Supreme Court, Department of Education join hands to promote rule of law

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) and the Department of Education (DepEd) have joined hands in promoting the rule of law among Filipino youth through the implementation of the second phase of their joint program, Public Education of the Rule of Law Advancement and Support (Perlas).

During the launching of the project last Friday at the Old Session Hall of the SC Building in Manila, Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, who chairs the high tribunal’s committee on public information, described Perlas as “one of the most promising judicial reform initiatives.”

Justice Quisumbing was joined by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

Under Perlas-2, teachers in 30 public schools nationwide will be trained in teaching 100 exemplars that were formed under the first phase of the project.

There are 100 exemplars, which are templates of lesson plans on how to teach the rule of law. There are 10 exemplars for each level from grades 1 to 6 in elementary and first to fourth year in high school.

Perlas, which is funded by the United Nations Development Program, World Bank, and United States Agency for International Development through The Asia Foundation, is aimed at educating and informing the public, especially the students in public elementary and high schools, about the judiciary and the rule of law using teaching and learning methods that are appropriate and relevant to their respective learning competencies.

The second phase of the program will ensure that the teaching exemplars are effective in educating the students in the rule of law and ensure that teachers can efficiently use the exemplars, according to the public information of the SC.

Likewise, it will ensure that the reading and teaching materials incorporated within the exemplars are appropriate for the specific grade or high school level and will assess the effectiveness of the student handbook in helping the students understand the concepts of the rule of law and to serve as a reference material for the teaching exemplars.

The SC and DepEd have tapped Libertas for the implementation of field testing of the exemplars and student manual.

Quisumbing stressed that the long term effect of Perlas “depends on continuous commitment of teachers and students.” – Edu Punay