After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced his intention to veto the anti-teenage pregnancy bill, seven senators have withdrawn their support for the proposed law.
The senators include Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senators Loren Legarda, Bong Revilla Jr., Bong Go, JV Ejercito, Cynthia Villar, and Nancy Binay.
Earlier, President Marcos expressed concerns about certain provisions in the proposed “sex education bill,” which aims to prevent teenage pregnancies.
“I was shocked and appalled by some of the elements in that [Senate Bill 1979],” the President reportedly said. “This ‘woke’ attitude they’re trying to bring into our system is alarming.”
The President criticized the idea of teaching children as young as four years old about masturbation.
“You will teach 4-year-olds how to masturbate? That every child has the right to explore different sexualities? This is absurd. It’s unacceptable and goes against what sex education for children should be,” the President added.
Senator Revilla echoed the need to address teenage pregnancy but emphasized that the bill should be refined to align with the interests of the public.
