MANILA – An official of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) sounded alarm over the “monthsary sex” trend among young couples.
Mylin Mirasol Quiray, CPD acting division chief of the Knowledge Management and Communications Division, said their studies indicated that there are boys as young as 10 years old who are now fathers.
“Doon sa mga qualitative data ng aming pag-aaral, nakita namin na ginagawang monthsary gift ang sex,” Quiray said. “’Ah wala akong gift sa aking boyfriend so sa monthsary namin, ito ‘yung gift ko sa kanya.’”
Quiray urged the Senate to pass the Adolescent Prevention Bill to mitigate the rise of pregnancies among minors. A House version of the bill has been passed last year.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the number of young fathers jumped from 5,000 in 2018 to at least 8,000 in 2019.
There was a minimal dip during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, recording at least 7,000 young fathers.
Quiray said one of the factors contributing to the number of young fathers, aged 10 to 17 based on PSA data, is the youth’s exposure to pornographic materials.
“Gusto natin ang parents ay maging handa, na sila mismo hindi sila maimi na pag-usapan ang sex at sexuality sa kanilang mga anak dahil ang impormasyon na ito ay dapat manggalingsa bahay,” Quiray said.
The CPD official also said parents should teach their children protective behavior, calling body parts as they are, and the ability to say “no”./PN
