We can hear the collective sigh of relief from religious leaders and conservative parents.
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Mon blocked the plans of the Department of Health (DOH) to distribute contraceptives among senior high school students as part of its strategy to deal with the sharp rise in the number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among the youth.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the students who are also minors need parental consent in dealing with such a sensitive issue.
“They (parents) can relax… there will be no condom distribution in schools,” Briones said.
It may be recalled that the (DOH) had announced its plan to distribute condoms in schools starting next year.
Read: Priest objects to DOH plan to distribute condoms in schools
Meanwhile, DepEd promised to boost sex education in the Philippines to help combat HIV-AIDS and early pregnancy.
According to ABS-CBN News, “Briones said she will consider adopting the sexuality education program of Singapore, where parents are first asked if they want their children to take such subject.”
