Teenage pregnancy as a pre-existing community issue, not just in local and national communities but also internationally, is still in question. What are the probable individual and collective initiatives that the citizens and the government should take to address and hopefully eradicate this issue?
In a populous barangay in the rising city of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, which has a population of 127,506 people, represents 19.56% of the city’s total population. I found out that "teenage pregnancy" is one of the common community issues that should be addressed and prioritized according to its residents. According to a POPCOM press release, the latest civil-registry statistics for 2019 from the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that births among adolescent girls remained high in Central Luzon, contributing a total of 20,974 or 31.27% of the total adolescent birth rate in the country with 67,082. Bulacan ranked first in teenage pregnancy in 2019 with a total of 5,414 among the 7 provinces in Central Luzon.
Bulacan having the highest rate of teenage pregnancy among provinces in Central Luzon only means that it is a serious issue and it requires rapid response in addressing and mitigating the problem. In this report, we will see through the lens and discuss teenage pregnancy from different viewpoints. Let’s all find out about Barangay Muzon’s current initiatives in fighting this problem. Is there enough drive to eliminate the problem?
The Resident's Viewpoint
In an interview with 5 respondents who are current residents of barangay Muzon that I conducted last Friday, May 03. I found out different viewpoints about teenage pregnancy and how it was seen in different age groups.
The following graphs are the respondents information:
Three out of five respondents believe that lack of awareness is the most prevalent reason for adolescent pregnancy, while two believe it is solely due to curiosity. Meanwhile, when asked if they favor the inclusion of sex education in the Philippine curriculum, four out of five respondents said yes, and one said maybe. When it comes to barangay authorities' response to the issue of adolescent pregnancy, four of the respondents feel they haven't done enough, while one respondent assumes maybe.
See graphs below for reference:
Abstinence, Inclusion of Sex Education in Philippine Curriculum, Barangay Seminars.
The residents' proposals for successfully addressing and minimizing the problem of adolescent pregnancy in barangay Muzon were as follows. They also feel that barangay officials should take responsibility for the problem and take action to fix it, because lack of understanding is the fundamental cause. They believe that education would be the most effective means of addressing and ideally eradicating the problem.
Angelo Garcia, a 23-year-old resident of Barangay Muzon, voiced-out his suggestion to the current local administration of the barangay in efficiently responding to the problem of teenage pregnancy “I am aware of different issues surrounding our community, but teenage pregnancy is the most alarming. Authorities must focus on this one. If they have the means to provide different services like counseling and such to the youth, it would be better. It is also important to balance barangay activities (liga, ML tournament, etc.) and conducting seminars for societal issues.”
The Teenage Mom's Perspective
I also had the opportunity to interview a resident from the same barangay who was a teenage mom, and asked her different questions related to her struggles, regrets, advice to other current teenage moms, and also her two-cents about the barangay officials' action plan towards discussing this issue with the residents of Barangay Muzon.
She's Alyssa, a 23-year-old single mother of one from Harmony Hills 1, Barangay Muzon, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. She is currently working as a call center agent and was pregnant with her first child at the age of 18. It was a tough journey for her. Being pregnant in her adolescent years, knowing that she was not ready to be a mom at that time, made her struggle and affected not just her education but also her mental health.
Ano po ang struggle ng pagiging teenage mom noong una kayong nagka-anak?
: “Madami akong naranasan nung mga panahong 'yon. Madaming problema, pareho kami ng asawa kong studyante palang, at hindi pa namin alam ang mga gagawin namin. Muntikan pang hindi panagutan ang anak ko. Buti nalang at nagkausap ng maayos ang mga parents namin. Sobrang laki ren ng epekto neto sa mental health ko.”
Her parents' regret, knowing that she was 3 months pregnant after coming back from her province, didn’t hinder them from supporting her in the situation she was in.
Ano po ang naging reaksiyon ng mga magulang ninyo noong nalaman nila na buntis kayo?
: “Nabigla sila nung time na yun. After kong makagraduate ng 4th year highschool umuwi ako sa bicol, na dapat sana ay tatakbo akong SK chairman, pero postponed/cancelled ang election dati. Nung nalaman kong buntis ako, bumalik ulit ako ng bulacan at ayun dito na nila nalaman na may laman na nga yung tiyan ko. 3 months na nung panahon yun. Nandun na yung panghihinayang ng mga magulang ko, pero wala na silang magagawa, kundi suportahan nalang ako.”
She believes that it was just an accident, because she knew she wasn’t ready to build a family and become a mom at the age of 18. She believes that there are no other root causes, but that curiosity and a lack of safe sex were the factors that led her to that situation. a lot of things, including not making the most of her teenage years and not being able to continue studying at that time, but all those feelings and regrets are gone now that she has her baby boy with her and is continuing her studies while working and being a mom.
Sa tingin niyo po ba ay kulang ang gobyerno at barangay sa mas malawig na pagpapalaganap ng kaalaman patungkol sa teenage pregnancy? Kung oo, ano naman po ang suhestiyon ninyo upang ma i-address at mapababaw ang bilang ng kaso ng teenage pregnancy sa barangay Muzon?
: “Yes, nakikita naman natin kung gaano ka kulang ang actions and projects ng LGU ukol dito. Kasi kung may ginagawa naman talaga sila edi mas maganda, pero kung kulang siguro mas maganda na mas palawigin yung sakop ng proyekto nila, padamihin yung nga taong mag iinform sa bawat eskwelahan at estudyante. At satingin ko ren, na kulang ang mga professionals na naggagabay sa local government lalo na sa ibang lugar. Mas mainam ren siguro na mas magtulungan ang sektor ng pangkalusugan at LGU para mapuntahan rin yung mga single mom na nangangailangan ren ng tulong nila, kasabay naren yung pagbabahay-bahay para mas epektibo at maagapan nga itong dumaraming kaso ng teenage pregnancy.”
She believes that there are not enough initiatives to mitigate and address the problem coming from the LGU, and she also reiterated that there should be actions to help address the problem and also plans to help current teenage moms who are struggling, especially when it comes to health-related concerns.
Click the google drive link to access screenshots of the conversation: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-JuT668KSIG7Z0AnZ0VDWw86BTess5mg?usp=sharing
The Official's Voice
As the residents believe that the barangay and its officials are lacking when it comes to action plans and initiatives to address this problem, an official agrees that there hasn’t been enough. He also agrees that it was a lack of awareness that triggered this problem to inflate. He was a Kagawad. Barangay Muzon, the acting education committee of the said barangay.
Awareness, or lack of it, was his stance when asked about the root cause of the teenage pregnancy issue in barangay Muzon, the same way that awareness is one of the positive responses to be able to properly address the said issue to the residents of barangay Muzon.
Ano po sa tingin ninyo ang puno’t-dulo ng problemang ito?
: May mga bagay kasi na “beyond our control” nandiyang ang ating ano eh… ah, napakadaling access sa internet so, yun ay mga contributor ‘yon sa problema. Siguro isa ‘yon sa mga dahilan siguro, ang ating mga bata sa gano’ng murang edad ay hinihingi ng pagkakataon na magkaroon sila ng gadget kasi sa eskwela kailangan, so with that eh palagay ko nagiging kasabay no’n ‘yung pag access mismo nila sa mga pornographic na ano, materials sa internet.
He emphasizes that one of the biggest contributors to this problem is the youth’s easy access to the internet, where they use it as a platform to explore pornographic sites and materials, which triggers their curiosity and the want to engage themselves in sexual activities.
Ano po sa tingin ninyo ang mga indibidwal at kolektibong solusyon na maari nating i-mungkahi upang tuldukan ang problemang ito?
: Sa palagay ko doon nga po sa awareness ano, siguro ang barangay ay talagang mag dig-in diyan sa bagay na ‘yan. Kung ang inyong naging mga respondents ay sa gano’ng kakaunting mga bata lamang siguro, o panahon na siguro para kami ang mag initiate ng survey then from there ay ma-matingnan natin kung saang lugar ang medyo mas mataas, ano ang mga nagiging dahilan doon mismo sa community na ‘yon. Siguro ang barangay ang dapat mag initiate sa gano’ng pag-aaral kung talagang seryoso tayo sa pagtugon sa gano’ng problema.
To watch the full recorded interview access this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-JuT668KSIG7Z0AnZ0VDWw86BTess5mg?usp=sharing
Kagawad. Celis was honest about the officials and Barangay Muzon’s current response when it comes to teenage pregnancy elimination. It was never enough if we would not cooperate to find out the internal and external factors that contribute to this problem. It was seen that even the officials didn’t have enough action plans and initiatives to resolve this community issue. There may have been some initiatives, but they were lacking.
To be able to address an issue is to know it from its roots. Knowing that even the leaders that we expect to lead us in finding out what keeps this problem afloat were also short of knowledge about the issue, it is time for us to demand accountability by voicing our concerns and standing up for what needs to be done. Education will always be this problem's biggest enemy. If we are going to be open about tackling this issue with the help of sex education, it will become an enormous relief and it will be easier for everyone to navigate where it was lacking and where it needed remedy. I hope that through this report, we view "teenage pregnancy" as a serious problem that requires quick response by mapping out plans and taking action.
Indeed, education will always be the best key-driver to teenage pregnancy elimination.
Reference: Press Release: POPCOM III: high teen pregnancy cases in Central Luzon need multi-sectoral approaches. (2022, June 2). POPCOM Region 3. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://rpo3.popcom.gov.ph/press-release-popcom-iii-high-teen-pregnancy-cases-in-central-luzon-need-multi-sectoral-approaches/
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