DepEd urged to look into STD among minors

CEBU, Philippines — The Provincial Board is urging the Department of Education (DepEd) in Region 7 to look into the rising number of school children who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

The Board made the call through a resolution authored by Board Member Francis Salimbangon in response to the alarm raised by the Department of Health (DOH) that minors as young as 11 and 12 years old have acquired STD.

DOH said some of these minors reportedly acquired STD through paid sex.

The resolution, authored by Board Member Francis Salimbangon, urged DepEd to “inquire into and adopt measures responding to” the phenomenon.

Minors in Central Visayas have also tested positive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). As of May this year, 29 within the age of 15 to 24 have tested positive for the virus.

Salimbangon said education plays a pivotal role in quelling the practice of unsafe sex among the youth.

“Suggesting from the viewpoint of sexual behavior in children, these can be suppressed through education, monitoring and guidance which involves schools having authority over these children within the learning institutions they handle,” the resolution reads.

The DepEd 7 Director will be furnished a copy of the resolution. JMO (FREEMAN)