PREMARITAL SEX IN THE PHILIPPINE: ALARMING

A Reaction Paper

Submitted to:

Prof. IRMA R. TAN

Submitted by:

MARC JOSEPH T. LOYOLA

Comm 2 – B 1

February 23, 2010

 Premarital sex is something which almost everyone knows about. Some proudly

proclaims that they engage in while others do it secretly. However, there are still some who

do it but are unaware of such term. Different people view it differently: for some it’s

acceptable while for some it’s a big sin. At present, there is n increasing amount of

discussions in newspaper and magazines in which various things attributed to premarital sex

are discussed. It is said that the Philippines is facing this persistent challenge about premarital

intercourse. Since sex is involved, this is certain to produce a number of strong reactions.

Nevertheless, it is important to be careful in making such reactions.

Sex is an intimate act between individuals which includes genital contact (Baumer

and South, 2001). Accordingly, it was designed for married couples to enjoy, hence the

famous quote: “True love waits until marriage.” The norms of Philippine society say that it is

not normal or it is immoral to engage in premarital sex, but despite this, people just cannot

wait until they get wedded. This accounts for the prevalence of premarital sex in the country.

At present, one can say that it’s normal to know people who had sex already. But

what’s alarming is the rapid growth of the number of people who had sex before marriage.

Different researches show the rise of this number. In the last century, only a few, if not zero,

gave themselves to premarital sex. This information if compared to present data would give

an overwhelming difference. Statistics in 2008 showed that premarital sex was prevalent in

30% of the Filipinos. This figured is actually small when compared to western countries. In

the USA, 75% of the women would say that they already experienced premarital sex when

they reached the age of nineteen. However, it would not seem right to compare a less

developed country like the Philippines to far way more urbanized and liberal countries in the

west. The figure 30% is, in fact, a very high number, taking to account the nature of Filipinos.

Nevertheless, these data only show that attitudes towards sex have changed dramatically over

the past years (Villaverde, 2010).

 Practicing premarital sex is more often attributed to men. It is for the reason that

males are more aggressive than females. However, as mentioned earlier, things have changed.

If things were taken back to the first place, it is necessary to know why people have sex at all.

The answer is as simple as reproduction. However, later in time sex was viewed in another

way. It is said that premarital sex is only just for pleasure. Moreover, sex is said to be fun.

Obviously, sex before marriage is indeed used for pleasure. This perception has contributed

to hasty boost in the incidence of premarital sex in the Philippines. Most probably, this

pleasure is the reason for the people’s positive regards to premarital sex. As a matter of fact,

women are now competing with men in terms of sexual experience. This is brought about by

women’s newly developed permissive attitude towards sex (Villaverde, 2001).

Different people might have various reasons in committing premarital sex aside from

positive view on sex. Some people might just be financially incapable of being married, thus,

they engage in premarital intercourse. Some could just be doing it to build up an image in

front of their peers. The worse part here is that people who commit the said act are not only

exposing themselves to some risks but they are staining the traditional Filipino image of

being conservative (Baumer and South, 2001). This is not to say that premarital sex is totally

wrong that it should be eliminated but it’s just that this action possesses potential risks which

might affect not only the individuals involved in it but the society, where they belong, as

well.

Things always change, especially now that it is the modern era (Frias, 2001). Along

with this, the norms also change. However, it’s just sad to note that things have just gone

worse. The idea that sex is just for fun is actually a very cheap reason to engage in premarital

intercourse. Nobody knows if these people who do it even weigh the pleasure they get from it

against the different consequences which they might encounter. An even more disturbing fact

is that the age range of people who do it is getting younger and younger. Recent researches,
which show a large figure of the number of people having premarital intercourse, were

conducted on young adults whose ages are from fifteen to twenty-five. In fact, according to

the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality study by the University of the Philippines

Population Institute (UPPI) and the Demographic Research Development Foundation,

twenty-six percent of the Filipino youth nationwide from ages fifteen to twenty-five

confessed to have had premarital sex experience (Singson, 2008). This is a very shocking

event. This should be able to call the attention of the authorities to make proper actions.

However, things are still in the hands of the people. From childhood, Filipinos were always

taught that premarital sex is wrong, yet many still engage in it. Moreover, individuals or the

youth themselves who practice this kind of deed say that they were only being more open to

things which their parents did in secret (Atkinson and Hilgard, 1985). They are more exposed

to such things.

As a direct result the number of teenage pregnancy also rose to a jaw-dropping figure.

The 1998 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) revealed that 3.6 million of

female teenagers, which comprised 5.2 % of the Philippine population of that time, got

pregnant. Furthermore, in 92 % of these teens, the pregnancy was unwanted and unplanned

(Singson, 2008). These figures are already very high for such an early period. Consequently,

abortion is usually to follow. Also noted in the said survey was a staggering abortion rate

which was recorded to be 25 per 1000 women. This amount did not even cover all abortions

for there are cases when such incidents are not reported. Other than the increased abortion

rate is also the higher prevalence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Premarital

sex contributes to the worsening condition of the country.

There are certain factors which urge or influence the people’s view on sex. One is the

advancement in contraception. Actually, this advancement is not surprising at all for it is

brought by modernization and advancements in medical technology. It has actually a lot of

advantages: it prevents pregnancy and reduces the risks for STD. However, has resulted to

the change in the people’s attitude toward sex (Villaverde, 2010). Because of this, there is a

higher chance of having an even bigger number of occurrences of premarital sex in the

country. Additionally, the media always had a great influence on the people’s judgement of

things. Filipino teens have higher exposure to sex from television, movies, magazines, and

most importantly the internet. They learn these things, yet they don’t know how to handle

things and they are left to their peer for opinions.

Premarital sex is high in the Philippines. This is somehow embarrassing to think that

the Philippines is said to be a Christian country. The Dominant religions in the country are

Christianity and Islam. Both put value on sex as part of a married life. Moreover, Filipinos

are conservative in nature. They put value on morality. Despite this, there is still a high

prevalence of premarital sex in the country.

Premarital sex is alarming in the country. It has grown in such a fast rate and it is

surprising that people involved in it are very young and possess little knowledge of the risks

they may face. There are various reasons of why people engage in premarital sex. Such

reasons may be as shallow as pleasure. One of these reasons is media which is a great factor

which leads to high frequency of the said act. Different people have varied views toward sex

and other people should be careful in their reactions. Therefore, one can only criticize the

phenomena of high prevalence of premarital sex but he/she can never judge a person because

of his different perceptions about things.

REFERENCES
Atkinson, Ritz and Ernest Hilgard. 1985. Introduction to Psychology, 9th ed. USA: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich Inc.
Baumer, E. and South S. 2001. Community Effects on Youth Sexual Activity. Journal of
Marriage & the Family. 63. 540-554.
Frias, Nuela. 2001. Urbanization and Premarital Sex in the Philippines [Abstract]. 2010, Feb
20. <http://serp-p.pids.gov.ph/details.php3?tid=3941>.
Kirkendall, Lester. 2005, Jan 30. Premarital Sex Relations: The Problem and Its Implications.
2010, Feb 20. <http://www.springerlink.com/content/l67023kl309456m5/>.

Scribed.com. 2008, Oct 10. Teenage Sex. 2010, Feb 20.

<http://www.scribd.com/doc/6483193/Teenage-Sex>.

Singson, Rebecca. 2008, Jun 14. Teen Pregnancies in the Philippines. 2010, Feb 20.
<http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/view/20080614-142572/Teen-
pregnancies-in-the-Philippines>.
Villaverde, Jesus. 2010. From Shame to Game in One Hundred Years: An Economic Model
of the Rise in Premarital Sex and its De-stigmatisation. 2010, Feb 20.
<http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4649>.