DepEd urges students to choose abstinence

WHILE the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) will be distributing thousands of condoms from the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Education will strengthen its advocacy to encourage abstinence among the youth.

Their message: the youth will expose themselves to problems if they fail to practice abstinence.

“The schools are advocating abstinence among the youth nga dili gyud sila magpahilabot ug di nila (that they will not have sex with anyone other than their) husband because they will be exposing themselves to problems,” Cebu City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Rhea Mar Angtud said.

Click here for Election 2010 updates

Angtud, however, added the agency can only go as far as making the students aware of the advantages and disadvantages of their actions.

“We respect freedom of choice and the schools can only give this much. The schools can only make available information for the students to process their actions,” she said.

The debate on how to teach the youth about sexuality and health is one of the controversial features of the reproductive health bill. The bill provides for mandatory but age-appropriate education on reproductive health, but its critics contend it will only encourage promiscuity.

In a study, the University of the Philippines Population Institute has found that the percentage of sexually active youth (15 to 24 years old) rose from 17.8 percent in 1994 to 23.4 percent in 2002.

In an interview, Angtud said the youth should realize the importance of abstinence to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, as well as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids).

“If we can make the youth realize that still the best way is abstinence until they get married, then they have no need for condoms,” said Angtud.

In an earlier statement, Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer, founder of Aids-Free Philippines, said young people have become more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases because they become sexually active too early.

He said the youngest person the foundation documented as having HIV was a 15-year-old.