EDITORIAL - Education's father blames teachers

It is difficult to determine where outgoing Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Young is coming from. Prior to the election, Young campaigned aggressively on a platform of education. At one time or another, he fashioned for himself the slogan “father of education” or something.

Young, though, narrowly lost the election. But the losing part is not as bad as who he blames for the loss. Incredible as it may seem, the father of education is now blaming teachers for his defeat.

According to Young, Mayor Michael Rama's decision to increase the city's financial assistance to teachers from P5,000 to P10,000 may have influenced the conduct of the elections. He likened the release of the cash aid in December 2012 as an early form of vote-buying.

If he was quoted correctly by the media, Young seems to suspect teachers of conniving with the different Boards of Election Inspectors who oversaw the polls. Young quickly added he has a high regard for teachers, but having said what he said, that is just double-speak.

Young's story is, of course, full of holes. Young, as vice mayor, presides over the city council, which has been very antagonistic and uncooperative toward Rama. If Rama managed to raise the cash aid for teachers, either Young and the council were not looking, or they went along.

Besides, as Young himself said, the cash aid was released in December 2012, several months ahead of the campaign period. In all that time, Young never raised a peep. Then came the campaign and Young still never breathed a word about the cash aid being a form of vote-buying.

Instead, Young plunged headlong into the campaign with his mantra about being the father of education or something. When someone is the father of something and publicly proclaims himself to be so, that can only mean he loves that something and takes great pride in it.

Life if full of ups and downs and twists and turns. Young cannot now bitch about the aid given to teachers just because his political fortunes soured. If he is the father of education, he remains to be so forever, no matter how many times he loses in politics.