TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- Commission on Population (PopCom) Region 02 Director Angelito Obcena urged parents to break any communication gap with their children to prevent early teenage pregnancy cases in the region.
“Once na hindi na kayo nag-uusap, diyan na nagsisimula ang problema,” said Obcena as he attended Philippine Information Agency Region 02’s Tipon-Tipan on Wednesday, October 18.
Obcena said that communication barriers can also lead children to other vices such as smoking, alcohol, and even drugs aside from engaging in early sexual activities.
“Kami sa Population Commission [ay] naniniwala na ang solusyon sa pag-address sa teenage pregnancy ay nasa magulang,” added Obcena. He reminded parents to keep their communication with their children.
The PopCom director said supervision and guidance are needed to be given to children in order to prevent incidents such as early pregnancy.
Currently, PopCom Region 02 is conducting ‘Breaking the Barrier’ sessions between parents and children.
In 2013, Cagayan Valley topped the country’s ranking in terms of incidents of teenage pregnancy. One of PopCom’s advocacies is to lessen and prevent teenage pregnancy cases because these pose health risks to mothers and their babies.
Obcena added that having open and continuous communication with parents is important today especially in the prevalence of advanced technologies and breakthrough such as smart phones, tablets, and internet.
He added that technology is one of the factors on why Region 02 has high number of early pregnancy cases. He again reminded parents to monitor their children in their internet and gadget use.
Obcena suggested to parents that they should tell their children to turn off all electronic gadgets during family time and instead share stories with each other.
Meanwhile, Obcena said these gadgets may also be of help to Overseas Filipino Worker parents in monitoring their children.
“Walang communication but you have the gadget. It’s there. It’s a very big help [for you],” he said. “We have all the means to communicate with our children,” added Obcena. Northernforum.net
