MANILA — The Commission on Population Development (CPD) on Saturday raised alarms anew on early pregnancies, as this could "take a toll" on a teenager's body.

CPD Executive Director Lisa Bersales said based on their monitoring, the prevalence of pregnancies from the age group 15 to 19 decreased from 8.5 percent in 2017 to 5.4 percent in 2022.

"But 5.4 percent girls aged 15 to 19 is one too many," Bersales said on ANC.

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There was, however, an "increasing trend" in pregnancies between girls aged 10 to 14, which the official described as worrying.

"There has been a 21.6 percent from 2016 to 2021. That is something we are alerting everyone about," she said.

Early pregnancies, she said, can impact the girl's body when she reaches adulthood.

"Why are we worried? Girls that age 10 to 19, they are supposed to be in the stage of preparing themselves for adulthood and... [to prepare for] good opportunities for better education," she added.