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WHAT do you call a man who puts the right shoe on his left foot and
the left shoe on his right foot?
Answer—Mali shoes.
This melding of Pilipino and English words
inevitably produces guffaws. However, the result is not always funny
when one considers the big number of Filipinos who could speak
neither straight Pilipino nor straight English. Rep. Eduardo Gullas
of Cebu is so concerned about this that he has filed a bill seeking
to make English a medium of instruction starting from the primary
grades. EddieGul’s bill already has 173 signatories, enough to
ensure its safe sailing at the House.
However, students who could not properly
communicate in English or Pilipino are not the only problems of
Philippine education. In a recent telecast of Game Ka na Ba, a
popular noontime gameshow of ABS-CBN, I was impressed by the young
contestants who could answer questions about characters in the Harry
Potter series and in Disney movies. My admiration turned to a big
letdown when none of them could answer correctly the question on who
founded the Katipunan. One answered, “Jose Rizal,” another, “Lapu-lapu,”
while the rest kept mum. Are we producing children knowledgeable on
movie and cartoon characters but totally ignorant on our heroes?
Sen. Edgardo Angara, the leading exponent of
educational reforms in the Senate, says that the problem of teaching
students properly should start with producing teachers knowledgeable
of their subject matter. He notes that very few of Math, Physics and
Science teachers have majored in these subjects. He has authored a
law giving incentives to teachers who would hone their knowledge of
these subjects.
Angara has been spreading the “gospel” of
technical education to make the Philippines more globally
competitive. He wants higher education to emphasize courses on Math,
Science, Technology and Engineering, which he believes are the key
to success in this modern world. He notes that Philippine schools
have not been producing enough graduates to meet the needs of these
disciplines.
Some of the bills on education filed by Angara
in the 14th Congress are the Loans and Scholarship Act, Expanded
Government Assistance to Secondary Teachers in Private Education,
School Building Program Act and amendments to the Magna Carta for
Public School Teachers.
There are many other bills on education filed by
the other senators but, so far, only one such bill has been approved
on third and final reading—that of Senators Pia Cayetano and Loren
Legarda seeking to integrate environment awareness in the school
curriculum. The House and the Senate certainly must approve more
bills if they really believe that Philippine education is in deep
crisis.
House goes high-tech
Speaker Jose de Venecia is definitely no
deadwood insofar as technology is concerned. He has just introduced
the use of electronics for a faster and more accurate recording of
attendance and voting. I remember an anecdote recounted by former
Rep. Rodolfo Albano of Isabela. The Speaker then was the late Jose
B. Laurel. In a voting of ayes and nays, the majority leader said
that the “ayes” had it although Albano heard louder “nays.”
When Albano, who was a neophyte, questioned this, Laurel took him
aside and told him, “Young man, to the Speaker, the majority
leader is always right.”
Of course, controversies on the more popular
vote invariably arise, leading to roll-call vote and even nominal
voting. These certainly delay further the legislative proceedings.
With the introduction of technology by JdV, such questions may
become moot. I have a parliamentary question on its use, though.
Could electronic voting be introduced immediately without amending
the House Rules of Procedure? House rules do not mention such mode
of voting.
I don’t think the House should use the gadget
to keep tabs of congressmen’s physical presence except when a
question of quorum is raised. Whether a congressman answered the
roll call, or appeared after the roll call, or disappeared, the roll
call is really not that important, as shown by practices in other
legislative bodies.
More on ‘Tet’ Garcia
A governor from the South called me up Monday to
express his disbelief that Bataan Gov. Enrique “Tet” Garcia
could be ingratiating himself to the opposition, as I had written in
my January 28, column based on a call from Bataan. He said that
Garcia has been trying to get the attention of President Arroyo by
appointing himself the spokesman of the Union of Local Authorities
of the Philippines for Charter change. He said he finds it
unbelievable that Garcia should be trying to woo both the
administration and the opposition at the same time.
Incidentally, the former ULAP spokesman was
Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, a former newsman.
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