Gibo wants regional focus in teaching history

MANILA, Philippines — Former defense secretary and senatorial candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro believes that history curriculum and textbooks should have regional focus in order to preserve and appreciate the culture and dialects of the country’s different regions.

“We teach history in a homogenous way, but this lacks advocating the traditions, dialects and unique identities of our regions. If this continues, we may not be able to preserve our culture. This is why sometimes, we lack awareness and respect in our region’s culture,” the former Tarlac congressman and 1989 Bar topnotcher said.

Teodoro added that he does not want revisionism in teaching history. thus social scientists should be analytical and critical in presenting historical data to present clearly what happened in the past.

“Just like how we want to invest in our future through research and development, we should also give importance to our history for our generation to preserve the Philippines’ rich culture and tradition as well as the individuality of each region in the country,” he said.

A key part of Teodoro’s advocacies is reform in basic and higher education.

Jobs in barangays

Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda plans to return to the Senate and relaunch her “LOREN sa Barangay” program which enjoins government to jumpstart its job generation and livelihood programs on the barangay level nationwide.

Legarda’s “Livelihood Opportunities to Raise Employment Nationwide or LOREN” program was first implemented after she was elected to the Senate in 1998 and proved to be more efficient in reducing unemployment and increasing household incomes.

Since relaunching it in her home province of Antique, the program has helped thousands of residents from the 590 barangays in her congressional district through jobs in partnership with the Departments of Labor and Employment, of Trade and Industry and of Social Welfare and Development.

Scholarships and medical assistance were also made possible, thanks to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Departments of Science and Technology and of Health.

Legarda’s bid to return to the Senate has been endorsed by Antique Gov. Rhodora Cariao and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Antique.

Binay backs farmers

Former vice president Jejomar Binay said that if he wins a seat in the Senate he would support farmers with more irrigation facilities to boost agricultural productivity and keep food prices stable.

“There are farmers who are still dependent on rains so that they can plant their crops. We need to support them by providing them more irrigation in other areas,” said Binay, of the United Nationalist Alliance party.

“Instead of planting their crops for the whole (year), they only have one cropping season,” he said, noting that this could be addressed through the construction of small-scale irrigation facilities.

Speaking in Quezon province on the third leg of his campaign in Southern Tagalog, Binay lamented that out of the country’s 3.1 million hectares of farmland, the National Irrigation Authority’s total developed service area stood at only two million hectares in 2020.

“Aside from depending on large-scale structures like dams, the government can build more small-scale irrigation facilities including small water impounding project, small diversion dams, small farm reservoirs and shallow tube wells,” he said.

These facilities collect rain or stream water in a containment structure or reservoir. Shallow tube wells, meanwhile, draw water from aquifers for irrigation use.

“Instead of rainwater merely wasting away and causing floods, we can store them for future productive use, especially during dry months,” Binay said.

He stressed that while these are existing projects of the government, more of them are needed to reach small farmers, especially since such structures also prove useful for aquaculture and flood prevention and control.

All presidential aspirants and those running for national elective posts are welcome to campaign in Sorsogon to give residents of the vote-rich province the chance for a more enlightened choice, Gov. Francis Escudero said yesterday.

Escudero, who is running for a seat in the Senate, said all political parties can freely campaign in the province to present themselves and their agenda for governance – an assurance he made long before the start of the official campaign period for national elective posts on Feb. 8.

“Part of my commitment to my constituents is to afford them as many opportunities as possible to meet the candidates, not only to see them and to know them, but more importantly to empower and enable the Sorsoganons to decide for themselves who to support and vote for in the coming elections,” he said.

“I assure all candidates they are free to tour Sorsogon. My term as ‘father’ of the province has not yet ended so it is part of the duty and obligation to receive, host, and offer assistance, if necessary, to whoever visits us,” he said.

In the 2019 midterm elections, data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed there were some 493,116 registered voters in the province.

Sorsogon has already hosted UniTeam vice-presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for her Mahalin Natin Ang Pilipinas motorbike caravan through several towns.

Last Wednesday, Escudero welcomed the presidential tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis Pangilinan and their senatorial ticket at the Sorsogon Provincial Gymnasium.

He said he is ready to host the tandems and tickets of Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto III and of Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza next, as well as other candidates who signify their intention to campaign in the province.

Robredo, Lacson and Pacquiao have all included the Sorsogon governor as a guest-candidate in their respective senatorial slates, while Duterte-Carpio has endorsed him as her personal choice for senator.  – Jose Rodel  Clapano