Ducky Paredes

“Hopefully, the program will bring about a future generation that understands, appreciates, respects and upholds the law, one that is vastly different from the present.”

by Ducky Paredes

My favorite candidate – probably the only one whose winning would actually make a difference in our current culture of politics without values, has a saying: “The law is a solution; it is not an imposition.”
The announcement by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus that the Rule of Law will soon be taught in public schools could eventually change all that for future generations.  Secretary Lapus would inculcate in the minds of students the importance of a society that is anchored on the justice system.
Part of the program on Public Education on the Rule of Law Advancement and Support (Perlas) the program would introduce students in public elementary and high schools to the judiciary and the rule of law.
Jesli says:” Through this kind of education, our students will realize their power to transform themselves, to change the world through the responsible exercise of their rights and the due observance of our laws,”
Phase 1 of the Perlas program focuses on the creation of the teaching exemplars or lesson models.  A total of 95 exemplars have already been created for all grade levels in elementary and high school. A handbook has also been produced for use as reference material among high school students.
The handbook, written by Atty. Racquel Ruiz–Dimalanta, discusses a host of topics that include legal structures in the Philippines, the components of the justice system and the application of legal concepts.
Curriculum writers from the DepEd and the University of the Philippines came up with the teaching exemplars and model lesson plans. And for good measure, these were done in collaboration with the Supreme Court and the Lawyers’ League for Liberty or Libertas.
According to Director Yolanda Quijano of the DepEd Bureau of Elementary Education the objective of each lesson was based on the Philippine Elementary Learning Competency or PELC. It focuses on teaching school children the importance of following not just school regulations, but the Law!
The exemplars are now being tested in public schools in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Teachers are expected to give feedback on the testing results and these will used as inputs in fine-tuning the exemplars. After this, the exemplars will be integrated into the curriculum of the public school system after a pilot-testing period.
Quijano gives the assurance that “public school teachers will be properly oriented and trained on the use of the exemplars.”
Not surprisingly, the Perlas program has been given recognition through the Chief Justice Hilario Davide Judicial Reform Award at the International Conference on Judicial Reform.
Hopefully, the program will bring about a future generation that understands, appreciates, respects and upholds the law, one that is vastly different from the present where the law is sometimes regarded a convenience when it favors one and a hindrance to be ignored when it does not.
“The law is a solution; it is not an imposition.”
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Another note-worthy DepEd initiative is the highly successful “Brigada Eskwela” project that prepared public schools all over the country for their school opening in June. Secretary Lapus says that Brigada Eskwela need not take a backseat now that schools have opened.
The partnership between public schools and their respective communities resulted in better-equipped, more presentable classrooms and buildings. Lapus stressed that this relationship should be tapped, not only during National Schools Maintenance Week, but also throughout the year.
There can be no arguing with that. For the program to be considered a success, the students should show marked improvement in their academic performance. After all, one can understand how difficult it is for children to concentrate on their studies in classrooms that have more pupils than desks, little or no teaching aids and materials, and roofs that leak every time it rains.
Extending the duration and the scope of the Brigada Eskwela worked in Paranaque’s La Huerta Elementary School where, before the school year started, parents of pupils aged five to seven send their children to school to participate in a summer class aimed at improving their academic performance.
This prepares the youngsters in developing confidence and  reading skills. Volunteer teachers focus on slow readers and help them improve their reading skills.
More than 300 learners have benefited from these remedial classes. They also get to use reading materials such as Abakada booklets, practice writing booklet, reading practice book and other supplementary materials that teach basic literacy and numeracy.
Parent Teacher Associations, the local government and non-government organizations donate the materials for Brigada Eskwela. Five classrooms in the school are used as learning centers.
Brigada Eskwela helps the children; but doesn’t it also do something for their parents and their community?
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Today is the launch of a 100-page book, “The Will To Change: Marikina and Its Innovations,” written by Dr. Rufo Mendoza, Anna Felicia Sanchez and Carl Javier, edited by Dr. Dennis Gonzalez, and published by the Ateneo School of Government, with the support of Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and the Marikina City government at the Ayala Museum, 6:00 pm.
The book chronicles how Marikina changed from a decaying municipality to a flourishing city. We see how the political will to resurrect the Marikina River, for instance, changed the perspective of the populace to the possibility of having a clean and green city, a locale that is thriving and in the pink of health.
The foreword by Dean Antonio La Viña says: “The Ateneo School of Government, as the Graduate School of Leadership and Public Service of the Ateneo de Manila University, is committed to creating a mosaic of good governance that connects leaders and communities all over the Philippines, linking islands of good governance, so that reforms are scaled up to build a prosperous and just nation. We are contributing to nation building, to the transformation of locales and communities, through our educational, research, and leadership programs.
“The School undertakes the production and dissemination of readable and accessible instructional materials and publications on innovations in local governance and public management. We expect that those who exercise, and those who plan to exercise, transformational and not merely transactional leadership in their locales and organizations will find this book relevant and helpful.”
A large part of the presidential campaign of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando focuses on the innovations that he began in Marikina during is time as Mayor that changed not only the physical town; these innovations also changed the way that Marikina residents regarded themselves and their city.
Would that the whole Philippines could change for the better as Marikina did.
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“People tend to look at government as rather weak and ineffective. This is a kind of mindset that we have changed in Marikina, but it took us some doing to be able to do so.” – Bayani Fernando

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hvp 07.16.09)