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MANILA, Philippines – For all young people with plans on Valentine’s Day, February 14, the National Youth Commission (NYC) has this reminder: right decisions – self-control – will matter.
It could be to practice safer sex (“proper condom use”) or to abstain from sex altogether.
“Your decisions and actions on Valentine’s Day have lifelong effects. Be responsible. Think of the consequences and the future. P’wede namang HOHOL (hangout-hangout lang) o COCOL (coffee-coffee lang) na lang muna. (You can just hangout, or have coffee for now),” Commissioner Perci Cendaña said in a statement Thursday, February 13.
He urged sexual responsibility a day before the much-hyped world celebration during which “the air of romance and raging hormones tend to overpower reason.”
“The Valentine celebration may encourage risky sexual behavior especially for young people in romantic relationships. We would like to remind the youth not to be carried away and be in control of the situation,” he added.
The NYC cited findings from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS) which said more young Filipinos today engage in pre-marital sex and other new forms of sexual risky behaviors without protection. (READ: Young, tech-savvy Filipinos more sexually active than you think)
The study showed 1 out of 3 Filipino youth had premarital sex, and 78% of those who engage in premarital sex for the first time do not use any form of contraception as protection from pregnancy or sexually-transmitted disease.
Although the increasing pattern in premarital sexual activity is expected, the huge jump in teenage fertility is a point of concern. The number of of female teenagers who reported being pregnant had more than doubled from 6.3% in 2002 to 13.6% in 2013.
“Kadalasan hindi nakaplano ang unang pagbubuntis ng mga kabataan. Produkto ito madalas ng padalos-dalos na desisyon. (Oftentimes, the first pregnancy of a young mother is unplanned. It is usually a product of a reckless decision.) The youth should not make that mistake on Valentine’s Day. There are other meaningful and equally romantic ways that are safe to celebrate Valentine’s,” Cendaña said.
Check out other things you can do in the Metro, or get out of the city for a romantic Valentine’s weekend.
Or take Cendaña’s advice: Hang out in a coffee shop where you can even read books together.
Happy Valentine’s Day! – Jee Geronimo/Rappler.com
Lovers holding hands image from Shutterstock
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