Presidential Election Issues: Fixing public education
How does Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro, and Dick Gordon intend to improve public education?
There is a wide gap between public and private education in the Philippines, something which the Philippine dept. of education of past administrations has tried to address for decades but failed miserably.
We should vote for a candidate because they’ve presented to us a clear and credible plan for how they will improve our country.
One of the biggest problems facing our country is poverty.
While most people think that poverty is simply a state of being without wealth, the better insight is that poverty is a lack of choice or options.
One thing that has proven to be an effective way to beat poverty by giving people better options is good education.
On reading the news today, Malayang Halalan found out that a group of captains of industries and concerned citizens has called for an Education President or a President that will prioritize rescuing the decrepit public education system. Calling themselves the Philippine Business for Education or PBEd, the group has called on Presidential candidates to consider adopting their 10 point Education Reform Agenda.
The PBEd, a major pillar of Education Nation, includes such business heavyweights as Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (Ayala Corp.), Oscar Lopez (First Philippine Holdings Corp.), Manuel V. Pangilinan (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.), Washington Sycip (The SGV Group), Lance Gokongwei (JG Summit Holdings), Tony Tan Caktiong (Jollibee Food Corp.) and Marixi R. Prieto (Philippine Daily Inquirer).
The “10 doable things” envisioned to reform Philippine education are:
• Increasing the education budget to 4 percent of the gross national product to make it at par with other countries.
• Enhancing basic education by adding two more years to it.
• Promoting academic excellence by developing globally benchmarked standards of excellence.
• Developing community ownership of schools.
• Ensuring universal access to education.
• Strengthening higher education.
• Empowering teachers.
• Building transparency and accountability.
• Supporting private education.
• Maximizing alternative learning.
– As printed in the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s website
A number of candidates have already emphasized that improving the public education system is on top of their agenda and it will be a good exercise to scrutinize what these candidates have said about what they intend to do for public education thus far.
Gordon has the best and feasible plan of action! For him to win, though, means the thinkers will be the majority of voters. If there are more feelers than thinkers…well, that’s another story. It can also be that all the feelers will be divided to the rest of the candidates and all the thinkers will go solid for Gordon. Some feelers may vote for Gordon if they have been pulled by friends who are thinkers..and of course, those who are really pro-Gordon from the start.
It takes proven leadership, vision and performance to fix the Philippines’ education system. Only Senator Richard J. Gordon possesses these attributes.
Let us all reach out to our friends and relatives around the world to vote wisely for the sake of the country. VOTE FOR GORDON AND FERNANDO!
Sorry, not Gordon/
Bayani tandem, it’s easy to blurt out promises during campaign, both are tainted with corruption too.
HOW, REALLY, DID MANUEL BAMBA VILLAR, JR. GET TO BE RICH? It may bear and serve the Filipino nation well to investigate and know that Manny Villar may actually have broken through from Tondo-ragged accountant to billionaire-rich presidentiable by allowing himself to be used as a foreign investor’s dummy in the Philippine real estate business. You see, the conduct of real estate business in the Philippines is made exclusive by law to Filipino citizens, necessarily because its affairs involve sensitive issues that affect territory, sovereignty, patrimony, and national security. Wasn’t that a debonair American who was smilingly visible every day at the offices of Crown Asia Inc. way back before the Villars became political aspirants? Unfortunately, sighting American presence at the Crown Asia, Inc. organization deteriorates to zero visibility in hot election weather, especially nowadays! As Manny Villar embarked on a political career, it naturally became strategically imperative to avoid flaks of damaging controversy about being beholden to foreign influence, especially from nationalist camps of the likes of then Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr. who was one among legislators instrumental in passing general law limiting real estate business in the Philippines to Filipinos only. In fact, it was from 1997 to 1999 that the bespectacled, middle-aged, happy American investor (silent, fronted, non-express?) of Crown Asia Inc. was last regularly observed at the 18th Floor of Cityland Herrera Tower. Apart from being born with a silver spoon, most of us often have “humble”, sometimes “rotten”, beginnings; yet being transparent about such beginnings can do more good than harm. The answer may go as far back as Villar’s auditing days at multinational-investor-patronized Sycip Gorres Velayo or, perhaps, good Senator Manuel Villar would like to comment on this matter at this time?
As early as 1994 it was proposed to then Pres. Ramos and her sister Sen. Leticia Ramos Shahani to generate at that time, at least US$7-Billion for reforming-revolutionizing education in the country as well as revamping the department of science and technology that at the time was using computers with wordstar and lowest form of DOS in their systems and up to 1998 their office appliances were always mostly on the verge of collapse.
This time, with business coming in, this will be made possible at last. This move by Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Oscar Lopez, Manuel Pangilinan, Washington Sycip, Lance Gokongwei, Tony Tan Caktiong and Marixi Prieto is laudable.
Every patriotic and freedom-loving Filipino should support this move. Right on!!!