Saturday, September 13, 2008

Philippine Congress Pledges More School Buildings

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 13, 2008) – With education getting the lion's share of the P1.415-trillion proposed 2009 national budget, Speaker Prospero Nograles said building new schools and classrooms and modernizing the educational system should be sustained to ensure a competitive human capital resource.

“The Department of Education, whose budget increased from P186.6 billion to P204.9 for 2009, will have its hands full,” Nograles said, adding, that the 14th Congress has already approved the establishment of some 169 new national high schools across the country.

“These 169 education-oriented bills are all local bills of national significance but sadly are, most often, relegated to obscurity,” said Nograles.

Marikina City Rep. Del de Guzman heads the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture.

“We should maximize the use of our resources to cover the needed financial requirements to ensure accessible, affordable and quality education,” he said as he expressed confidence the Senate will approve the 169 separate bills authored by an equal number of congressmen in answer to the needs of their respective districts.

Under the 2009 budget, some P8.5 billion is earmarked for the building of classrooms alone nationwide.

Nograles, noting an annual performance report submitted by De Guzman, said the figure excludes the conversion of state colleges to universities and the continuing evolution of community schools into more complex educational institutions that give access to quality and affordable education to the Filipino youth.

“Education would widen our horizon and open more opportunities for development,” Nograles said, adding, the other especial committees of the House of Representatives are performing equally well.

House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, for his part, said that of the 169 measures, 157 have already been approved on 3rd reading and had endorsed them to the Senate and 12 others were also passed on 2nd reading last month.

“These measures would require a substantial amount of public spending, but it’s worth it. We have to invest in our youth to sustain our country’s global competitiveness in terms of human capital resource,” Defensor said.

Both Nograles and Defensor stressed that the proposed new high school systems support President Gloria Arroyo’s medium and long term programs promoting human resource development cultivated at grass roots levels.

De Guzman, on the other hand, said the Committee on Basic Education and Culture has jurisdiction over all matters directly and principally relating to preschool, elementary and secondary education.

And also science high schools excluding the Philippine Science High School system; special education; teachers’ and students’ welfare; informal and non-formal and other alternative basic learning systems and community adult education.

De Guzman explained that his panel is also mandated to act on measures pertaining to the preservation, enrichment and evolution of the national language, the Filipino culture and arts and all cultural institutions such as museums and libraries; and on all matters involving educational and cultural activities of international agencies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Excluding the current 2nd regular session, de Guzman reported that from the opening of the 14th Congress up to June this year, his committee was able to act on some 602 of the total 748 local and national bills referred by the plenary during the period. (Romy Bwaga)

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