Even before it is implemented in schools, another controversy hounds the inclusion of sex education in the basic education curriculum.

This, after a senatorial candidate from Ang Kapatiran Party-list, Jo Aurea Imbong, said on Monday that the Charter provides that only parents must teach their children sex education, adding the plan of the Department of Education (DepEd) to include sex education is “unconstitutional.”

In a forum aired by GMA News and Public Affairs, Imbong, a lawyer and professor, said that Section 12, Article II of the Charter, which states that "the natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the government." This, according to her, is a restriction on the teaching of sex education in schools.

"Sex education in schools is banned by the Constitution," said Imbong, who used to head the legal department of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

However, DepEd Wednesday disputed Imbong’s claims that the inclusion of sex education in the basic education is banned by the 1987 Constitution. According to DepEd spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya, the constitutional provision states the other way around.

“Section 12, Article II mandates the state to establish adequate and relevant education and that educating the youth about adolescent reproductive health falls under the responsibilities of the state," Malaya explained.

He added that the constitution mandates the state to establish adequate and relevant education and that educating the youth about adolescent reproductive health falls under the responsibilities of the state. “While we have no debate with the contention that parents have the primary role to teach our youth about sex and reproductive health, the schools – as the second home of the child – also has this responsibility,” he added.

Malaya said Education Undersecretary for Legal Franklin Sunga, along with the department’s legal team, assured that that there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits sex education in schools. “While sex education would ideally be provided by parents, many lack the necessary knowledge themselves and are not at ease talking about this sensitive matter with their children,” said Malaya.