12-year-old is Cebu’s youngest mother

A 12-year-old girl is the youngest mother in Cebu, the Commission on Population in Central Visayas (PopCom-7)  revealed.

Popcom-7 Director Bruce Ragas said the 12-year-old girl gave birth last year in a hospital in Bogo City, northern Cebu.

Ragas said that this revealed teenage pregnancy has become alarming.

Yes, it’s very alarming as teenagers getting  pregnant are getting younger, he said.

“When you expose these young people into pregnancy, it would endanger their lives and future,” Ragas told the reporters.

Because of this, Popcom-7 is intensifying its efforts to reach out to the youth  through education at the barangay level.

“Premarital sex should be discouraged and these young people should focus on their studies,” Ragas said.

PopCom-7 is still gathering more data on teenage pregnancy in Region 7 to determine if this has a dramatic increase.

But Ragas said there must be an intensified information dissemination and appropriate campaign for teenagers like sex education as provided in the Reproductive Health (RH) law.

“The reason why teenage pregnancy happens is curiosity,” he added.

PopCom-7 is coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) on the  implementation of sex education.

But Ragas said  parents also have a big role in the effort to stop teenage pregnancy.

“If they would neglect them, these children would seek support outside, like their friends. Sometimes, the problem is not just teenage pregnancy alone but drug dependency as well,” he added.

Popcom-7 will also intensify their campaign on responsible parenthood and family planning at the barangay level in coordination with the local government units (LGUs).

“We need to educate the couples regarding the principles of responsible parenthood for them to be guided on how to manage their family,” he added.

Ragas said parents should be informed on the methods in order to limit the  number of children in the family.

Meanwhile, as the country reached 100 million in population, Popcom-7 has identified six “symbolic babies” from Central Visayas and two are from Cebu — one from Sogod in northern Cebu and one from Cebu City.