‘Graduates’ from poverty

The “mascots,“ or shall we call them testimonial models, for the latest State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) were almost ignored. Among the rows of guests, a young man and a woman quietly sat among the audience of PBBM at his SONA to mark the joint opening session of Congress last Monday at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City. Perhaps others who watched the televised event also sensed somehow from the blank stares of the two special guests that they were visibly not aware about what to do after PBBM mentioned their names.

This is PBBM’s third SONA as he enters the middle of his six-year term at Malacañang Palace. Incidentally, it was a welcome sight to see the President walking by himself without anyone beside him when he went inside the Batasan Session Hall. The President walked alone up to the rostrum and joined Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. This was a departure from the traditional walk-in where the President is accompanied by a retinue of other factotums, not to mention hangers-on.

On the other hand, this is the third and last regular session of the present Congress that officially started last Monday. We watched on TV at The STAR editorial office the entirety of his one-hour and 30-minute long SONA. It took PBBM this long to highlight the major accomplishments of his administration from day one and identify the priority legislative agenda he asked Congress to tackle next.

In the rundown of his accomplishments in the socio-economic sector, PBBM dwelt on the thousands of beneficiaries of the government’s cash subsidy program mandated under the 4Ps Law.“With the noble aim of breaking the cycle of poverty across the country, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program has not only consistently accomplished its annual targets. It has also proven its efficacy over the years,” the President declared.

From last year’s SONA, he cited, about 420,000 families have already “graduated” from the 4Ps. This means, he explained, the 4Ps helped them improve their living conditions and the capacity to fight poverty. In fact, he added, more than 4,000 of the 4Ps “graduates” are now licensed teachers. On top of that, PBBM bragged, 35 “topnotchers” in the various board examinations for the past two years came from these families who benefitted from 4Ps.

“Some of them include Teacher Khane Jevie Cervantes of Davao Oriental, who placed number one in the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers [applause and cheers],” PBBM cited. “Another is Engineer Alexis Alegado who led the Civil Engineering Board Exams in April last year [applause],” he added.

The Chief Executive’s acknowledgement of the presence of his two special guests inside the Batasan Session Hall obviously was the cue for them to stand up to be recognized. But the two apparently did not know what to do. Normally, the scriptwriter or the floor director would advise or tell them beforehand that once their names are mentioned by PBBM, they will stand up or wave from their seats.

It’s not a big deal though for such miscues to happen.

Especially for a toned-down SONA this year, without big fanfare. It just brought to mind the “bangkang papel” of three young children whom then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presented in her SONA as inspiration to push for higher government funding for the 4Ps.

The 4Ps, which was launched in 2008 and institutionalized in 2019 through Republic Act No. 11310 or the 4Ps Act, provides cash grants to 4.4 million households (equivalent to 22 million individuals) whose children are given subsidies to finish elementary and senior high school. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which handles the 4Ps, said there are 4.3 million household-beneficiaries nationwide that are receiving conditional cash grants under the anti-poverty program as of May 31.

Fast forward. PBBM proudly presented thousands of “graduates” of the 4Ps, started and sustained by his past three predecessors at Malacañang. In his SONA, PBBM vows to continue with the gains of the 4Ps in support of his priority program on education to address the “learning poverty” among Filipino children.

“Investing in our own people is not only a fundamental moral imperative for us, but an economic one as well,” PBBM pointed out. The President, in particular, cited the recent report of the World Bank which “revealed that our promising economic growth is largely attributable to our people.”

However, PBBM noted with concern that recent assessments have revealed the “poor reality” in the Philippines that more than half of our Grades 6, 10 and 12 students have failed to reach the ideal proficiency levels, faring low in information literacy, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

“Our system of education must be strategically calibrated to make sure that our youth are not only taught to become literate. But it must also consciously develop them into problem-solvers and into critical thinkers – hungry for success, ready for the future,” the President urged.

“And so, as we build and upgrade  schools, so too must we uplift and upskill our teachers, whose competence and trademark Filipino patience, determination and compassion will be at the core of our national learning recovery,” the President vowed.

“Therefore, our national learning recovery program must proceed without the slightest disruption, especially in basic education,” PBBM stressed.

At this juncture, PBBM admitted he is strongly counting upon his newly appointed Department of Education (DepEd) acting Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara to focus on basic education towards this vision. Now that the 19th Congress is back in session, the President needs to submit the official nomination of Angara as permanent DepEd secretary.

While Congress was still in recess, Angara was appointed effective July 20. The next day, on the eve of resumption of session of Congress, PBBM swore Angara into office. Angara replaced Vice President Sara Duterte.

It’s now in the hands of Angara to ensure the next “graduates from poverty” are also the products of the national learning recovery of our country’s basic education.