1 day ago
3
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
August 8, 2025 | 2:49pm
MANILA, Philippines — Nearly three in four Filipinos support teaching age-appropriate, culturally sensitive lessons on sexuality, sexual health and family planning in schools, a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by child-rights advocates has found.
The nationwide poll — carried out in the last week of March during the campaign period — showed 73% of Filipinos agreed with the statement that such topics on sexuality and health should be taught in schools to help students “make responsible and informed choices.”
Meanwhile, thirteen percent disagreed, while 14% said they neither agreed nor disagreed.
The survey was commissioned by the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) — a non-profit that advocates for population and human-development policies. It had a margin of error of ±4.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The survey results come months after fierce debate on legislative measures that aimed to expand reproductive-health services and sex-education curricula — bills that have met both grassroots support and online backlash from conservative circles.
NCR shows highest support at 84%
Pulse Asia asked respondents whether they agreed with the statement:
“It is important to teach concepts of sexuality, sexual health, and family planning in schools in an age-appropriate and culturally sensitive manner to help students make responsible and informed choices.”
Support was strongest in Metro Manila, where 84% of respondents agreed with the statement.
Balance Luzon followed at 78%, while Mindanao recorded the lowest support at 67%.
No class divide. The poll found stronger backing among respondents in socio-economic classes ABC than among those in class E, but a majority in every socio-economic group said they supported teaching such topics in schools.
Specifically, at least 75% respondents from class A, B and C collectively agreed with the statement, compared to 74% among middle-class families (class D) and 62% in the poorest households (class E).
Meanwhile, young adults aged 18-24 showed the highest support at 87%, while those aged 45-54 showed the least support at 66%.
Support for sex ed strong in all faiths
Support for age-appropriate sex education was broadly similar across the country’s main religious groups, according to the Pulse Asia survey.
Roman Catholics — 86% of those polled — matched the national average, with 73% in favor of teaching sexuality, sexual health and family planning in schools. Of these, 31% strongly agreed and 42% somewhat agreed. Seven percent somewhat disagreed, while 6% strongly disagreed.
Among Muslims, who made up 4% of respondents, support was slightly higher at 74%. Eighteen percent strongly agreed and 56% somewhat agreed. Six percent somewhat disagreed and 10% strongly disagreed, giving Muslims the highest overall opposition to sex education at 16%.
Members of Iglesia ni Cristo, 3% of the sample, recorded 70% support, split evenly between strong and moderate agreement. Thirteen percent expressed disagreement.
Calling on lawmakers to act
These findings, according to the child rights' group that commissioned the poll, should prod Congress to finally pass the teen pregnancy prevention bill and fully implement comprehensive sexuality education in schools.
“We should not underestimate the importance Filipinos place on children receiving accurate information to help protect themselves from abuse, unwanted and early pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV,” said Au Quilala, PLCPD’s executive director.
Quilala said the bill would complement existing laws on statutory rape, anti-online sexual exploitation, the prohibition of child marriage and the Reproductive Health Law, while also helping teen parents stay in school and expand adolescents’ access to health services.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority as cited by the PLCPD show that several young girls who become pregnant at age 10 to 14 were impregnated by men much older to them.
"[Comprehensive sexuality education] is not the only solution to preventing abuse, but it is part of the solution," Quilala said. "We cannot turn a blind eye on children being sexually abused or becoming victims of statutory rape because we failed to give them the proper information they need in order to protect themselves.
Campus safety advocates who track sexual harassment cases in schools have also pushed for the nationwide implementation of comprehensive sexuality education. Enough is Enough, a group that campaigns against sexual abuse, said young people who lack access to age-appropriate lessons on sexuality may be more vulnerable to attempts by sexual predators to exploit them.
