MANILA, Philippines — Peace education, a topic Vice President Sara Duterte described as having a “special place in my heart,” should introduce to students the government’s efforts to enter peace talks to attain just and lasting peace, Makabayan lawmakers said following the launch of the revised curriculum for Kinder to Grade 10.
Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers) said in a press conference Friday that the peace education competencies woven into the revised K-10 curriculum should have a “justice component” where students are taught about the various peace processes the government has undergone with various sectors.
This comes after Duterte led the launch of the revised K-10 curriculum on Wednesday and highlighted the integration of peace competencies across several learning areas, saying that these aim to “(promote) non-violent actions and the development of conflict-resolution skills in learners.”
Duterte during the launch said the topic “holds a very special place in my heart.”
“For after all, there is security if there is peace,” Duterte said.
What is peace education?
According to DepEd’s presentation of the new curriculum on Wednesday, peace education competencies can be found in the following subjects from grades 1 to 10: the new Makabansa subject (previously Makabayan), Araling Panlipunan, Science, PE & Health, Values Education, Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao, Technology and Livelihood Education and GMRC.
Duterte had "specifically," asked the team working on the new curriculum to identify the learning areas that included peace concepts, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said in a press conference following the launch of the K-10 curriculum.
According to DepEd Bureau of Curriculum and Development Director Jocelyn Andaya, concepts to be taught in peace education are related to self-awareness, social responsibility, disaster risk mitigation and other topics needed to “make learners realize they need to seek a peaceful resolution to conflict.”
Peace education has long been part of the government's curriculum for basic education. DepEd in 2005 had similarly integrated "peace lessons" across several learning areas such as Makabayan, Filipino and English, with modules developed in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
What are peace talks?
Castro’s suggestion to teach students about peace processes was referring to the various peace negotiations brokered by different administrations of government to resolve armed conflict through the years.
The most recent resumption of peace talks between the government and groups engaged in communist insurgency took place during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte — Sara’s father — in 2016.
The former president had then resumed peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), a coalition of groups supporting the revolutionary cause of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
In pushing for peace talks, the NDFP’s aim was to come to a shared agreement with the Philippine government on a set of social and economic reforms that aim to address “the roots of the conflict.”
The elder Duterte, however, terminated the peace negotiations with the group in November 2017.
Meanwhile, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a peace treaty in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations between the two parties. Under Rodrigo’s term as president, the Bangsamoro region – home to a majority-Muslim population – achieved a degree of autonomy.
Peace as good governance
Similarly, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) said peace education requires teaching about human rights and democracy, while Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Partylist) stressed the need for the curriculum to contextualize peace education with good governance.
Ideally, Manuel said, peace education should teach students about how the government provides basic social services to Filipinos.
“Peace is not separate or placed in a vacuum,” Manuel said in Filipino. “It’s part of good governance.”
The education secretary in March scored Castro and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers — a group of teachers' unions across the country — for pushing for the reopening of peace talks following a reported clash between the military and members of the New People's Army.
Sara had described peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA as a "trap" that would only legitimize the "absurdity of the terrorism perpetrated" by the group.