
OZAMIZ City - LIBERAL Party President Senator Mar Roxas recognized the great sacrifices that the youth and their parents have made to ensure their future.
In his recent visit in Ozamiz City he attended the Misamis University Recognized Student Organization (MURSO) festival as guest of honor and keynote speaker.
“Hindi puwedeng ma-balewala na lang ang mga sakripisyo ng ating kabataan para sa kanilang edukasyon. Dapat suklian natin ito sa pamamagitan ng tunay at makabuluhang pagbabago sa bansa (The sacrifices our youth have made for their education should not be put to waste. We should reward this by instituting real and genuine change in our country),” he said.
“Lumalaban tayo para tanggalin ang marumi, baluktot at tiwali sa ating lipunan. Lahat ng ito, hadlang sa katuparan ng mga pangarap nating lahat (We are fighting against the unclean, crooked and corrupt in society, because all of these are obstacles towards the attainment of all our dreams),” he added.
In particular, Roxas said that there must be real and genuine change in our country’s education system. “De-kaledad na edukasyon ang magpapantay ng laban sa lahat ng kabataan, pinanganak man silang mayaman o mahirap (Quality education is what will level the playing field for our youth, whether they were born rich or poor).”
“Dahil bulok ang sistema, nagiging huwad ang diplomang natatanggap ng ating kabataan. Dapat ayusin natin ito para ang diploma ay may katapat na disenteng kabuhayan (Because the system is broken, the diploma our youth receive has just become a piece of paper. We should fix the system so that each diploma results in quality livelihood),” he said.
He lamented that for so long, the bankrupt education system has taken Filipino children for a ride. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education cited the United Nations, in its 2010 “Education For All” Global Monitoring Report, which said that the Philippines is trailing African countries Tanzania and Zambia in education outcomes.
He said that government invests so little in basic education: only about 2% of GDP, which is less than half of the global norm. “At lahat ng ito, lumubog na lang sa buhangin dahil sa malawakang katiwalian at sa mga patakarang napaglipasan na ng panahon (This little investment is just put to waste because of large-scale corruption and backward policies).”
The senator emphasized that the Aquino-Roxas platform for 2010 seeks to uplift education from being “just one of many concerns, to making education the central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty and building national competitiveness.” ( Neptalie Batolenio)