The groups' decision to widen the signature-gathering campaign was reached during a forum spearheaded by the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) last Tuesday.

Beth Angsioco, DSWP chairman, said her group will join the campaign to press DepEd to continue reintegrating lessons on adolescent reproductive health into the secondary curriculum. The education department earlier had cancelled the program because of the vigorous objection of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Dr. Estrellita Evangelista, Director III of the Bureau of Secondary Education, said DepEd may restart pilot-testing the program this coming second semester when the department expects to have finished modifying the earlier module. She added education officials are reviewing the program in consultation with the CBCP and youth representatives.

Angsioco said other groups such as the Philippine Women Legislators Committee on Population and Development and Theia initiative will start their own signature-gathering drive to ensure there will be no let-up in the campaign to have sex education taught in high schools.

"Teaching the youth the ABCs of reproductive health and responsible parenthood would help prevent 'accidents' like teen pregnancies or, worse, sexually-transmitted diseases. The youth should be empowered through knowledge," Angsioco said.

"The church should help, not hinder, young people from rising above the immorality of ignorance," she added.

Sunny Cortes, leader of Aksyon Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transexuals (LGBT), agreed.

"There is no reason why DepEd should not push through with the module. Most of us youth are learning sex and sexuality from the wrong sources, like peers and classmates and pornographic materials," he said.

Angsioco expressed hope when DepEd resumes teaching sex education, it would do so with the forthrightness needed to make students understand the possible consequences of their sexual experiences in the light of findings that 31 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls are engaged in pre-marital sex and that young people start having sex early.

The fact is even without the controversial lesson guides, young people begin to have romantic relationships and sexual experience early, at about the age they reach third and fourth year high school. They are the very targets of the shelved lesson guides, she said.

The DepEd lesson guides offer an opportunity for young people to develop life skills such as making intelligent decisions and not have to live the consequences of their lack of knowledge, Angsioco said.