DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — In her first public appearance since named as incoming secretary of the Department of Education, Professor Leonor Briones said the Philippines is not that politically independent.
Briones, who was the guest of honor of the 118th Independence Day celebration in this city on Sunday, said the country is not really sure “who is responsible in the formulation of our policies, in relation to other countries in the world, and our own policies with regards to running the affairs of our government.”
Briones, the pride of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental as their “daughter,” said there is no genuine political party system in the country because every election “we are not just choosing leaders but has it become a market system.”
The second question raised by Briones in her speech, was whether the country has achieve social and economic independence.
She said Dumaguete City may have one of the lowest levels of poverty in the region but sad to say Negros Oriental has been among the top 16 poorest provinces in the country, one of the four local government units in the Visayas region, the other three are in Samar province.
Briones said the country may have a high gross domestic products but “a lot of poor families are still living in shanties, without homes, no jobs, very poor that they can’t eat three square meals a day.”
In Dumaguete, you could not see strong indicators of poverty, but when you go to the mountains and in the coastal areas, poverty incidence is very prevalent, Briones told the crowd.
Briones said she chose to celebrate Philippine Independence Day in Dumaguete, even if she was also invited to be at the Davao ceremonies.
She told the people of Negros Oriental that she accepted the challenge to be the next secretary of the biggest department in the government, and probably with the biggest budget, not for personal motive but her way of helping the education sector.
Briones is not new to being a Cabinet member after having served as the national treasurer during the time of President Erap Estrada.
All these years after her stint with Estrada, Briones devoted her life to research, writing, and advocacies on debt structural adjustment program and their impact on social development and globalization. She also combined the role of a social activist, an educator, a public official and a distinguished academician.
Briones admired the courage and determination of outgoing Education Secretary Armin Luistro in bringing about reforms in the education system of the country with the long overdue K to 12 program.
Briones called on the public to give the program a chance to prove itself and catch up with other countries in the whole world that are already implementing the 12-year basic education program.
Briones is the lead convenor of Social Watch Philippines, a former president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, former vice president for finance at the University of the Philippines, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Silliman University. (FREEMAN)