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Monday, February 14, 2005
Government birth control drive targets teens
MANILA -- Not only couples but even teenagers are also target of government's Responsible Parenthood program.
Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said that while their major concern is the two million Filipino couples in the urban and rural slums, teenagers or those in their adolescent stage will also be the subject of the education campaign of the government's Ligtas Buntis 2005.
However, Dayrit stressed that in educating the teenagers, this would expose the youth to the use of contraceptives like condoms and pills.
"We will orient teenagers about the responsibility (of having children at an early age) but we will not tell them that they are free to use condoms and contraceptives," said Dayrit.
Based on the recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Station from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2 last year, about 20 percent belonging to the 18 to 24 years old admitted of taking pills while about 0.4 percent are using condoms.
15-years-old
The 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey also said male teenagers who had their first sexual intercourse at age 15 are higher than their female counterparts.
Dayrit said it is equally important to touch base with the teenagers since one of the major causes of the growing population in the Philippines is early pregnancy among teenage women.
"Because we don't want teenagers to be pregnant we are including them in the campaign,' added Dayrit.
Family planning
The survey shows that 70 percent Filipinos are not using any family planning method and Dayrit said this is one more area they would focus on since the government, through the health centers, is pushing for family planning.
Monsignor Hernando Coronel, secretary general and spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said they still want to know the composition of the survey and the reason the number of couples practicing family planning method has not changed.
But Coronel admitted that from the survey it is obvious that majority of the Filipinos using family planning are into natural methods.
He stressed, though, that the bishops would still push for the natural method, and not artificial.
Dayrit, meantime, said they are hoping that the Catholic church would not misconstrue the Ligtas Buntis 2005 campaign.
"In the teachings of the church, you're free to follow them so what the government is doing is presenting these methods so people could choose according to their beliefs," the health chief said.
Around 2,000 to 5,000 health workers will be doing a door-to-door campaign starting Feb. 21 for the Ligtas Buntis 2005 campaign targeting two million couples. (Marie Neri)
(February 14, 2005 issue)
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