Classroom despots

The death of grade two pupil Madel Redota after she was allegedly forced to swallow pencil shavings by her 45-year-old teacher at Silangan Elementary School in Taguig should jolt the Department of Education into enforcing a more rigorous code of conduct, particularly for old teachers. Many of these dinosaurs probably still think it’s alright to whack pupils or make them kneel on monggo seeds as punishment for bad behavior, refusing to accept that corporal punishment for erring students is no longer allowed. Granted that teachers receive low pay, are overworked and tired from handling an average of 50 to 70 pupils per class, that is still no reason to abuse children the way Madel Redota reportedly was. DepEd should listen to the urging of Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas to require all teachers to undergo a seminar on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and on RA 7610, the Special Law Protecting Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination. The education department should not wait for another "pencil shavings" incident to happen again before it acts. The problem right now is that the DepEd only has an acting secretary. Rumors have it that Rep. Jesli Lapus of Tarlac was supposed to have been appointed as Education Secretary but GMA is wavering on that. Lapus seems to be one of the most qualified for the position – or at least until they find a more suitable person to head the DepEd.

As peso surges, baht could plummet

There are strong indications that the exchange rate will go up to P45 to the dollar, and an AIG analyst has even predicted that it could reach as high as P41. The economy seems to be on the upswing, but because of the continued strengthening of the peso against the dollar, exporters are asking for tax breaks. It’s most likely they will get over the hump because they are paying lower costs for imported raw materials. The government could probably give exporters a tax break for at least a year. The dollar can in fact really equate with the Thai baht at 41. Ironically, Thailand is now going through political instability so the exchange rate could go down to 50 baht to $1, while the peso could go up to 41 as long as politics is kept to a minimum.

‘Marketing’ awards

Informed sources expressed concern over the alleged questionable practices of the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards which reportedly solicits an "awards subsidy fee" of P15,000 before an award is given. This practice has allegedly resulted in the PMEA organizers giving out awards to over 1,000 "awardees" in less than a year. Sources are also bothered that this group, which was established a little over a year, is often confused for the Philippine Marketing Association or the PMA, who in its 52 years has earned quite a trusted reputation in the business community. The confusion is tarnishing the good name of the PMA, the sources said. Aside from the similarity between the names of these two groups, it has allegedly worked to the advantage of the PMEA that its principal stockholder, Atty. Manuel Oyson who is also a member of the PMA, has asked certain "personalities" in the PMA to either deliver speeches or become chairman of the PMEA Awards Committee. The PMEA reportedly held awarding ceremonies in October and November last year, with a total of 523 awardees. Last Feb. 26, there was another batch with 283 awards, with another one supposedly scheduled by the end of March, the sources revealed. The AdBoard has been asked to step in regarding the issue.

Power grab

A close official of the Palace was purportedly behind the idea of forming a "super body" in a lead government agency whose role merely duplicated the functions of the secretary. This move was seen by many as a tactic to grab the highest position of that government agency. In a desperate move, this official even went on national TV to announce supposed price rollbacks which none of the industry players knew about. Unfortunately, the media-hungry official got caught with his foot in the mouth, with his own boss correcting the sweeping statements he had committed. Such foolish actions among government officials show what mighty and blessed powers can do.

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