Edu's reply: SOS

Apply the SOS approach, as an initial and interim measure.

This is the essence of the reply I got from former Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano in reaction to my column of October 17. That piece raised the possibility of an upsurge in the exploitation of women and children — especially the latter — in the wake of the hardships confronting poor families as a result of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

Manzano said he agrees that the economic difficulties that the twin calamities inflicted on struggling students from destitute families have increased this possibility.

He said his friends Resty Meneses and Cyrus Villanueva, both lawyers, share the apprehension that I expressed in that column. The two are officials of the OMB and co-founders with Manzano of the Anti-Child Abuse and Pornography (ACAP) Foundation, Inc., an organization dedicated to combating child pornography.

“There must be thousands of students in Metro Manila, Central and Northern Luzon and the Bicol provinces whose families lost homes, property, and jobs and livelihood on account of the devastation brought about by the recent typhoons. They face an uncertain future. Even now, many of them are finding it difficult to continue their studies, or may have already dropped out of school,” Edu said.

“It is probable that many of these students, particularly the young women and the children, may be compelled by circumstances to succumb to the enticement of lecherous individuals, however disgusting these may be to them. I discussed your concern with some of my friends and one suggestion that came up is to apply what the group called the SOS approach,” Edu disclosed. As conceptualized by his friends, SOS stands for “Sponsor One Student.” Kahit isa lang, he emphasized.

He clarified, though, that SOS is not intended, and should not be expected, to serve as a cure-all solution. Most everyone is familiar with the term as a distress signal and a call for help. And this is how he explains the idea.

“Actually, we see SOS as a complementary measure to the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School program that encourages the private sector to give donations to public schools in need of assistance. Donors may provide cash, school supplies, computers, equipment and furniture, and even repair or construct school rooms. It is estimated that as of today, this program has already generated up to P5 billion since it was re-launched in 2006 by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

“As far as the schools are concerned, all that is well and good. But what about the students who may be in dire need of help? While there are scholarship programs provided by the private sector, by state colleges and universities, and by government agencies like the Department of Science and Technology, these are for the bright and gifted students. How about the ordinary students from poor families?

“Donors may be able to provide all the needed facilities and equipment to a public school in a depressed community. But how can it really fulfill its mission in that community if the students themselves are not afforded the opportunity to continue their schooling? In a situation such as that brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng, these students, more likely than not, will end up as dropouts,” Edu stressed.

He explained that as envisioned, the SOS approach will be some sort of a loose movement that will rely on the voluntary initiative of private individuals, small businessmen, or hopefully, some companies, all acting on their own, who may want to help needy students. This will be propelled by the bayanihan spirit. Ideally, it will operate on the community level where the donors and the beneficiaries will be known to each other. He stressed that as such, SOS will not be a systematic and organized undertaking. There will be no formally organized group or body that will provide direction and coordinate the assistance given by sponsors.

Confirming that he is seriously considering a run for the Senate, Edu said that if he does and should he emerge victorious, he will take steps to include sponsorship of poor students in the coverage of Rep. Act 8525, the law that made the Adopt-A-School program possible. This law gives donors tax incentives of up to 150 percent in return for their donations.

This proposed amendment, he said, will institutionalize this SOS approach and make it an instrument that will help keep the school dropout rate from further ballooning. Keeping them in school should help prevent children and young women from falling into the sinister world of child pornography and prostitution.

But does he think the SOS idea will find adherents? The ACAP founder is highly optimistic that it will. He mentioned several big companies and rich people who have been helping poor students for years now, though this may be because they have the resources to do so, in the first place.

Edu cites the case of the daughter of a household help in Las Piñas who has been receiving financial assistance from a private individual. He declined to name the benefactors but he said several other poor students in UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, College of St. Benilde and Bicol University are also recipients of similar help. Some of them have already graduated and have found jobs, he said.

Another good example is a teacher in the Gallanosa National High School of Irosin, Sorsogon who offered free lodging in his house in Sorsogon City for poor college students from nearby towns. Bed space in that city reportedly costs P800 or so a month or P8,000 in 10 months per student. With 10 students given free lodging, this generosity translates to P80,000 a year in foregone income for this kind person who earns a small salary as a teacher.

There’s also this high school student from a distant barangay who almost dropped out because his parents could not come up with the student discounted tricycle fare of P16 everyday. Somebody bought a bike for him, and he graduated last year. The whole point, Edu said, is that there are so many people out there who are only too willing to extend a helping hand and who, on their own and without any prodding, have been engaged in “this SOS undertaking.”

In my column of Oct. 17, I adverted to Edu’s TV show “Pilipinas Game Ka Na Ba?” where the studio audience shouts a resounding “Game Na!” in answer to this question. I suggested transforming this “Game Na!” riposte into some kind of a conceptual endeavor that would harness the dynamics of community involvement and civic consciousness in confronting certain tasks.

As now pointed out, one such task could be helping poor students - children and young women in particular - stay in school and thus prevent them from falling into the clutches of evil forces in our midst. It’s right along ACAP’s alley, actually.

One suggested idea is SOS, or Sponsor One Student. Would two be ok? It seems that in regard to this challenge, a lot of people are, indeed, Game Na!

*      *      *

My e-mail: [email protected]