Dingdong Dantes joins critics of Baguio college’s mandatory pregnancy test policy

Dingdong Dantes. Image: Instagram/@dongdantes

Actor Dingdong Dantes has joined the tide of people critical of Pines City Colleges in Baguio City for its policy of mandatory pregnancy testing among its female students. Documents directing female students to participate in the pregnancy tests made the rounds of social media recently, and immediately received flak from government agencies, politicians and private citizens.

The compulsory pregnancy testing is supposedly in line with Pines City Colleges’ “pursuit for education and social responsibility.” Pregnant students are prohibited from enrolling in courses that would “endanger both mother and child” such as clinical dentistry and  subjects like anesthesiology and endodontics, among others. Moreover, if a student gets pregnant during the semester, she must file a leave of absence and return the following school year on the same level.

Dantes took to Twitter yesterday, Nov. 7, in which he shared a report about the college’s mandatory pregnancy tests and gave his own take on the issue.

“Despite the College’s intention to protect the health of its students and their child, and to contribute in resolving teenage pregnancy in the country, this act remains to be a concrete violation of the basic right to privacy and of the Magna Carta for Women,” he wrote.

As per Dantes, it is discriminatory to impose “enrolment limitations and sanctions to non-compliant students found out to be pregnant.”

Imposing enrolment limitations and sanctions to non-compliant students found out to be pregnant are discriminatory.

— Dingdong Dantes (@dingdongdantes) November 7, 2018

He hopes that the college’s management will review the implications of the documents as he made known his support for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and women’s rights advocates who are looking into the case.

Moreover, Dantes called on the National Youth Commission to follow suit. “I also hope that the National Youth Commission @NYCPilipinas will follow suit especially that this concerns young women.”

I also hope that the National Youth Commission @NYCPilipinas will follow suit especially that this concerns young women.

— Dingdong Dantes (@dingdongdantes) November 7, 2018

It was reported on Nov. 6 that Pines City College is now under investigation by the Commission on Human Rights after it was slammed on the same day following the revelation of the controversial policy.

In a statement, CHR spokesperson and lawyer Jacqueline de Guia said, “Women and girls should not be denied exercise and full enjoyment of basic rights, they should not suffer negative consequences in educational and work spaces, simply because they are pregnant.”

CHED’s legal department is also investigating the college’s memorandum, as confirmed by CHED chairman Prospero de Vera.

Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian condemned the mandatory pregnancy testing yesterday, Nov. 7, and said that it must be “immediately scrapped.”

“Enforcing a mandatory pregnancy test on women who wish to enroll in certain classes violates their right to privacy and puts female students in an uncomfortable and potentially humiliating situation,” he said

Pines City College, however, has maintained that it is standing by its policy of mandatory pregnancy testing for the school’s female students.

“We believe it is a policy protective of our students while they are in our care and are deployed to internship programs in hospitals and to clinical practice,” the college said.  /ra

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