Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on basic education, is pushing for the removal of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) from the national curriculum, citing concerns over its alignment with the Reproductive Health (RH) law.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Gatchalian proposed replacing CSE with reproductive health education, which he claims is the true intent of the RH law. He argued that CSE had evolved beyond its original purpose, shifting from sex education to sexuality education.
“My recommendation is to scrap CSE and return to the original purpose of the RH law, which is reproductive health education,” he was quoted as saying by Inquirer.net.
Previously, Gatchalian had suggested temporarily suspending CSE, questioning whether it was causing confusion among policymakers and educators. At a recent Senate hearing, he also raised concerns about whether teachers are adequately trained to select culturally sensitive materials for sex education, in line with DepEd Order No. 31.
DepEd Assistant Secretary Janir Datukan assured that teacher training covers these concerns, but Gatchalian remained unconvinced, pointing out potential gaps in the implementation.
The debate over CSE intensified after various organizations and Christian groups criticized the program, arguing that it promotes Western ideologies and could lead to increased adolescent pregnancies.
