Education officials of the Philippines decided to pull-out modules on sex education after the powerful Catholic Church opposed the teaching of sex in schools.
The Philippines has a high population growth rate. Studies from the academe also point out that teens are becoming sexually active at earlier years. The Philippines is also the only Catholic-dominated country in Asia.
Despite the resistance from Church hierarchy, education officials want to continue distributing sex education modules in public schools this year. They agree to temporarily remove the modules to consult more people, including religious leaders, on how to teach the delicate subject to students.
Meanwhile, Senator Pia Cayetano defended the teaching of reproductive health in schools saying this promotes the “general well-being and health of the people.”
Buwahyahman described the Church opposition to sex education as “a kind of medieval thinking that promotes ignorance rather than enlightenment.”
Bishop Oscar Cruz in his blog, Viewpoints, recommended the following:
“Sex education especially with its human dimension and moral consideration are better left to the parents of the students—the father and the mother themselves giving formational sex education to their boy and girl children respectively.”
Sex education is also a topic in the government’s forum section in its official website.