One of the issues being argued upon by the government and the church nowsaday, is sex education. The government says that students should be educated about sex in schools. The church says, educating about sex should be left to the parents.

In an article by Jerry Esplanada on Philippine Daily Inquirer, which was first posted on the internet last March 31, 2008, as early as 1972, the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports already had a module for sex education in elementary and highschool where certain sex education and population development concepts were integrated into the curricular of appropriate levels, It became so successfully that the module was used by other Asian countries like Thailand, Japan and the People's Republic of China. Through the years, the modules were revised which include teaching notes on premarital sex, commercial sex, abortion and homosexuality; "risky sex"; feelings of admiration for one person of the same or opposite sex; Filipino adolescent's high awareness but poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS; and adolescent sexual abstinence.

In 2006, Arroyo administration backed off from its trial run of a sex education program in Metro Manila. The Catholic Bishops' Press Conference objected to the introduction of sex education in public schools, saying it would encourage teenagers to give premarital sex as a try. This is also the point of view of many parents. They fear that their children’s curiosity about sex might be triggered when such would be taught in schools. This is the reason why they want themselves to educate their children about sex when the right times come. They want to be sure that their children would get information on sex that is complete, accurate and would reflect their family's values.

With the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in our country, it is but necessary for the youths to be made aware of the consequences of their sexual acts. Wether it be taught in schools or at home, it must be instilled in their minds that sex act is a wonderful gift of God to mankind and that is should treated as a holy and sacred act.

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Ma. Christina G. Luna
Teacher III