Manila: The education department distanced itself from a government plan to introduce sex education in high school through comics.

In a statement, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Mona Valisno denied that her agency is involved in a plan to introduce sex education to high school students through the use of graphic literature such as comics.

"The DepEd is not distributing illustrated comics on sex education in public high schools contrary to the claims of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)," Valisno said.

Earlier on Wednesday, members of the clergy as well as parents, held a demonstration against the alleged government plan to introduce lessons on sex education in the classrooms through comics. 

But Valisno denied that that they were the source of the comics.

"We never had those as part of our [teaching] modules," she said. "They may have obtained it from other sources but definitely it is not part of our learning modules on sex education," Valisno stressed.

There had been concerns that the comics would serve to stir lustful interest in the underage instead of providing them with an objective view on human sexuality. 

At the same time, Valisno tried to calm down concerns over the introduction of sex education lessons for children and adolescent students in high school.

Concerns

"The fear of some that we are teaching sex in school is not true. I believe that discussion on sex should be the responsibility of the parents who should draw guidance from the moral teaching of the Catholic Church," she added.

Valisno said that DepEds modules that guide teachers on integrating sex education in various subjects are carefully prepared to suit the understanding level of students from Grade 5 (10 years old)  to 4th year high school (16 to 17 years old).

"Child psychologists were part of the team that developed these modules," said Valisno.

In a related development, government lawyers sought the dismissal of the case filed by parents seeking to stop the DepEd from implementing the sex education programme.

The lawyers asked Judge Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya of the suburban Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88 to reject a suit filed by some 30 parents against DepEd officials led by Valisno.

In their petition, the parents led by lawyers James and Jo Aurea Imbong, accused Valisno of curtailing parents' responsibility to teach their children about sex education.

"It is still the primary responsibility of the parents and families to inform their children about sex," said the Aurea couple.

Stiff opposition

The Philippine government had been encountering stiff opposition from the conservative Catholic clergy and some parents over plans to introduce sex education to young students.

The Deped and the Department of Health (DoH) had argued that introducing sex education lessons are necessary to provide young students with the proper perspective about sexuality and family planning. 

With the population growing at an annual rate of 1.95 per cent (based on projections of the National Statistical Coordination Board), the Philippines will have 94 million by the end of this year. 

Population growth, coupled with non-increasing food supplies and shrinking water resources is expected to worsen difficulties for the broad mass of Filipinos in the coming years.

The United Nations Populations Fund said the country needs to take interventions of the wider acceptance of birth control methods to arrest population growth and arrest the spread of life threatening sexually transmissible diseases such as HIV and AIDS.