The Commission Population (Popcom) said there was a noticeable rise in people becoming more open to taboo topics, including adolescent reproductive health.
Popcom XI regional director Bai Agnes Sampulna expressed her gratitude that more and more groups are becoming open with the topics that are used to be considered as taboo.
She cited that they have gone to some private schools in Davao del Sur to talk about the establishment of teen centers.
Popcom, through the Learning Package for Parents Education and Development (LPPED), provides counseling for parents to help in the counseling of adolescents to curb the continuous rise of teenage pregnancy.
The LPPED is directly manned by LGUs and Popcom and provides the technical assistance to provide the right information on sensitive issues that are mostly not discussed like family planning and teenage pregnancy.
Catholic schools have paved way for the penetration of Popcom especially with the increasing incidence of teenage pregnancy. Statistics show that a high percentage of teen pregnancy involves students from private schools.
In the 2016 survey among adolescents age 10 to 19, the region had 15,357 or 16% adolescent birth rate with the province of Davao Del Sur coming on top. In 2017, this increased further to 16,279, still 16% with Davao Occidental, as the first among the provinces in the region.
Early Sexual Activities (ESA) increases risks of men and women with STDs and HIVs.
However, there is still a notably low numbers of Filipinos, including adolescents, who seek for consultation because of the taboo.
