Transcript of Senator Risa Hontiveros' Q&A with DepEd
January 28, 2025
Transcript of Senator Risa Hontiveros' Q&A with DepEd
Joint Committee hearing on Rising Number of Adolescent Pregnancy and HIV among the Youth
28 January 2025
Senator Risa Hontiveros: Alright, salamat po Mr. Chair. Siguro i-follow up ko yung initial presentation ng DepEd sa ating Usec. at mga Asec. din. So Mr. Chair, in the briefer that DepEd released earlier this month, you reported that 11,079 PTA, PTC, parent representatives from pilot, as the Chair was mentioning, pilot and non-pilot regions were trained and oriented on comprehensive sexuality education. So ano po yung breakdown nitong CSE parent orientations? Pwede niyo po bang ibahagi sa komite namin kung ilang eskwelahan ang involved sa bawat rehiyon, pilot regions at saka non-pilot regions? At ilan pong mga guro ang na-train sa CSE as of 2024, last year, Mr. Chair.
Asec. Janir Datukan: Mr. Chair, let me pull out that data.
Asec. Dexter Galban: Madam Chair, while as Asec. Janir looking for the breakdown of the PTAs trained, based on our data sets, we have been able to train 400,000 teachers on CSE, specifically the more sensitive and more complex aspects of CSP that is separate from their inset or their in-service training.
SRH: Tapos may bilang na po ba ng mga parent orientations? Kasi diba dun sa DepEd, yung CSE hindi lamang para sa mga estudyante, para din sa parents and guardians, and of course para sa teachers. So ano naman po yung breakdown ng CSE parent orientations?
Asec. Datukan: I'm trying to locate that data, Mr. Chair. My apologies if you can give me more time.
SRH: Yes, certainly, Mr. Chair. At pati po sana kung ilang mga eskwelahanang involved per region at sa kailang mga guro ang nasanay din sa CSE as of 2024. May I proceed, Mr. Chair? Since the issuance of this DepEd Order 31 series of 2018 So going on seven years na, ano po yung main bottlenecks na nagpabagal dun sa faithful and effective implementation of CSE? At sa bottlenecks na yun, anong measures ang ginawa ng DepEd para tugunan itong mga bottlenecks na ito, Mr. Chair?
Asec. Galban: In terms of the implementation of DO 31 of couse the initial challenge is the familiarity of our teachers when it comes to the content. And this was supplemented by conducting teacher trainings. It was included as part of the in-service training, which covers all teachers as part of their mandatory annual training. But apart from that, we also pushed for the specialized training of CSE-oriented teachers, which, as I've mentioned earlier, about 400,000 teachers have been trained on that matter. And our goal is to hopefully eventually get all teachers accustomed to knowing how to effectively handle CSE as a topic for our learners.
SRH: So Mr. Chair, 400,000 specialized teachers. Sa kabuuan, ilan po ba ang human resources ng DepEd na eventually mai-involve sa implementasyon ng CSE?
Asec. Galban: The universe of teachers that we have, Madam Chair is a little over 800,000. So, we're roughly at around the halfway point, although we would like to note that we prioritized of course, the specialized training of CSE for the teachers that are handling the older demographics, particularly those handling the adolescent age bracket, as intended to by law. And at the same time, we also had a bit of challenge, particularly in terms of coordinating with other government agencies that have pro-adolescent health and well-being services, particularly services that may be offered by the DOH, DSWD, and the like, when it comes to a myriad of reasons on teenage pregnancy prevention, whether it be OSAEC CSAEM or several other considerations on that matter. More so that in terms of the universe of learners that we're able to monitor, we would only be able to monitor those that are within the school premises. So out of school youth, teenage pregnancies on that regard, we might not be able to provide direct intervention if they are not part of the basic education system.
SRH: Salamat, Mr. Chair. I'd be interested and the committee would be interested, I believe, to hear more on ano yung bottleneck sa coordination among other government agencies. And I'm sure Mr. Chair, maitatunong din po natin during this hearing sa Department of Health. Salamat po dun sa pagbanggit niyo, Asec, na hindi pa, hindi masaklawan ng DepEd yung buong concerns about online sexual abuse and exploitation of children or OSAEC at saka yung CSAEM or Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials, na nakapagpasa na rin po kami dito sa Senado ng mga batas para ma-empower yung law enforcement agencies, yung community organizations, yung parents sa mga komunidad, pati po yung mga internet service providers, social media platforms, pati financial intermediaries na labanan itong OSAEC at CSAEM. And I just want to make it a record, Mr. Chair, importante din ito kahit sa incidents at pagpapababa natin sa incidents ng teenage pregnancy dahil yung vast majority ng mga partners ng mga batang ina natin o yung mga ama ng mga babies ng mga batang ina, ay much older than them. So, nag-iindicate ng power imbalance talaga and the probability, the high probability of abuse, even rape of these teenage mothers na inexacerbate, finafacilitate din ng OSAEC at CSAEM. And salamat din po, Asec, sa pagbanggit nyo na, syempre, ang saklaw lang ng DepEd ay within the school premises. Kaya importante na yung CSE ma-implementa, ma-evaluate, continuously ma-improve, ma-iayos yung mali, mapuno yung gaps, also for out-of-school youth or community-based youth.
At may tulad sa aming mga magulang sa eskwelahan and guardians and teachers, ma-empower din yung mga magulang and other responsible adults sa mga komunidad, tulungan yung ating mga out-of-school youth, maiwasan ang teenage pregnancy. At kahit mabuntis na sila, manganak na sila, mabigyan ng social protection para magbalik-aral, magtapos, turuan yung paano nilaalagaan yung mga babies nila at matulungan sila na maiwasan ang paulit na teenage pregnancy. If I may continue, Mr. Chair?
So, in our current CSE curriculum, aside from the biological aspects of reproductive health, yung abstinence po ba, hindi ba ito po ay dini-discuss din bilang isa sa mga paraan na mapigilan ng teenage pregnancy at saka STI prevention? At kung oo, paano din po ito ini-incorporate sa ating curriculum, Mr. Chair?
Asec. Datukan: There's actually no really discussion on abstinence because you don't really talk about sexuality and sex in the curriculum. What we do is we map things. So we talk about these topics as fundamental or basic science concepts. And even doon sa mga choice ng mga bata, those are incorporated in other subjects like ESP, at saka po sa MAPE. It's not really explicit that talking about, you know, we don't encourage or we don't discourage them from engaging in such acts. So it's really a general, it's part of the curriculum. We're just looking, we just map whatever is in there based on what the comprehensive sexuality education encompasses.
SRH: Okay. Although, ang understanding ko po, Mr. Chair, sa comprehensive sexuality education, na lalo na dun sa binanggit ni Asec Galvan kanina na older demographic, na eventually, pag age-appropriate na at pag developmentally appropriate na, lahat ng pamamaraan ng pag-iwas sa teenage pregnancy ay matatalakay. So I'd be curious moving forward how DepEd intends to discuss with the older demographics all the methods including abstinence. And then just for further clarification, sorry po, Mr. Chair baka si Asec Galvan would like to add.
Asec. Galban: Madam Chair, the rollout of our adherence to the RH law also constitutes not just the curricular component but also the promotion of adolescent reproductive health services as mandated by the law. And this focuses primarily on our coordination with other government agencies. So I will provide the platform to discuss the content but on the part of the service delivery, our referral mechanism, we focus on presenting basic data sets as to effectiveness of different family planning interventions. So inclusive of that would be your abstinence. Of course, abstinence would have 100% effectiveness. Vis-a-vis other family planning mechanisms, whether it be your traditional and your modern family planning mechanisms. And these are presented as facts from a health, medical, and clinical perspective.
So it provides that platform through the help of our health personnel that are within the Department of Education by coordination with the Department of Health. And this is also why we hope to activate a more effective coordination system, more so, for example, with the DSWD to activate their services on protecting in case that we have learners that become young mothers. They know that there are government services that are there to provide them with assistance. And for those that are affected by abuse, they are knowledgeable as to where to report them effectively within the government system. All of these are part of the adolescent reproductive health services that we provide.
SRH: Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, at kay Asec., sa pagbanggit yung, in a way, yung pagiging progressive from legislation natin to jurisprudence to implementation na by the executive. And yung salamat sa pagbanggit niyo sa from abstinence to other traditional and modern family planning methods na kapag age appropriate na and developmentally appropriate na kasama sa content na natatalakay with the older demographics.
And indeed, abstinence of course is 100% effective, and then to varying degrees other traditional methods. And for those youth and students who are already sexually active, then nagiging relevant and helpful yung pagtalakay sa modern family planning methods para makaiwas sa teenage pregnancy.
If I may, Mr. Chair, I'd also like to ask DepEd for clarity, yung CSE program ba ay nagtuturo sa mga bata na kasimbata ng 0 to 4 years old tungkol sa childhood masturbation? Or what about anal sex, oral sex? Tinuturo ba iyan sa ating mga eskwelahan, Mr. Chair?
Asec. Datukan: Mr. Chair, no. There's nowhere in our curriculum that teaches these things to learners between 0 to 4. Hindi po covered din natin yan kasi ang mga learners po natin nagsistart at 5 years old sa DepEd. And like we said, all of the competencies that we have under this comprehensive sexuality education are mapped with existing learning competencies already there in the curriculum.
SRH: Salamat po Mr. Chair. Asec, malinaw po yun. And huli po, Mr. Chair, para sa DepEd at this point in time in our hearing, ang RPRH law po ba... Yung pinagmulan in a way, pinag-ugatan din ng DepEd Order 31, ang RPRH law ba ay pinipigilan tayong mga magulang na magpayo sa ating mga anak o gabayan ang ating mga anak sa mga matters kaugnay ng sexual and reproductive health? Bilang abogado din yung ating good secretary ng DepEd at kayo po, dear resource persons from DepEd, malamang kung di man lahat, marami o ilan sa inyo, bilang mga magulang din, sa opinyon nyo po ba, itinatakwil ba ng CSE ang parental authority natin, Mr. Chair?
Usec. Filemon Ray Javier: Hindi po. Malayo po yan sa katotohanan. In fact po, ang CSE ay supplementary. Hindi po siya meant to supplant or override the parental authority of the parents over their children. Kaakibat lang po ito, supporta lang po ito.
SRH: Salamat po, Mr. Chair, magandang paglilinaw po yan at pag-affirm sa ating mga magulang at guardian at yung tamang ugali din ang ating mga guro kaugnay sa atin. At kaya rin po ako, Mr. Chair, nagsimula sa mga tanong ko sa DepEd tungkol sa mga parent-teacher associations at yung mga PTC parent representatives at tungkol sa mga parent orientations. Dahil ang appreciation ko rin po sa DepEd Department Order No. 31, Series of 2018, at na sinasalamin sa mga sumusunod na executive and legislative initiatives, ay nag-e-enhance dun sa primary na educational experience ng ating mga anak sa tahanan at kasama tayong mga magulang. Pero bilang ang mga eskwelahan at mga guro ay partners. And ang inaasahan po natin para din sa out-of-school youth natin para sa ating mga kabataan at mga responsible adults sa ating mga komunidad. So, na walang pagpipigil, bagkus ay kinocomplement. And in fact, dinadagdagan yung capacitation para talakayan nga itong usapin ng comprehensive sexuality education. So, for now Mr. Chair, those are my initial questions for the DepEd. At marami salamat po sa resource person sa DepEd. Salamat po, Mr. Chair.
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