Letter to the Editor — Prioritizing human rights education, for all

Our 1987 Constitution guarantees full respect for human rights, the prime duty of government being to "serve and protect the people". To ensure the implementation of this sacred precept, the State is mandated to prioritize "education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress and promote total human liberation and development".

Are our academic institutions complying with the directive to include the study of the Constitution as part of the curricula and "inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect for human rights, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual values, develop moral characters and personal discipline..." With 50-70 students in a public elementary class, with underlying space constraints, can these values, if taught, seep through our children's mind and heart, amid daily noise and discomfort, and maybe pangs of hunger, that our students and even our teachers find themselves in?

The programs, words and actions of certain national and local leaders are also not congruent to the avowed State policies and international conventions of respecting the honor and dignity of each citizen, promoting human rights and maximizing human development. There seems to be a strong need for them to take a crash course on the bill of rights, and promoting respect for the Rule of Law, not only because that is their commitment when they took their Oath of Office but also because they should never forget that every word they utter and action that they do are looked upon by our young, the future leaders of our country.

It was a civil rights activitist James Baldwin who said that "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."

How true, and how scary, with the way our politicians are making a mockery of our institutions and themselves, in the process!

Indeed, what are we now teaching our children? That human rights can be sidelined when the lust for personal glory and power sets in? That one enters public service to serve one's priorities, never mind the public's need for efficient and responsive delivery of basic services? That a culture of war, abductions and hatred is our legacy for the future?

The P1 billion allotment to crush the so-called insurgents is a tactic to divert the various issues haunting the government, the failure to address poverty being one of them. Is it beneficial?

As former US President Jimmy Carter, a 2002 Nobel Peace prize awardee, said, "War... no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."

Would it not be better to re-examine the policies and programs meant for the constituents that have only benefited a handful? Would it not be better to exercise the supervisory authority vested in one's office to ensure that the subordinate units and leaders are performing their duties and responsibilities, never mind if they are of the same political alliance? Would it not be better to give real meaning to the word "governance" instead of focusing on "political survival"?

The huge allotment to kill fellow Filipinos can instead be invested for education, environment and health, to uplift the children from the dire state they are in. Consider the Philippines national situation, as culled from the UNICEF website:

* Infant mortality rate is pegged at 42.73 per 1,000 live births (Department of Health, 1 September 1999).

* There is one hospital for every 113,040 people. There is only one doctor for every 24,417 people; one nurse for 22,309; one dentist for 578,124; and, one midwife for every 722,654 people (Philippine Yearbook of Statistics).

* More than half of the over 42,000 barangays in the country do not have provisions for a pre-school. Only 19% of children aged four to six years old are able to go to public and private pre-schools.

* More than 1/3 of the more than 42,000 barangays in the country could not offer the required six years of elementary education.

* Sixty-one towns in the country do not have a high school.

* Research studies conducted in schools show that for every 3 Filipino children, one child experiences abuse (Manila Bulletin, 11 February 1996). During the first semester of 1999 alone, there were 2,393 children who fell prey to rape, attempted rape, incest, acts of lasciviousness and prostitution (DSWD 1st semester, CY 1999).

A lot more can and should be done for our children. The low budgetary priority for our educational system, health and the environment, account for the perennial state of crisis we find ourselves in.

Indeed, if we do care for our country, and for our children, why is education not prioritized, especially by our local government units?

Ms. Gloria Estenzo Ramos
Cabancalan, Mandaue City