Students from the Araullo Highschool read materials containing sex health education during the Health Information Dissemination Program held on October 01, 2019. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — Lawmakers on Monday questioned the Department of Education’s implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as early as kindergarten.

In a hearing by the House Committee on Basic Education, Representative Roman Romulo grilled DepEd’s Assistant Secretary Jerome Buenviaje over the move to implement the CSE from kinder to Grade 3.

The CSE’s implementation is based on Section 14 of the Resonsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 which instructs the to “provide age- and development-appropriate reproductive health education to adolescents which shall be taught by adequately trained teachers informal and nonformal educational system and integrated in relevant subjects such as, but not limited to, values formation…”

Romulo argued that adolescence, based on the DepEd, starts at age 10.

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“May 10 year old ba tayo sa kindergarten? Generally 10 years old ba ang K natin? So why did you introduce it in K? Kelan ba ang 10 years old? Anong grade yun?” he asked.

(Do we have 10 year old’s in kindergarten? Generally our kinder students are 10 years old? So why did you introduce it in kinder? What grade are 10-year olds in?)

Buenvaije explains that in order for adolescents to fully understand sensitive topics like reproductive health, they must first have a grasp on much simpler concepts like the human body and human development at an earlier level.

“Hindi mo matuturo ang higher concept pag wala siyang introduction sa foundation. Pag tinignan natin yung curriculum, hindi naman siya explicit na sexuality education,” he said.

(You cant teach higher concepts if they aren’t introduced to the foundation. If we look at the curriculum, it isn’t explicitly sexuality education.)

For students in kinder to grade three, Buenviaje said they are taught body parts, senses and how to take care, protect themselves and relate to other people. At this level, he says, the reproductive system isn’t discussed yet.

Lawmakers also scrutinized the seemingly inadequate training of teachers to tackle sensitive topics like reproductive health.

According to the DepEd, some 400,000 teachers were said to have undergone a five day training — a period which, according to lawmakers, is not enough.

“I think maliwanag naman napakamaselan ng subject matter and then sinabi nila na it took them only five days. One burdened na nga ang mga teachers, so yung up skilling na ganiyang hindi sapat ang five days,” Romulo said.

(I think it is clear that this is a highly sensitive subject matter and they will say that it only took them five days? For one, our teachers are already burdened. For that up skilling, five days is clearly not enough.)

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Even the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition says they are unaware of any training for teachers. TDC’s Benjo Basas said 400,000 teachers that the DepEd claims to have undergone training is around 50 percent of the entire DepEd teaching population.

“So kung meron yun at least meron man dapat isang member ng TDC doon,” he said.

(If there really was that training, there should have at least been one member of TDC present.)

In a statement, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said they are open and are listening to the public’s feedback.

“We are actively collaborating with various stakeholders, including health service providers and community organizations, to ensure that our programs are effective and culturally sensitive,” Angara said.

Prior to adjournment, Romulo mulled the possibility of suspending the implementation of CSE. Buenviaje said he will relay the matter to the department’s executive committee.

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