MANILA, Philippines — Four senators have withdrawn their signatures for the contested Senate Bill 1979 that seeks to prevent pregnancy among adolescents.

In a letter addressed to Senate President Chiz Escudero on Wednesday, senators JV Ejercito, Cynthia Villar, Nancy Binay, and Bong Go asked to “respectfully request the withdrawal” of their signatures from the said committee report.

“While we believe that the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy is an issue that must be urgently addressed, it is our position that further dialogues with stakeholders is essential, in order to accurately dispel misconceptions and remove objectionable portions from the bill,” the letter read.

Several lawmakers, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have rebuked the bill describing the law as “ridiculous” and “abhorrent.”

“I was appalled by some elements of that. All this “woke” that they are trying to bring into our system … That every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous. It is abhorrent. It is a travesty of what sexual and sex education should be to the children,” Marcos said earlier this week.

The president said that should the law be passed, even though sex education should be taught to the younger population, he will “immediately veto it.” 

However, the chief executive’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos and Sen. Bong Revilla, both authors of the bill, have defended their stance with Revilla saying the bill “primarily aims to protect children and provide support to adolescent parents” and that it contains provisions that were not included in his proposed measure.

At the same time, Imee clarified that the bill is likewise “different.”

“My version of the bill tackled the overwhelming problem of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines, which with 1 out of 10 teenage girls pregnant or with a child, has been cited by the World Bank as not only a moral problem but an economic loss for these girls’ education and future job prospects,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“While the present bill is significantly different from mine, in no way does it intend to deprive parents of their primordial authority and guidance,” she said.

The Senate Bill 1979 was a combined measure for two similar bills, including SBN 1209 filed by Revilla, and SBN 651 filed by Imee.