MILF frowns on sex education, warns of its backlash

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) frowned on the government's sex education program for schoolchildren, warning of the backlash it may generate. The policy was "hastily designed" and did not consider the child’s psychology, MILF Da’wah Committee head Sheikh Muhammad Muntassir said. “This is like preparing the child to be competitive for the next world of sex," Muntassir said in an article posted Tuesday afternoon on the MILF news site. With the growing "impiousness" or failure of people to adhere to moral principles, there is great chance of sexual encounters out of wedlock, he said. Muntassir noted that a child aged 11 to 12 has just passed the self-discovery stage and is beginning to discover new worlds for him or her. Such children begin to feel or experience limerence, puppy love, or love as they reach puberty, he added. For their part, legislators of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) also criticized the planned pilot testing in the region’s schools of the sex education module. They branded the sex education module as a "unilateral imposition on the people of the Muslim autonomous region." The MILF site said officials and members of the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) will stage a rally to oppose the new sex policy on grade schools. — RJAB Jr./RSJ, GMANews.TV