MANILA, July 30, 2010— A group of Catholic parents who filed a class suit against the Department of Education over a sex education program in public elementary and high schools have withdrawn from the case.

Jo Imbong, the parents’ lawyer, said they decided to drop case against former Education Secretary Mona since she no longer heads the agency.

“She is no longer the secretary so the most reasonable thing to do is to substitute her with the new secretary,” Imbong said.

But the lawyer said they cannot substitute the new education chief, Bro. Armin Luistro, as respondent since he “has not openly endorsed” the sex education program and assured to review it instead.

“He promised he will examine the sex education modules,” she said. “We will give him more space to do that.”

The lawyer added that should Luistro pursue the current module, her group would revive the lawsuit “without prejudice”.

Imbong also serves as lawyer for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) who continues to lobby against the program.

The bishops claimed that the government’s sex education program “further highlights and fortifies the concept that contraceptives provide safe and satisfying sex.”

They also clarified that the Church is not against sex education per se “but for reasons of morality and religious faith, we strongly object to the proposed sex education program.”

The CBCP insisted that sex education should take place at home by parents and not in school. (CBCPNews)