No masturbation: What’s inside the anti-teenage pregnancy bill

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which is included in Senate Bill (SB) No. 1979 or the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act, sparked uproar in the predominantly Catholic Philippines in early January 2025 — nearly two years after the bill was filed.

The apprehension surrounding the bill stemmed from a video produced by the National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution or NCFC, a coalition of church-based groups. NCFC claimed that the bill’s concept of CSE is based on the Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe, a document created by the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) there. This is a claim that the bill’s proponents have rejected.

The bill was filed in March 2023 by Senator Risa Hontiveros, with her colleagues Imee Marcos, Bong Revilla, Bong Go, Raffy Tulfo, and former senator — now Department of Education (DepEd) chief — Sonny Angara as co-authors. The House of Representatives passed its counterpart bill that same year.

How the bill defines CSE

In SB 1979, CSE is defined as the “process of acquiring complete, medically accurate, relevant, age-appropriate, developmentally appropriate, and culturally sensitive information and skills on matters relating to the reproductive system, its functions and processes, human sexuality, as well as forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, interpersonal relationships, affection, intimacy, and gender roles.”

The goal of CSE, which will be integrated at all levels of education, is to “develop” the skills of young people for them to “make informed decisions.” This includes the ability to distinguish between “facts and myths about sex and sexuality, critically evaluate and discuss the moral, religious, social, and cultural dimensions of sensitive issues such as contraception and abortion, and decide to prevent risky behaviors that could hinder the realization of their aspirations and potentials.”

Section 6 of the Senate bill states that the DepEd will “develop and promote educational standards, modules, and materials to support the implementation of CSE in schools, communities, and other youth institutions.”

It further specifies that CSE will be “a compulsory part of education, integrated at all levels, with the goal of normalizing discussions about adolescent sexuality and reproductive health, and removing stigma at all levels.”

The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Council will be established as the oversight body for implementing CSE. The council will ensure that CSE is “medically accurate, culturally sensitive, rights-based, and inclusive, while being non-discriminatory towards LGBTQIA adolescents.”

Topics to be covered

According to the bill, CSE will include “age- and development-appropriate” topics, such as:

• human sexuality
• informed consent
• adolescent reproductive health
• effective contraceptive use
• disease prevention
• HIV/AIDS and the more common sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• hygiene
• healthy lifestyles and health-seeking behaviors and practices
• gender sensitivity, gender equality and equity
• teen dating
• gender-based violence
• sexual abuse and exploitation
• peer pressure
• women’s and children’s rights
• pornography

“The purpose of which is to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and values to make informed and responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships,” the bill states.

The bill also emphasizes that the delivery and implementation of CSE will not be left to the discretion of teachers and school administrators. “It shall be integrated into the school curriculum, guided by DepEd and international standards.”

However, that clause has drawn flak, with critics zeroing in on the mention of “international standards.” They cited the Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe, which states that the age group 0-4 should be given information about “enjoyment and pleasure when touching one’s own body, [and] early childhood masturbation,” as well as “the right to ask questions about sexuality [and] the right to explore gender identities.”

Critics’ interpretation is that young children will be taught masturbation. Even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself has echoed this claim, saying it is “abhorrent” that four-year-olds will supposedly be taught “how to masturbate.”

In response, the Senate bill’s principal author Hontiveros said “masturbation” is nowhere to be found in the measure. She also assured the public that they have no intention of blindly copying any international standard.

“Siyempre, kung may mga nakasaad diyan na hindi akma sa konteksto at kultura ng Pilipinas, siyempre hindi ‘yan gagamitin. Common sense po iyan,” the senator said. (Of course, if there are provisions that are not suitable for the context and culture of the Philippines, those will not be used. That’s common sense.)

Hontiveros also said she is “willing to accept amendments to refine the bill so we can steer it to passage.”

After reviewing the 25-page Senate bill, Rappler found no mention of masturbation. Below is a copy of the bill.

It’s important to note though that even before the ongoing debate on SB 1979, the DepEd had already been integrating sexual education into its curriculum. In 2018, the education department released policy guidelines for implementing CSE in all public and private elementary, junior high, and senior high schools nationwide.

Based on DepEd Order No. 31, series of 2018, signed by then-education secretary Leonor Briones, CSE is a “curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about cognitive, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality that is scientific, age-and-developmentally appropriate, culturally and gender-responsive, and with a rights-based approach.”

The DepEd’s policy guidelines also note that CSE “teaches life skills among learners to help them develop critical thinking about risk behaviors related to poor reproductive health outcomes, enhance self-esteem, and develop respectful intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships that enable them to deal with the complex changes happening in them throughout their lives.”

Current DepEd chief Angara has distanced himself from the bill, saying that he was listed as a co-author simply because he was the chairman of the Senate finance committee at that time. – Rappler.com