ILOILO City – The Commission on Population (POPCOM) advised teenagers not to rush into sex this Valentine’s Day to avoid getting pregnant early.
Harold Alfred Marshall, director of POPCOM Region 6, stressed teenagers should be more discerning and listen to their elders, parents and teachers.
“Likawan ang unplanned pregnancy kay sa pila ka adlaw amo na ang pagahinulsolan,” Marshall said.
Couples, according to Marshall, may easily get carried away by heightened expectations surrounding Valentine’s Day.
But sexual acts are never obligatory this day, he reiterated.
“Komo Valentine’s Day himuon lang nila ang sexual acts? We need to be responsible,” Marshall said.
He warned teens that early child bearing comes with all sorts of problems like lacking the financial means to support their child.
“Kinahanglan paminsaron gid nila ang ila bwas damlag,” Marshall said.
Meanwhile, Marshal said POPCOM-6’s campaign this Heart’s Day also covers married couples.
“Even if you are married, kun piliton mo ang imo asawa or bana to have sex is a violation sa aton laye,” Marshall said.
POPCOM-6 recently revealed that 9,766 births in the region’s six provinces and two highly-urbanized cities in 2019 were by teenaged mothers 19 years old and below.
Of the total figure, 17 girls considered as “very young adolescents” aged 12 to 13 gave birth.
This alarming trend prompted Marshall to call for more legislations and preventive program to combat teenage pregnancies./PN
