Good tidings

Once again, we are at that time of year when leaving the safety and confine of one’s home becomes a truly daunting task. The already crowded city streets are just swarming with motorists, pedestrians, vendors and merchants.

Observing the frenetic pace at which everyone seems to be going makes me wonder what happened to the peace and good will heralded by the proverbial heavenly host. Everyone is either rushing to meet work deadlines before the close of 2010, scrambling to finish shopping, scurrying to another Christmas party across town, or worrying about the damage the holiday is going to inflict on their finances.

From my stand, Christmas should be a time to slow down, reflect on the year that is about to pass, and give thanks to the Almighty for all the blessings received.

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Perhaps one man who certainly has every reason to be thankful these days is Bro. Armin Luistro. For he has recently obtained the nod of the Commission on Appointments (CA) to lead the country’s largest government unit – the Department of Education (DepEd).

In a recent interview, Brother Armin expressed gratitude to the CA members for their confidence in his ability to lead the department. He said that he is happy to be able to concentrate now on the education reforms being pushed by President Aquino.

According to Association of DepEd Directors (ADD) president Paraluman Giron, “Luistro has shown himself to be a man of principle, whose quiet ways have served as a good example on how it is to be a genuine public servant with values and integrity.”

Being a seasoned educator by profession, Luistro is aware of the problems that plague the basic education system. With the full support of the ADD behind him, he can begin initiating remedies that, hopefully, will bring to fruition the Department’s primary goal of providing quality basic education to all.

Interestingly, one of the bold steps he is proposing to enhance the basic education curriculum, is the adoption of the K+12 Basic Education Program.

Essentially, this calls for the implementation of a program that aims to enroll all five-year-old children in universal Kindergarten classes, then giving them six years of elementary schooling and adding two more years to the current four-year secondary course.

Luistro argues that the new system will equip its graduates with the core competencies and skills relevant to the job market that will enable them to earn higher income, make them better prepared for higher education, and even invest them with the knowledge and skills to start their own business.

Under the present system, students who graduate from high school are only 16 or 17 years of age, still too young to be considered for jobs in industrial or commercial firms. Moreover, they do not yet possess the maturity and the critical thinking that employers require. The expectation is that those who graduate from the six-year high school course will be more mature people at least 18 years of age and therefore already legally qualified for employment.

Apart from giving students the opportunity to consolidate acquired academic skills and competency, the additional two years should give them the chance to specialize in such fields as entrepreneurship and business, sports, music and arts, agriculture and fisheries, science and technology.

DepEd officials themselves admit that the K+12 program needs to be further refined. Which is why the DepEd is conducting consultations with all stakeholders, including the private sector and the business community which has been supporting the department’s Adopt-A-School project – really a good policy move.

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Since I have been writing about the Supreme Court acquittal of Hubert Webb and his five co-accused in the murder of three Vizconde family members, I’ve been receiving comments and questions from readers. Below are two observations.

“The decision of the seven justices really confused “a lot of people especially those who followed assiduously” the trial and still remember what happened But personally the following really disturbed me:

“1. The justices focused on Jessica Alfaro’s absence of credibility.

“2. What happened to the testimony of the maid who washed the bloodied shirt of Hubert the early morning of the murders

“3. What about the testimony of the security guard who attested to the presence of Hubert on the day of the murders.”

“The dissenting opinion of Justice Villarama said, the non-submission as evidence of Hubert’s original passport, which was not formally offered and made part of the records, had deprived the Regional Trial Court, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, the opportunity to examine the same. Such a crucial piece of evidence, unfortunately, was placed beyond judicial scrutiny.” - Allan of Quezon City.

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From [email protected]: “I am not completely sure which side you are on. I think you are being neutral on this issue and presenting all the sides, which is a trait of a good journalist.

 “I, however, do not agree with Supreme Court Spokesperson Midas Marquez. I’m a son of a well-respected RTC judge in Manila who has passed on, and I’ve been interested in a lot of legal cases because of him.

“I have been following this case for a long time and I firmly believe, that Webb et. al. are innocent, based on well-documented evidence.

“Now regarding Marquez; isn’t it that a person is considered innocent until he is proven guilty? Hubert wasn’t proven guilty and so therefore the presumption of innocence holds true. So I don’t understand how Marquez got to that conclusion.

“This was a clear case of trial by publicity and Webb et al. were the fall guys.

“Mang Lauro should find the real perpetrators and not hold on to the false truth that is being offered him by certain groups. Kawawa naman.” - Allan of Quezon City

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From an observer: “Former Sen. Freddie Webb has been quoted as saying that he would like to go after people who sent his son and companions to jail. It was Paranaque Regional Trial Court Judge Amelita Tolentino who found Hubert et al guilty of the crime of murder and sent them to jail for life. I’ve talked with some lawyers about this, and they told me that unless a judge is proven to have written a decision knowing fully well that the persons he/she convicted were innocent, that judge cannot be questioned. Did Judge Tolentino know that Hubert and company were innocent but sent them to jail anyway? Who can prove the judge’s innocence or guilt?”

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