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| Credit: PSSST! |
What I'm more interested in is the way in which the bill was finally pushed through (and other little tidbits). It provides an excellent insight on how the Philippine government operates. As follows:
1. The program was already put into place and implemented even without the enabling bill in place.
2. There were no trials, no tests on feasibility. They went ahead and put it in place and hope that it turns out for the best, because, hey, other countries are doing it, so it must be good. If this turns out to be a dud, they essentially risked a whole generation of kids unnecessarily. Addendum: Filipinos who actually do finish college in competent universities (not those diploma mills out for quick cash) are as competent as those with extra two-year educations elsewhere.
3. The congressmen questioned the Department of Education's (DepEd) capability and resources, when the same congressmen are the reason why the budget for the DepEd is startlingly low. Hmm.
4. And here's the real kicker: "The House, mustering a quorum after a week plagued with absenteeism, voted 198-8 to approve the measure on Monday night." Yup, decidedly third-world. Emphasis on week since the lower house saw successive working days without a quorum. Astounding.
As an aside, why aren't there measures to penalize congressmen who have poor attendance (my personal choice would be to sack them and give the seat to the runner-up in their district/next party-list winner)? In the professional world, frequent absentees get reprimanded and then sacked eventually Why aren't we holding these lawmakers to the same standard, when they even insist on sticking the adjective "honorable" to their titles?
