Senators Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Risa Hontiveros want to ban online pornographic materials in a bid to curb the rising rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.
During the period of interpellation on Senate Bill 1888 or the “Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2018” on Tuesday, Sotto said an amendment to the bill should include a section removing pornographic materials online, a suggestion which Hontiveros welcomed.
Before this, Sotto first asked what “digital citizenship” means and why was it included in the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) under Section 6 of the bill.
“So that they can prevent teenage pregnancy because we have noted the almost ubiquitous nature of the internet and subsequently social media,” Hontiveros, principal author of the bill, answered.
The lawmaker added that this topic should also be discussed so the youth could “see through the responsible use (of Internet)” in an attempt to “curb the rising rate of teenage pregnancy.”
Hontiveros continued: “Cyberporn is one of the most damaging and cynical misrepresentations of human sexuality to young people which certainly parents, teachers, and other responsible adults want to combat.”
Sotto then asked what programs other countries are using to combat porn, but Hontiveros said she’d get back to him as soon as she has the details.
At this point, Sotto said: “I’m trying to imagine how when the best way to do it is to remove it from the internet, remove porn.”
Hontiveros agreed with Sotto’s suggestion.
“Yes, I certainly agree, Mr. President. We must remove porn that is directed towards the young people especially through adult supervision through protective legislation and programs,” she said.
CSE, according to the bill, is a “compulsory part of education, integrated at all levels with the end goal of normalizing discussions about adolescent sexuality and reproductive health and to remove the stigma from all levels.” /muf