On my way home, I frowned upon three teenage girls wearing short shorts and thick make-up chatting loudly in the jeep. Of course, I overheard them talking about courtship as if they know what love is and how to handle a relationship at age 14. I want to tell them: they have a bad fashion (and make-up) sense; the other passengers know their life story already; school before boys; and try hard not to get pregnant to avoid marrying at a young age and contributing to the overpopulation in the Philippines.
For a volunteer teacher in a shelter for pregnant women in crisis like me, seeing these teenagers still roaming around at ten in the evening is bad news. This means there might be a chance that the student population will boom and the classroom will be filled up. And what kind of teacher would want that? Kidding aside, the shelter and we, the volunteers, are saddened that teenage pregnancy is prevalent in our country. It is a good thing that there are shelters and other institutions who help the abused, abandoned, impoverished women, especially those who consider abortion because they will not be able to support and take care of their babies. But they can only do so much. We can only do so much for them. Teachers can only give them basic education. But what they really need are lessons on responsibility, chastity, motherhood, and parenting. I hope that’s part of the sex education in the Philippines.
My friend, who also works as a volunteer teacher, told me that teenage pregnancy is a product of mass media. I agreed and added that it was the “bad fruit.” Mass media feed people with so much information, but sometimes they fail to filter what is good and what is bad. It seems that mass media promote adulthood as a stage where you get drunk and have sex. And when you get pregnant, because you aren’t ready for motherhood yet, you go to Quiapo for pamparegla or in “clinics” for abortion. My friend said that the effect of this propaganda is blinded consciousness. Teenagers become aware about their gender and sexuality and yet, they mishandle and they are misinformed about it.
Do you want to know the ugliest truth? Estimates of induced abortions among Filipino adolescents reached 319, 000 in the year 2000 (Varga & Rosa – Feramil, 2003). About 400, 000 abortions among women of all ages are performed every year in the Philippines (Raymundo, Zablan, Cabigon, Cruz and Berja, 2001). About 800 Filipino women die every year because of complications of abortion; majority of them are poor, have some high school education (Singh, Juarez, Cabigon, Ball, Hussain & Nadeau, 2006). These facts and figures about teenage pregnancy and abortion rate are just here in the Philippines. Can you imagine how rampant it is worldwide? You just don’t want to know, trust me.
For me, prevention is better than cure. If we open our eyes on how bad the situation is and work together to solve the problem through proper awareness and education, then there’s still hope for the children of the future. But what can you do when women get pregnant when they aren’t ready yet? You have two options. Take them to a shelter for pregnant women (like Grace To Be Born located in Pasig City). Or introduce me as their new teacher. We might just have saved a baby.
P.S.
Please grab a copy of Sir Rey Ortega’s book called “Crazy Love: Loving the Poor the Way God Loves Them” where I got the inspiration and all the facts and figures about teenage pregnancy and abortion, which I used in this blog entry. 
Center location: 53 Dr. Sixto Antonio Ave., Kapasigan, Pasig City
Office: 60 Lighthouse Bldg., Chicago St., Cubao, Quezon City
Tel. 910-1895 Telefax 635-6056
Center: 501-0965
Grace To Be Born, a ministry for saving the unborn from abortion and caring for abandoned babies, a halfway house for unwed pregnant women in crisis, is duly registered and approved by SEC, DSWD, BIR, and the Mayor’s Office. For details, questions or donations, call Rey Ortega at 09275010605 or 09228597035, or Myrna Ortega at 09178039139. E-mail rortega_corinthians@yahoo.com and myrna.ortega@gmail.com.
[...] It’s a Grace to be Born [...]