Of the 423 births recorded from teenage mothers in Catanduanes in 2025, only one was brought into this world by a married couple and 21 percent of them were not acknowledged by the father.
This was among the statistics on teenage pregnancies in the report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) last week as the country celebrates Women’s Month.
For every 100 live births in 2025, 12 were from teenage mothers, the agency stated, and 185 of the cases involved minors aged 17 years old and below.
Youngest Recorded Mother in 2025 was just 13
The youngest recorded mother in Catanduanes for 2025 was just 13 years old.
The data also shows a gradual increase in teenage births with age, peaking at 19 years old with 130 births.
Out of the 423 total teenage births, the majority (422 cases or 99.8%) were non-marital babies, with only one baby born to married couple.
Table 1. Teenage Births by Age of the Mother and by Legitimacy: 2025
| Age of the Mother | Number of
Non-Marital Babies |
Number of
Marital Babies |
Total |
| 13 | 1 | – | 1 |
| 14 | 10 | – | 10 |
| 15 | 22 | – | 22 |
| 16 | 59 | – | 59 |
| 17 | 98 | – | 93 |
| 18 | 107 | 1 | 108 |
| 19 | 130 | – | 130 |
| Total | 422 | 1 | 423 |
Majority of Teenage Mothers Are Still Studying
Out of the 423 teenage mothers recorded in 2025, 51.5% (218 cases) were still students. In addition to students, 205 teenage mothers (48.5%) were identified as housekeepers. (Figure 1)
Figure 1. Teenage Mothers by Occupation: 2025
Construction Laborer is the most common job of fathers among teenage pregnancies where paternal information was provided.
The top occupation of fathers was construction laborer (22.2%), followed by abaca farmer (20.1%) and student (12.9%). (Table 2)
Table 2. Top 10 Occupation of the Father, by total and by percentage: 2025
| Occupation (Father) | Total | Percentage |
| Construction Laborer | 74 | 22.2% |
| Abaca Farmer | 67 | 20.1% |
| Student | 43 | 12.9% |
| Laborer | 36 | 10.8% |
| Fisherman | 16 | 4.8% |
| Deliveryman/Helper | 5 | 1.5% |
| Security Guard | 5 | 1.5% |
| Rice Farmer | 4 | 1.2% |
| Farmhand | 4 | 1.2% |
| Mason | 4 | 1.2% |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Catanduanes, Tabulation from Birth Certificates
89 Teenage Births Have No Paternal Acknowledgment
In 2025, 89 teenage births in Catanduanes were recorded without paternal acknowledgment.
Virac had the highest number of cases with 24, followed by San Andres with 19 and Caramoran with 11. Other municipalities also reported cases, including Bato (7), Bagamanoc (6), Pandan (6), Baras (5), San Miguel (5), Gigmoto (4), Panganiban (1), and Viga (1).
Out of the 89 teenage births without paternal acknowledgment in 2025, the highest number was recorded among 19-year-old mothers, with 22 cases. This was followed by 18-year-olds with 21 cases, while both 17-year-olds and 16-year-olds recorded 19 cases each.
The younger age groups also reported cases, including 15-year-olds with four cases, 14-year-olds with three cases, and one case involving a 13-year-old mother.
Table 3. Teenage Births without Paternal Acknowledgement by Usual Residence
of the Mother: 2025
| Municipality of Mother | Total | Percentage |
| Bagamanoc | 6 | 6.7% |
| Baras | 5 | 5.6% |
| Bato | 7 | 7.9% |
| Caramoran | 11 | 12.4% |
| Gigmoto | 4 | 4.5% |
| Pandan | 6 | 6.7% |
| Panganiban | 1 | 1.1% |
| San Andres | 19 | 21.3% |
| San Miguel | 5 | 5.6% |
| Viga | 1 | 1.1% |
| Virac | 24 | 27.0% |
| 89 | 100% |
Teenage Births without Paternal Acknowledgment by Age of the Mother: 2025
| Age of Mother | Number of Births without Paternal Acknowledgment |
| 13 | 1 |
| 14 | 3 |
| 15 | 4 |
| 16 | 19 |
| 17 | 19 |
| 18 | 21 |
| 19 | 22 |
Age Range of Fathers in Teenage Births: Youngest at 15, Oldest at 53
The youngest recorded father of a teenage mother in 2025 was 15 years old, while the oldest was 53 years old.
The majority of fathers were within the younger adult age group, with the highest number recorded at 19 years old (44 cases), followed by 18 and 20 years old (38 cases) and 21 years old (32 cases).
Teenage fathers, aged 19 and below comprise 26.2% (111 cases) while fathers aged 20 to 24 years old contributed to 35.9% of the cases. (Table 4)
Table 4. Age Distribution of Fathers in Teenage Births: 2025
| Age (Father) | Total Number of
Teenage Births |
Percentage |
| 15 | 2 | 0.5% |
| 16 | 6 | 1.4% |
| 17 | 21 | 5.0% |
| 18 | 38 | 9.0% |
| 19 | 44 | 10.4% |
| 20 | 38 | 9.0% |
| 21 | 32 | 7.6% |
| 22 | 32 | 7.3% |
| 23 | 28 | 6.6% |
| 24 | 23 | 5.4% |
| 25 | 22 | 5.2% |
| 26 | 9 | 2.1 |
| 27 | 7 | 1.7% |
| 28 | 3 | 0.7% |
| 29 | 8 | 1.9% |
| 30 | 8 | 1.9% |
| 32 | 2 | 0.5% |
| 33 | 2 | 0.5% |
| 34 | 3 | 0.7% |
| 35 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 36 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 37 | 2 | 0.5% |
| 41 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 49 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 53 | 1 | 0.2% |
| Not Stated | 89 | 21.0% |
Age Gap Between Fathers and Teenage Mothers
Of the 423 recorded teenage births in 2025, 334 cases (79.0 percent) had paternal acknowledgment of which results show that the majority of fathers were older than the teenage mothers.
The largest share was recorded among fathers who were older by 3–5 years, accounting for 100 cases or 29.9 percent. This was followed by fathers older by 1–2 years with 74 cases (22.2 percent) and those older by 6–10 years with 63 cases (18.9 percent).
Meanwhile, 37 cases (11.1 percent) involved fathers who were younger than the teenage mother, while 36 cases (10.8 percent) were of the same age. Fathers older by 11–20 years comprised 19 cases (5.7 percent), while those older by more than 20 years accounted for 5 cases (1.5 percent).
Figure 3. Age Gap Between Fathers and Teenage Mothers
| Age Gap | Percentage |
| Fathers Younger than Mother | 11.1% |
| Same Age | 10.8% |
| Father Older by 1-2 Years | 22.2% |
| Father Older by 3-5 Years | 29.9% |
| Father Older by 6-10 Years | 18.9% |
| Father Older by 11-20 Years | 5.7% |
| Father Older by >20 Years | 0.5% |
56 percent of Teenage Births Were Born in Virac
In 2025, the distribution of teenage births in Catanduanes varied between the mother’s place of residence and the actual place of birth.
Virac recorded the highest number of teenage births, with 241 cases, despite having only 105 resident teenage mothers, indicating that many expectant mothers from neighboring municipalities came to Virac to give birth.
Similarly, Pandan had 41 teenage mothers residing in the municipality but recorded 68 births. San Andres had 86 resident teenage mothers, yet only 31 births occurred within the municipality.
Some areas, such as Bagamanoc, Baras, Panganiban, and San Miguel, had teenage mothers residing there but no recorded births, suggesting that these mothers gave birth in other municipalities.