By CBCP News
MANILA, Philippines – Several pro-life groups will promote “true love” this Valentine’s Day at the Dangwa flower market in Manila, offering free candy and rosaries in exchange for condoms.
“We think it’s a powerful way of making a stand in a culture that really wants to push other types of beliefs about the human body, love, and sexuality,” said Nirva Delacruz, a board member of Pro-life Philippines, one of the organizers of the campaign.
On Friday, Feb 14, members of Filipinos for Life, Singles for Christ, Pro-life Philippines, Young Catholics PH, and other individual volunteers will counter marketing efforts by companies giving away free condoms at the flower market, where buyers will rush to make last-minute Valentine’s Day purchases.
Volunteers will distribute sweet treats, rosaries, and pro-chastity stickers in exchange for condoms.
“We discovered that this is where put up stands and hand out condoms to get young people to associate love with being promiscuous and sexually active which is actually the opposite,” Delacruz said.
“Love means you can control your impulses in the light of wanting what is best for that special person in your life,” she added.
The groups also aim to engage in public discourse amid the heated debates over Senate Bill 1979, or the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Act of 2023, which supposedly aims to address the rising number of teenage pregnancies in the country.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for 2022 show that 150,138 babies were born to adolescent mothers, which was 10.3% of all registered births in the country.
According to Delacruz, the issue of teenage pregnancies has deeper roots than a lack of education and should be viewed as a symptom, not a standalone problem.
“We believe that every person first learns how to love in the family. If the family is strong, young people will instinctively know that love is about self-control and sacrifice,” she said.
“Instead of copy-cat laws from the West that want to push sex education, let’s strengthen Filipino families,” Delacruz added. – CBCP News
