The controversy over the government's sex education program may eventually boil down to a virtual name game.
Education undersecretary for legal affairs Franklin Sunga on Tuesday said the program had been implemented smoothly under a different name before it became controversial this year.
"When it was being implemented last year, no one was complaining. It was just called Adolescent Reproductive Health. Then all of a sudden it is called sex education for this year, ayun maraming nagreklamo (now there are many complaints when the course title has been changed)," Sunga said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
Sunga also maintained the sex education lessons lean more towards "gender development."
He said the program does not even propagate contraceptives, noting in it is "against (Filipinos') religious beliefs as a Christians."
"We are not even propagating contraceptives. That is against our religious beliefs as a Christian nation," Sunga said.
For now, the Department of Education (DepEd) is undertaking consultations with parent-teachers associations and other sectors over the sex education program, he added.
The government had planned to implement the program in 159 elementary and high schools this year.
In the meantime, he said, they are waiting for the results of the consultations. Depending on the results, he said the DepEd will "make some corrections" to the program.
Meanwhile, Sunga welcomed the suit lodged by pro-life groups against the DepEd over its sex education program.
"Wala namang problema yan. Maganda yan ang pag-file ng kaso para marinig ang side ng bawa't isa. Hindi naman ito personal na kaso sa officials kundi laban sa department. Of course titingnan namin, if there is a restraining order kami ay susunod, we have to comply with any order of the court(We don’t have problems with that. At least now we can present our side in court. This is nothing personal. Of course, if there is a restraining order we are ready to comply)," he said.
On Monday, a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines lawyer led a group of parents in filing a class suit against education officials over sex education.
CBCP Legal Office executive secretary Atty. Jo Imbong and 30 other parents haled the DepEd to court Monday over the matter.
Imbong said the move was the “first step to reclaim our culture," adding the suit "points a finger at the forces that are reshaping the hearts and minds of our children."
Imbong vowed to put together a nationwide mechanism for parents and parent associations “so that DepEd defers to us, not we to them."
For his part, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias said they will continue to mobilize their faithful to be on the lookout for sex education modules being taught in government-run schools.
Tobias said they are concerned of the manner sex education is being taught to intermediate elementary pupils and high school students, according to an article on the CBCP news site
