Lawmaker wants Comprehensive Sexuality Education scrapped

Lawmaker wants Comprehensive Sexuality Education scrapped

/ 11:28 AM January 29, 2025

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) scrapped

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian  (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate panel on basic education, wants the controversial Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) entirely scrapped from the national curriculum.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Gatchalian said he wants CSE to be replaced with reproductive health education, which, according to the senator, is the real “intent” of the existing Reproductive Health law.

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“My recommendation is to scrap CSE. Go back to the original intention of the [Reproductive Health] law which is RH education. Tutal nanggaling na rin naman sa Department of Education na ang legal basis nila sa CSE ay ang RH law (After all, it came from the Department of Education that their legal basis in CSE is the RH law)

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“What happened is that it has morphed from sex education to sexuality education, which is not the intention of the RH law,” he added in Filipino.

Earlier, Gatchalian suggested the “temporary suspension” of the CSE, wondering if it is still confusing policymakers and implementers.

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At the Senate panel on basic education’s Tuesday hearing, Gatchalian asked the 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.

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“My question is: Are they trained to be culturally sensitive, and should these materials not be taught in our classrooms?” Gatchalian said.

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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.

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“DO 31 calls for kindergarten all the way to Grade 12. See the 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.

The controversy surrounding CSE erupted when organizations as well as Christian communities sounded the alarm over the program’s supposed Western influence.

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They say that this subjects children to early sex, concluding that it might cause a rise in adolescent pregnancies.

TAGS: Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Sex Education, Sherwin Gatchalian

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