(INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS/JEROME CRISTOBAL)

MANILA, Philippines — Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin defended President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s comment about the supposed “ridiculous” and “abhorrent” provision on the proposed Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023 about masturbation.

In an ambush interview on Friday, Bersamin was asked what was the basis of Marcos’s comments about the provision allegedly encouraging masturbation in children aged 0 to 4 or teaching bodily pleasure to children aged 6 to 9.

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“This is very common; when you read something, you read between the lines. Language is very broad. You have connotation, denotation, and the other implications of language,” Bersamin told reporters.

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“Let’s give the president the benefit of the doubt about that. If he probably read something that indicated to him that it’s going to include masturbation, he’s entitled to his own opinion,” he added.

Bersamin further asked the public not to judge Marcos’ statement, as the latter developments showed that those may no longer be true or valid.

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The confusion arose after Marcos — in giving his comment about the supposed provision on masturbation — said he had read the bill over the weekend.

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He said he was “shocked” and “appalled” by some of the details of the proposed law.

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“You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate; that every child has the right to try different sexualities,” the president said.

“This is ridiculous. This is abhorrent. This is a travesty of what sex education should be to the children,” he expressed in dismay.

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Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, author of the bill, clarified that such provisions were nowhere to be found in the measure.

She further assured the public that they had no intention to blindly copy international standards.

On Thursday, Palace reporters asked the president whether he had changed or would change his stance on the controversial bill after the removal of the provision on “guided by international standards.”

“I need to read the substitute bill first,” Marcos replied.

Bersamin said the Palace welcomes the substitute bill Hontiveros has filed.

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“Well, we always welcome initiatives like those, because it means she finally realized that there must be something objectionable to her earlier version. But we are not judging her version at all,” he said.

The Marcos administration aims to reduce the poverty incidence between 8.8 and nine percent by 2028.grand finity play

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