The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) on Sunday said there is a need for more social support for minors, as births among girls aged 15 years old and below went up by 7 percent in 2019.
“In 2019, 2,411 girls considered as very young adolescents aged 10 to 14 gave birth, or almost seven every day. This was a three-fold increase from 2000, when only 755 from the said age group gave birth,” the commission said in a statement.
POPCOM added that this is the 9th year the rate has increased since 2011. One out of 10 pregnancies in the Philippines involves a teenage girl.
“Overall, the number of Filipino minors who gave birth in 2019 increased to 62,510, which was slightly higher than the 62,341 minors in 2018,” the statement said,
The regions of Calabarzon, Metro Manila and Central Luzon, Cebu or Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, and Cotabato registered the most number of minors giving birth in the country.
Undersecretary of Population and Development Juan Antonio Perez III said: “As a national and social emergency, the spread of teenage pregnancy across the archipelago still persists at an alarming rate. This requires more than a whole-of-government approach.”
POPCOM and the Social Welfare department are now working together to enhance social protection measures to deter the increase in teenage pregnancies.
