(Enclosure to DepEd Order No. 031, s.
2018)
I. RATIONALE
The 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study(YAFSS) conducted by
the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (DRDF) and University of
the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) revealed that the proportion of youth aged 15
to 24 who had early sexual encounters, increased from 23 percent in 2002 to 32
percent in 2013. The 2017 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) of the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also reported that the proportion of adolescent
girls who had begun childbearing rises rapidly with age, from 1 percent at age 15 to 22
percent at age
19. The 2013 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) Report
of the PSA has identified marriage as one of the top reasons for not attending school at
12.9 percent in a survey done amongst young people 6-24 years old. This is particularly
highest in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Davao Region (Region XI)
and Soccsksargen (Region XII). In addition, from January 1984 to February 2018, 28
percent of the reported cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were 15-24
years old according to the Department of Health (DOH). In 2016, the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that these alarming incidents of
risky sexual and social behaviors are further exacerbated by the prevalence of sexual
violence among 17 percent of adolescents from 13 to 17 years old.
The current situation of increasing early pregnancies, violence and increasing
incidence of HIV among young Filipinos has brought more attention to the need to
equip them with the correct information and appropriate life skills that would enable
them to make responsible decision-making and respectful behavior that will protect
their health, well-being and dignity.
DepEd is committed to provide and protect the rights of Filipino learners to good
education and improved health and to help Filipino learners complete basic education
without the burden of health concerns. It also recognizes the roles and responsibilities
of the school system to give learners their right to good health by leading the
implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).
In order to effectively address the needs of the learners for health and protection
through education, CSE is designed to ensure that the learners are receiving
comprehensive and appropriate information that can advance gender equality
and empowerment. CSE has been shown to increase learners' knowledge, clarify their
values and attitudes, and develop the skills to reduce risks related to poor health
outcomes and achieve their full potential.
