Bersamin defends Marcos's comments on teen pregnancy bill

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin defended President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s comments about a provision in the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023, asking the public to give the president the benefit of the doubt.

Bersamin stated that the president's interpretation may have been based on reading between the lines and considering the broader implications of language.

Marcos expressed shock and dismay over certain details of the bill, including teaching four-year-olds how to masturbate and allowing children to explore different sexualities, though Sen. Risa Hontiveros clarified these provisions do not exist in the proposed law.

Following Hontiveros' filing of a substitute bill making amendments to the measure on January 24, Bersamin said that the president would read it again but emphasized that it is up for further consideration without passing judgment on its content.

The Philippines has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the region, with the Commission on Population and Development dubbing the country as the 'gold medalist' of teenage pregnancies in ASEAN.

Conservative groups have rallied against the bill at the last minute, just as it was about to hit the plenary floor.