Marcos twits ‘ridiculous, abhorrent’ provisions in sexuality educ bill

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PCO Photo)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday expressed strong opposition to certain provisions of Senate Bill 1979 or the teenage pregnancy prevention bill, particularly its approach to sex education.

He said he will veto it if passed in its current form.

In a media interview in Taguig City, Marcos reaffirmed his support for sex education but rejected the “woke” elements in the bill, which he called “ridiculous” and “abhorrent.”

Marcos said last week that he supports sexuality education for children. Days later, the President expressed his shock after reading the bill in detail, particularly over elements he deemed to hypersexualize children.

He criticized the proposed teachings, including instructions on masturbation.

“Over the weekend, I finally read in detail (Senate Bill) 1979. And I was shocked and I was appalled by some of the elements of that.

Because this is, all this woke that they are trying to bring into our system,” Marcos said on the sidelines of the Tesla Center Philippines launch at Bonifacio Global City.

“You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate. That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous, this is abhorrent. This is a travesty of what sex education should be to the children,” he added.

He further emphasized the importance of parental rights in educating their children.

“What about the parents? Wala na silang karapatan na sila ang mag-decide kung ano at kailan tuturuan yung bata (Don’t they have the right anymore to decide what and when to teach their children)… I’m a parent and I’m a grandparent. So I feel very strongly about this,” the President said.

Despite his opposition to certain provisions, Marcos reiterated his support for teaching essential topics like anatomy, consequences of early pregnancy and risks of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“I still believe that sex education in terms of teaching kids anatomy, of the reproductive systems of males and females is extremely important, consequences of early pregnancy, the prevalence of HIV. Kailangan ituro lahat ‘yan para alam ng mga kabataan (We must educate the youth about those),” he said.