, unsatisfactory
Genital end of
mature relationships
life

Latency phase
The latency stage is typified by a solidifying of the habits that the
child developed in the earlier stages. Whether the Oedipal conflict is
successfully resolved or not, the drives of the Id are not accessible to the
Ego during this stage of development, since they have been repressed
during the phallic stage. Hence the drives are seen as dormant and hidden
(latent), and the gratification the child receives is not as immediate as it
was during the three previous stages. Now pleasure is mostly related to
secondary process thinking. Drive energy is redirected to new activities,
mainly related to schooling, hobbies and friends. Problems however might
occur during this stage, and this is attributed to inadequate repression of
the Oedipal conflict, or to the inability of the Ego to redirect the drive
energy to activities accepted by the social environment.

Tabu larasa

Tabula rasa is the epistemological thesis that individuals are born

without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from
experience and perception. Generally proponents of the tabula rasa thesis
favour the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate, when it
comes to aspects of one's personality, social and emotional behaviour, and
intelligence. The term in Latin equates to the English "blank slate" (which
refers to writing on a slate sheet in chalk) but comes from the
Roman tabula or wax tablet, used for notes, which was blanked by heating
the wax and then smoothing it to give a tabula rasa.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

Cruz, Isagani: Philippine Political Law, Quezon City, Philippines, 2002

Gay, Peter: Freud, A Life of Our Times, Bantam, 1998

Strachery, James: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psycholodical

Works of Sigmund Freud, W. W. Norton & Company, 1976

ONLINE SERVICES and the INTERNET:

RH Bill No. 5043, The Presidentials blog,

http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/reproductive-health-bill-5043/text-of-
rh-bill-no-5043/

Sex education should start in kindergarten—DOH, Willard Cheng, et.al, abs-

cbn.news.com, June 3 2010

Sex education debate heats up in Philippines

A controversy over sex education in the Philippines, Poverty news blog,
June 18 2010

Sex vs God in the Philippines, Jennee Grace U Rubrico, Asia Times Online,
July 21 2010

Psychosexual development, www.wikipedia.com

Tabu larasa, www.wikipedia.com