CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Central Luzon is among the regions in the country with the most number of pregnancy cases, second to Mimaropa region, according to the Civil Registry and Vital Statistics (CRVS) of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD).
The data said that Region III teenage pregnancy cases "totaled 17,107 adolescents aged 10-19 getting pregnant, contributing 11.4% of the total teenage pregnancy cases nationwide."
This is a 10.15 percent increase from the same period in 2021.
The CPD said that Bulacan province has the highest incidence of teenage pregnancies in Central Luzon with 4,613.
Pampanga ranks 2nd with 4, 199 cases, with Angeles City alone registering some 624 of the reported cases.
The CPD report said that Nueva Ecija recorded 3,495 cases, while the Province of Tarlac had 1,825 cases.
Bataan recorded 1,336 teenage pregnancy cases, followed Zambales with 1,238, with Olongapo City registering some 211 of the reported cases.
The Province of Aurora has the least number of reported cases at 401 in the region.
CPD III Regional Director Lourdes P. Nacionales said that the latest data "mirror an increase of teenage pregnancy cases both in the country and the region."
"These numbers are alarming especially with the rising incidence of pregnancies among younger girls aged 14 and below," Nacionales said.
She added that while the majority of teenage pregnancy in the region is still highest among adolescents 15 to 19, there were also 409 live births coming from very young adolescents aged 10-14, a 33.66% increase from the previous data (CRVS 2021)," Nacionales said.
The CPD said that asserts that teenage pregnancy is "both a health and development concern" stressing that the issue "affects the health and total development of the individual with implications on the family, the community, and socioeconomic development."
"We are advocating for zero teenage pregnancy and that one teenage pregnancy is too many considering the effects and impacts it brings to the life of these young mothers," Nacionales said.
"Babies born to very young mothers are at a higher risk of diseases and death while teenage mothers who have given birth are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and are restrained from pursuing educational and employment opportunities," she added.