IN A bid to prevent the rise in teenage pregnancy cases among adolescents in Northern Mindanao, the Commission on Population (Popcom) regional office is encouraging the parents to talk to their children on sex education.
Northern Mindanao was reported to rank as second highest, at 14.7 percent, in terms of teenage pregnancy rate throughout the country, according to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey.
Davao Region ranked first with the highest teenage pregnancy rate at 17.9 percent, and Soccsksargen ranked third at 14.5 percent.
According to Popcom-Northern Mindanao Regional Director Jeremias Gupit, one of the reasons why teenage pregnancy among adolescents is high in the region is due to the lack of parental role when it comes to educating the children about sex.
"Usa na kay supposedly, ang atong education mag-start in our homes. Apan for some reason or another, the parents are busy. Ang mga ginikanan wala nay panahon makipag-istorya sa ilang mga anak because they are busy with their cellphones. So, meaning, napalayo na ang relasyon sa ginikanan ngadto sa ilang mga anak," Gupit said last Friday, November 23.
"That is one of the reasons why atong gipangusgan karon nga unta ang mga ginikanan tagaan nya og insaktong panahon ang iyang mga anak," he added.
Gupit shared that they have started teaching the parents how to talk about sex to their children and being comfortable about it, as it's common in the current society for the topic on sex to be considered as a taboo within homes.
"We're telling the parents nga 'Asa man diay nato ihatag ang information?' From whom would we wish our children and our adolescents to know information about sex? Of course dapat unta sa mga ginikanan, but they are not talking about it," Gupit said.
Apart from teaching the parents, Popcom-Northern Mindanao is also training the third year and fourth year high school youth on sex education and the complications to the body if they, the girls, got pregnant at a young age.
Gupit said that through training the third year and fourth year high school youths, they will be able to help the younger children understand more about sex and teenage pregnancy.
Another cause, according to Gupit, that teenage pregnancy happen is through the use of internet.
"Thirty-five percent sa atong mga kabatanunan karon are already exposed to pornographic materials and most likely sa atong mga internet," the Popcom-Northern Mindanao regional director said.
As such, Popcom-Northern Mindanao is encouraging the local government units in Northern Mindanao to pass a legislation that would regulate the presence of the adolescents in internet cafes, Gupit added.
