Berliner Tageblatt - Marcos denounces 'woke' sex education bill in Catholic Philippines

Marcos vowed to veto the bill in the event it hurdles Congress, blaming people with a "woke" mentality for what he said was an "abhorrent" and "ridiculous" idea.

Legislators backing the "Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy" bill said making it a mandatory subject in schools would help address a high rate of teen pregnancies, as well as sexual assault of minors.

"Over the weekend, I finally read in detail Senate Bill 1979. And I was shocked, and I was appalled by some of the -- some of the elements of that," Marcos told reporters.

"You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate. That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous," Marcos said.

"If this bill is passed in that form, I guarantee all parents, teachers, and children: I will immediately veto it."

The senate bill would mandate the government to promote "age-appropriate" and compulsory "comprehensive sexuality education" in schools that is "medically accurate, culturally sensitive, rights based, and inclusive and non-discriminatory".

Sex education was incorporated into the public school curriculum for students aged 10-19 in 2012 with the passage of a reproductive health law, though private schools, many of them run by the Catholic Church, are not required to teach it.

Nowhere in the bill is there a mention of masturbation and four-year-olds, but opponents allege it is similar to technical guidance issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and World Health Organization for sexuality education that tackles masturbation.

"The two international documents are quite candid about its normalisation," a group called Project Dalisay, a church-based coalition that opposes the bill, alleged in a statement.

The Philippine House of Representatives passed an adolescent pregnancy prevention bill in 2023, but it did not become law because the Senate did not pass a counterpart bill.

The Senate has yet to schedule the current bill for a floor debate, according to aides of its main sponsor, Senator Risa Hontiveros.

This makes it unlikely it will be passed before the legislature adjourns early next month ahead of the May 12 midterm elections.

The conservative Philippines is the only country in the world apart from the Vatican that bans divorce. It also does not officially recognise same-sex marriages.

Marcos said he believes "sex education in terms of teaching kids the anatomy of the reproductive systems of male and female is extremely important" due to the threat of AIDS and the adverse consequences of early pregnancy.

"But the 'woke' absurdities that they included are abhorrent to me."

R.Adler--BTB