Sex among youths in E. Visayas tagged alarming

TACLOBAN CITY—About one out of every four youths in Eastern Visayas engage in premarital sex and a government agency in charge of population issues believes this was due to lack of awareness.

To raise the youth’s awareness, the Population Commission (Popcom) will distribute a movie about the ill effects of premarital sex, according to a top Popcom official.

Leo Rama, Popcom regional director, said the film, which will be given to schools, barangays and youth centers in Eastern Visayas, is part of the renewed campaign against premarital sex.

Based on studies made by Popcom, of more than 1.2 million youths (those from 15 to 24 years old) in the region, 23 percent are engaged in premarital sex, Rama said.

He said this was alarming because the practice could lead to early pregnancy, which would result in other problems like abortion and even suicide.

Popcom will link up with barangay and school officials and youth organizations for free showings of the film, titled “Crossroads,” in schools, barangays and youth centers.

“We have decided to come out with a film as our strategy because we believe we could easily attract our target audience and they could easily relate to the situation,” Rama said.

The film depicts a group of young students who engage in premarital sex and how they deal with problems like early pregnancy.

Popcom started distributing copies of the film on Monday.

Rama said the youth could be tempted to engage in premarital sex due to peer pressure, curiosity and the influence of pornographic materials.

“We want to tell them that engaging in premarital sex will not bring them any good but only consequences that they will regret,” Rama said.

He said Popcom would urge parents to open lines of communication with their children and teach them about the ill effects of engaging in premarital sex.