Two girls aged 10 years old were among the youngest mothers recorded in the Philippines last year — one from the Bicol Region and another from Western Visayas — as fresh government data points to a troubling climb in births among children aged 14 and below.
The Commission on Population and Development flagged the figures in a statement citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, which logged 3,612 mothers below the age of 15 in 2024. That marks an 8.9 percent jump from 3,324 recorded in 2023.
“When a child becomes a mother, something has gone terribly wrong. She loses the opportunity to fully grow into her potential. These are girls who should be in school, discovering their dreams — not raising children before they even understand adulthood,” CPD Executive Director Lisa Grace Bersales said.
The numbers are concentrated in the country’s most densely populated areas. Calabarzon logged the highest count at 474 cases, followed by Central Luzon with 445, the National Capital Region with 374, and Soccsksargen with 302. The CPD noted that these regions face particular difficulties in delivering age-appropriate health information and services to young people.
Bersales framed the issue as a child protection concern rather than a health statistic alone, calling the trend evidence of young girls’ growing exposure to sexual abuse and exploitation. She stressed that addressing it demands a response beyond government agencies.
“We need parents who can talk openly with their children. We need teachers who are trained and supported. We need communities that choose to protect their young people,” she said.
The CPD is pressing Congress to pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill, which was filed during the 20th Congress. The commission has also thrown its support behind a proposal by Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Alyssa Michaela Gonzales to form a quinta committee that would consolidate the bill’s various versions and accelerate its legislative progress.
Among the measures the proposed law seeks to put in place are comprehensive reproductive health education in schools, expanded adolescent-friendly health services, and social protection programs for young parents and their families.
