To successfully weed off a garden, the grass must be pulled from the roots. Otherwise, regrowth is guaranteed in no time. Unintended pregnancy cuts options for adolescents short, leaving them with responsibilities that they are clearly not ready for and eventually barring them from blooming into the best kind of individuals that they can be. To get rid of the weed that is teenage pregnancy, the Teen Titans in partnership with the local government unit of the municipality of Anilao, organized a three-day series of interactive lectures in three sitios of Bgy Cag-an—Sitio Cabancaban, Sitio Tangkong and Cag-an Proper—from April 26 to 28. This series titled “Sa Tamang Panahon” tackled Gender-equality, children’s rights, sexual violence and parental responsibility. With putting emphasis on these issues, the Teen Titans and the Anilao local government attacks the problem on teenage pregnancy at its core, that is the lack of knowledge and understanding of the said issues.
The best people to impart knowledge regarding each topic teamed up for the success of “Sa Tamang Panahon”: (1) Ms. Ma. Liza Bosque of the Department of Social Welfare and Development discussed gender issues, highlighting the difference between sex and gender; (2) Dr. Karen Araneta (head of the rural health unit of Anilao) talked about adolescent sexual health, puberty and sexually transmitted infections; (3) Sangguniang Bayan counselor and head of the municipal youth council, Hon. Karen Manaay presented the main points on the Children's Code; (4) SP04 Florepiss Subere discussed the forms of sexual violence and the victimization of children to sexual assault; and (5) Ms. Sherrybel Decastillo from the Population Office facilitated an interactive discussion on parental responsibility.
Aside from the mentioned lecturers, the MaTEEN-ad Teen Helpers of the municipality of Anilao organized a debate, which touched important adolescent issues and was participated by the teenagers of the barangay. Through the debate, the Team was able to get insights on what teenagers think about adolescent sexual activities, romantic relationships, underage drinking and many other risk behaviors. Furthermore, the debate has exposed teens who have potential to become future Teen Helpers in Bgy. Cag-an.
Brgy. Cag-an serves as the ‘prototype’ barangay for the planned local government action against adolescent pregnancy in the municipality of Anilao. Both the Team and the local government agreed that Sa Tamang Panahon will serve as the guide for future action planning, and that whatever worked for the recent event will be adapted in subsequent activities, while encountered problems will be discussed for improvement. The execution of the lecture series as a three-day affair in three different sitios was planned out so that maximum audience reach and high participation rate may be achieved. However, participation turn out was rather lower than expected, especially from the parents (with mostly, only the mothers participating in the lectures). This was truly prevalent during the first day of the event which took place in Sitio Tangkong. Some participants voiced out that, while the event venue is accessible,it was “unbearable” to walk to the venue under the sun in noontime. As a solution, the Team has resorted to door-to-door invitation and pick-up (of both teen and parent participants), utilizing the truck provided by the local government unit. An hour was alotted for the said solution. With that done, low participation has become less of a problem during the remaining two days of the lecture series.
Regardless of the problem encountered, the Teen Titans of Project STEP-UP, with the help of the local government unit of Anilao, has successfully taken initial action on teenage pregnancy by imparting information and knowledge on gender-equality, teen health, children’s rights, sexual violence and parental responsibility.