According to the survey that was conducted from August 12 to October 16 of the previous year, 27.1 percent of Davao or Region 11 ranked first among the 16 other regions in the country.
The following completed the top 14 regions where Filipino women below 18 years old have already engaged in sexual intercourse: Cagayan Valley (25.3%), Caraga (24.3%), ARMM (23.5%), SOCCKSARGEN (22.9%), Central Visayas (22.2%), Western Visayas (21.3%), Eastern Visayas (21%), Zamboanga (20%), Central Luzon (18.5%), Northern Mindanao (18.1%), MIMAROPA (17.7%), CALABARZON (17.2%), Bicol (16.6%), and Ilocos (16.4%).
However, the National Capital Region (NCR)—where the Philippine capital is located—placed second to the lowest, comprising 14.4 percent of the total.
Furthermore, the lowest percentage (10.8%) came from the respondents aged 18-24 from the Cordillera region.
This was a nationwide representative survey of roughly 16,000 households in which a total of 19,000 women between the ages of 15 and 49 were chosen as respondents to inform the public on the nation’s latest report on fertility, family planning, and health.
The study also found out that one out of ten Filipino women ages 15 to 19 years old is a first-time mother; while one out of five respondents indicate that they had already engaged in pre-marital sex.
Interim Deputy National Statistician, Officer-in-Charge Romeo S. Recide signed the report that was released in August 2014.