Gatchalian suggests temporary suspension of DepEd’s CSE

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian suggested the “temporary suspension” of the controversial Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) if it still confuses policymakers and implementers.

At the Senate panel on basic education’s Tuesday hearing, panel head Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked the Department of Education (DepEd) whether or not educators tasked to teach CSE are “trained” to identify which reference materials are allowed to be used in teaching sex education under DepEd Order (DO) No. 31.

“Ang tanong ko nga — na-train ba sila that they should be culturally sensitive? And these types of materials should not be taught in our classrooms?” asked Gatchalian.

(My question is, are they trained to be culturally sensitive and that these types of materials should not be taught in our classrooms?)

At the end of Gatchalian’s prodding was DepEd Assistant Secretary Janir Datukan, who noted that this was emphasized in all training attended by educators.

But Gatchalian said this is not enough.

“DO 31 calls for kindergarten all the way to Grade 12. Nakita mo yung disconnect? Because I’m trying to understand the teacher… the teacher now is given leeway to use reference materials as what you said earlier and part of the reference materials identified is the UNESCO technical guide,” he pointed out.

Citing an example, Gatchalian said the UNESCO guidelines state that children aged five to six, under Key Stage 1, should be taught that there is a need for “humans to enjoy their bodies [as well as] being close to others throughout life.”

For his part, Datukan answered that the UNESCO document only provides “the framework for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education.”

“We here at DepEd did not adopt it in its entirety. We used it as a basis for creating or crafting our own curriculum for CSE that is age-appropriate , that is developmentally-appropriate, and that’s culturally sensitive — which also covers religious beliefs and other orientations,” said Datukan.

For his part, Gatchalian said he understands that it’s up to the teacher now to be culturally sensitive when it comes to teaching sexuality education, but he likewise emphasized the need for training and clarification for each policy that is being implemented.

“Because if you are confused from the top, rest assured that the teacher will also be confused. Because they are the ones tasked to implement all the way to our last classroom in our country. So that’s why, if you ask me my own personal opinion , if this is a source of confusion, then let’s suspend it for now,” said Gatchalian.

He said this should be done until the government fixes it and makes sure that the order is clear from the policymakers, noting the need for it to stay faithful to the Reproductive Health Law.