BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte --  The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM)-Caraga, along with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Caraga, appealed to the local government units in the region to adopt social protection program to assist teenage mothers and their children. 

During the third quarter Regional Population Executive Board conference attended by local population officers and representatives of the different regional partner agencies, POPCOM 13 Director Alexander A. Makinano emphasized the importance of establishing sufficient and accessible measures to protect the well-being of adolescent mothers and their children; hence, he urged LGUs to significantly adopt Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and their Children (SPPAMC) to address teenage pregnancies not only in the region but in the whole country. 

POPCOM and DSWD inked partnership to develop a data sharing agreement (DSA) to identify teenage mothers and their children nationwide to implement a social amelioration program in support of young mothers belonging to the lowest socioeconomic bracket, among others. 

The Commission punctuated that the SPPAMC intervention ensures that no one is left behind in development, including the young mothers and their children.” 

RD Makinano reiterated that the current state of adolescent pregnancies in the country has reached a level of being a national social emergency, an urgent national priority. 

POPCOM recognized that one of the emerging threats to the development of the young people is the increasing incidence of pregnancies, particularly among adolescents. 

In 2019, the Philippines reported a total of 180, 916 live births among teenagers aged 10-19, according to statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System that equates 495 live births each day in the 10-19 age range. (May ann O. Escobal, POPCOM Caraga/PIA Caraga)