BY ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
THE BLENDED Distance Learning (BDL) due to the COVID-19 pandemic faces lots of challenges.
Both the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) are being hounded with flaws despite implementing copious interventions to cope with the challenging times.
BDL encompasses limited face-to-face (F2F) classes, online learning and modular scheme. Of these three patterns implemented since September of 2020, online learning remains the most problematic.
High-speed Internet connectivity and modern gadgets (cellphone, laptops, computers, tablets, etc.) are badly needed here.
This was the reason why Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list representative and House Minority Floor Leader France Castro fervently asked the government to consider giving public school teachers additional P1,500 monthly allowance for 10 months through Bayanihan 3 for their internet or load card expense.
Sad to say, DepEd granted only P300/monthly (as communication allowance) from March to December 2021. This January, they’re on a “wait for” status again.
Lamented Castro, “Teachers have been carrying the weight of the shortages and lack of support from President Duterte’s administration for this BDL amid COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Providing teachers adequate internet allowance and free gadgets would go a long way in their delivery of education to the youth,” the solon stressed.
But Castro’s tweet is a “voice in the wilderness”.
TANGIBLE PROMISE
The City of Government of Bacolod has this “pakulo” (gimmick) – free load cards for teachers and students engaging in online learning.
Oh, but until when?
The answer: ‘Till the pandemic is over and F2F classes resume!
Quite cheap to hear but, perhaps, this is the city’s “tangible promise” to support DepEd’s quest to deliver quality education in the midst of the dreaded health pandemic.
In my personal query, this ingenuity was actually proposed by the City’s Local School Board (LSB) headed by Mayor Bing Leonardia.
Then, it was Councilor Renecito Novero, chairman of the Committee on Education, who pushed and sponsored at the City Council the LSB’s Resolution No. 08-32-2021, series of 2021.
Finding it meritorious and noble, the City Council headed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran approved such resolution sans question and hesitation.
Funding for this free load cards dubbed as “Card of Concern” (CoC) will be sourced out from the city’s current Maintenance, Operating and Other Expense (MOOE); Telephone Expense and Special Education Fund (SEF).
Though it has a political smell, I think in the entire Philippines only Bacolod among the local government units (LGUs) has this “unique initiative” meant to boost online learning modality.
Hats off to Mayor Bing, Vice Mayor El Cid, Councilor Novero, among other city official for this another “peerless” and remarkable endeavor.
SOUNDS NO GOOD?
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental’s 3rd District’s Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, on Jan. 6, 2022, trumpeted President Duterte’s signing of Republic Act (RA) 11635 into law.
Cong. Kiko is the principal author of this RA 11635’s House’s version.
Such law reduces the preferential tax of 10% to only 1% on proprietary educational institutions (private schools) in the country.
“This law will eventually reduce the operational costs of private schools during these challenging times,” he said. “And hopefully will provide fiscal space for new investments to transition to digital leaning, and the needed boost for sustainability in school years ahead.”
What a beautiful and “high-breed” pronouncement coming from an American-tutored legislator.
But it sounds “no good” anymore for more than 700 private schools in the country that shut down due to lack of enrollees. Reality dictates private schools badly need students now not tax relief.
Causing this “grim” reality is the current economic downturn (also) caused by COVID-19. Says the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), such economic crunch was “impactful” to almost 7.3 million Filipinos who ended jobless.
The number, adds by the PSA, is expected to balloon further due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases with the Omicron variant.
As a result, lamented by PSA, hundreds-of-thousands families all over the country face tight finances. And one of the “chilling” effects, according to the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), more than 200,000 students jumped from private to publics schools.
Did Cong. Kiko know this?
I do hope so.
‘MISPLACED INITIATIVE’
CNN Philippines also reported that, in the later part of 2020, 748 low-cost private schools, including scores of parochial institutions closed.
“Inadequacy” of church donation caused by lockdowns had “emptied” parochial schools.
What an upsetting update ended. Worse, around 330,000 private school teachers were also affected.
This prompted Sen. Ralph Recto to personally ask the national government to also extend financial aid to these teachers who add-up to the number of jobless Filipinos. I do empathize. My wife is a public school principal; know how challenging the teacher’s life is.
No need to elaborate, but one thing I am sure, the struggle is real now for former private school teachers. And it’s piteous! But, as they say, life must go on, thus, most of these ex-private school teachers have ventured into becoming call center agents.
Others applied in DepEd, but mostly in a waiting status due to no vacancies.
But the saddest of all, few of them, in order to survive, already “bite the bullet” by engaging themselves in online prostitution.
Question: How come these private schools enjoy the essence of RA 11635 when, in fact, majority of them already closed?
Thus, for me, proposing this tax relief for private schools is quite “misplaced.”
Yes, the intention is noble, but the timing is, perhaps, “inappropriate” at the moment, right?
Hence, laconically speaking, RA 11635 is likened now to an inapt edict or, somehow, a “mismatch” law with its very intent.
I then remembered one of my professors in the College of Law in Mindanao, who kept on reminding us that an inapt edict is like a “fake diamond” not worth one’s keep.
So, Cong. Kiko should have thought twice and proposed something more relevant.
RELEVANT TO PRESENT TIMES
Well, RA11635 is already there. Good luck to the private school-survivors!
But sometimes, as tickler, in proposing something, a proponent must see to it that such is relevant to the present times. No matter how “badoy” the proposal is for as long as it has essence, relevance and timeliness, it’ll surely hit the target intention.
Let’s take the case of CoC. It’s simple! Free load card of P100 or P500 is cheap at this time. But the essence and relevance of such gimmick at the height of BDL is so inspiring among the target beneficiaries. Kudos to the crafter of CoC hence!
RA 11635, on the other hand, is quite good as future reference in taxation subject/matter. In actuality, however, it reminds me of the famous Tagalog proverb (salawikain), “Aanhin mo pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo.”/PN
