A 10-YEAR-OLD giving birth should jolt any society into immediate action. In Iloilo City, this is no longer theoretical; it is a shocking reality. It is happening — and it demands more than generalized concern. It demands urgency, data-driven solutions, and bold political will from our city government.
The Iloilo City Health Office has raised the alarm on the prevalence of teenage pregnancy, recording 120 cases in just the first three months of 2025. While the numbers have slightly declined compared to last year, the concentration of these cases in Molo and Arevalo disricts is a troubling pattern that cannot be ignored.
This is no longer just a public health issue. It is a crisis of systems failing the city’s most vulnerable girls — those who are growing up in communities where conversations about sex are hushed, where smartphones become de facto educators, and where access to professional support is often limited by stigma or lack of information.
The city’s interventions must start where the numbers are most alarming. If Molo and Arevalo are hotspots, then these districts must become hubs for urgent action: expanded adolescent health services, accessible counseling centers, school-based education campaigns, and barangay-level outreach led by trained peer advocates. We need boots on the ground — and data at the heart of every program.
Health professionals in the city are already utilizing tools like the HEEADSSS assessment to understand adolescent risk factors. This must be scaled and institutionalized across all public schools and barangay health centers, with local government support. We need barangay captains, school principals, and parents to move in step with public health advocates — not behind them.
This concern goes beyond morality or discipline; this is about giving girls the right information, the right support systems, and the right to say “not yet” to motherhood. And it also involves crafting an environment where their curiosity is met with truth, not silence.
Mayor Jerry Treñas and the Sangguniang Panlungsod must prioritize this concern with concrete funding, regular monitoring, and strong coordination with the City Health Office. Iloilo City cannot claim progress while its young girls are left to navigate parenthood far too early.
No girl should be left behind — not in Molo, not in Arevalo, not anywhere in Iloilo City.
