Philippine delegation witnesses the UNESCO GenCon approval of Philippine SEA-CLLSD

PARIS, France — The autumn chill suddenly felt like winter when the temperature dipped to 5 degrees Celsius in Paris, between October 5 to 23, during the 35th UNESCO General Conference (GenCon). Meantime, a series of typhoons – Ondoy and Pepeng – were buffeting the Philippines.

The Philippine delegation headed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo competently articulated their readiness for the forthcoming UNESCO Biennium program 2010-2011. During these three weeks, two to three sectors were simultaneously debating and discussing: Education Commission including the High Level discussion among Education ministers took place in Salle II across the Plenary Hall at the Place Fontenoy headquarters; Culture and Communication discussion happened in Salle XII; while that of Science including its High Level Ministerial Round Table was at Salle X.

Four years of shepherding the Philippine CLLSD

During his plenary speech in this 35th GenCon, Sec. Romulo profusely praised and thanked Director General Koichiro Matsuura for his excellent effort to accomplish the restructuring reform of UNESCO during his ten-year governance and his special interest in making sure that the Philippine bid to be the Southeast Asian Center for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA-CLLSD) would be approved as a Category 2 Center under the auspices of UNESCO.

Amb. Rora Tolentino (Philippine Ambassador to Paris and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO) also did the same. Our CLLSD secretariat and consultant former Ambassador to Paris, Hector Villarroel collaborated with her closely. Earlier in October, Amb. Tolentino with the able help of Atty. Angela Ponce (Deputy PermDel), called on not only the chairman of each UNESCO geographical clusters of Africa, Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America, as well as Asia and the Pacific, but also each of their Ambassadors to France, getting their full support for the Philippine Center. Amb. Tolentino reflected on how three Philippine Ambassadors (Amb Hector Villarroel, Amb Jose Zaide and her) looked after it for four years since it was proposed during the 2005 GenCon.

Programmatic Focus: Major Programme I – Education

Evidence that we are on the right track of the 2010-2011 Biennial Sectoral Priorities (BSP) is proven by the following interventions.

For BSP I – “supporting the achievement of Education for All (EFA)”, CHED Commissioner Nona Ricafort (Education Vice Chair), with Dr. Evelyn Cruzada (President, Leyte Normal University) emphasized the role of tertiary education in quality teacher training harmonizing efforts in both formal and non-formal education. Earlier this year, the Philippines hosted the AsPac Regional Conference on Higher Education.

For BSP 2 – “Providing global and regional leadership in education”, Commissioner Mona Valisno (Presidential Assistant on Education) cited President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Presidential Taskforce for Education in implementing the Philippine Main Education Highway, which harmonizes the work of the three major education agencies of DepEd (Department of Education), TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), and CHED (Commission on Higher Education). Thus, it complements the objective of the Philippine Category 2 Center to transform the traditional system to “sustainable development level” to develop the “new man” who with his clarity of vision will no longer be a victim of events.

In defense of teachers’ rights

Dr. Kishore Singh (Education Sector, Policy Division), to champion rights of teachers, discussed with Ms. Josefina Ricafort (Secretary, Congressional Committee on Basic Education and Culture – CBEC) legislative proposals, including the amendment of the Magna Carta for Teachers which has been forwarded to the Committee on Appropriations.

Since the provisions pertaining to teachers’ salaries have already been addressed by the recent Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 3, CBEC has to confine its recommendations only on the concerns that were not touched by the SSL3. This also relates to measures regarding classroom shortages, teacher and student ratios, scholarships and grants for students. Ms. Ricafort assured Dr. Singh that CBEC has before it several measures on the same contexts.

Major Programme II – Natural Sciences

UNACOM Vice Chair and Science and Technology Commissioner, Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ (Ateneo de Manila University President) expressed strong support for BSP 1 “reinforcing capacity building in the sciences and strengthening science education” and cited that “the Philippine government puts highest priority on development of human resources and needed institutions for the natural sciences and engineering.” Thus, the hope that “both regular and extra-budgetary funds for the natural sciences can be further supplemented.”

Fr. Nebres also articulated strong espousal for BSP 2, in particular, building capacities for mitigation of natural disasters: “You are aware of the enormous destruction of life, homes and infrastructure in my country from massive flooding due to typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma). The Philippines is now engaging in massive reconstruction efforts and seeks help from the international community. The science and engineering community is working closely in this effort. From UNESCO, we look for leadership and support for developing countries like ours to strengthen national capabilities for disaster mitigation and resilience.”

Major Programme III – Social and Human Sciences (SHS)

SHS Commissioner Dr. Rainier Ibana (Philosophy Department, Ateneo University), in relation to BSP 1 – “Responding to critical global social challenges”, expressed “appreciation for UNESCO’s advocacy and promotion of human rights especially as a means of alleviating poverty and addressing the problems of discrimination” and “supports the proposal to teach philosophy at all levels of education, whether formal, non-formal or informal.” He proposed “the inclusion of the Asia-Pacific Philosophy Education Network for Democracy (APPEND) in the list of UNESCO-initiated network of organizations.”

In relation to Climate Change, SHS Commissioner Valisno stated: “…Mitigating the effects of climate change requires a re-examination of our consumption and production patterns that overextend nature’s cycles of regeneration.” She also expressed support for “the proposal of COMEST to promote an ethical reflection on the global consequences of human action towards the environment.”

Major Programme IV – Culture

Secretary Cecilia Alvarez (Presidential Adviser for Culture and NCCA Executive Director) expressed support “for UNESCO’s celebration of the Year of Rapproachment of Culture” and “applaud its emphasis on UNESCO’s intercultural dialogue commitment in battling discrimination, exclusion, injustice, oppression and prejudice in different geo-cultural spheres to an appeal to stop violence against mankind and Mother Earth.”

History links the Philippines not just to Spain but also to Mexico and Latin-American countries. (The viceroy of Mexico was tasked by Spain to handle the governance of Las Islas Filipinas for three centuries.) The common thread is the historic Galleon trade that linked Manila to Acapulco, Mexico, which became the lifeline for Philippine-Spanish-Latin American relations, sailing continuously for two and a half centuries – a record that no other shipping line has ever matched. It gave us a place in world history like no other economic feature of the country. The Dia del Galleon was celebrated on 08 October.

Culture Committee Chair Carmen Padilla, who just came from the Intangible Heritage Conference in Abu Dhabi reiterated our NatCom’s determination to promote the significance of Intangible Heritage in the Basic Education Curriculum.

Major Programme V – Communication and Information

Communication Commissioner Cecilia “Cheche” Lazaro expressed support for “the International Programme for Development and Communication (IPDC’s) function as an oversight body on the safety of journalists,” and has noted “UNESCO’s expression of concern over the killings of Filipino journalists”, as well as “full commitment to ensure the safety of journalists and resolve these killings.”

“Task Force Inquiry was enhanced by Task Force 211, whose concern is to address political violence and promote a culture of peace and reconciliation. The continued rise in the number of media practitioners killed with impunity in the line of duty worldwide sends a worrisome, even alarming message to the press and democracy in general. IPDC plays a critical role in bringing to justice the culprits of these crimes and cooperation of Member-States is necessary to ensure that it can pursue its mandate effectively.”

Commissioner Lazaro added that the “Freedom of Information legislation has made tremendous headway in the Philippine Congress. Congress passed the bill last May 2008 and we are optimistic that it will be enacted into law by next year.

Will GMA pledge her legacy budget to meet the UNMDG 2015?

All of the 193 Member States of UNESCO have been exhorted to be more persistent in their efforts since there are only five years left to meet the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goal (UN MDG).

The newly approved Southeast Asian Center for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA-CLLSD) in the Philippines is the only Category 2 Centers among the UNESCO global community to have the LLSD system of teacher training and curriculum that is fully appreciated by the five geographical clusters of UNESCO who have to reverse their difficulty in achieving quality EFA programs for empowering life with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Whatever the outcome of the May 2010 elections, Philippine presidents have always supported quality education since its independence in 1946. Thus, we hope that President GMA’s “legacy budget” would fully prioritize this transformative LLSD education to guarantee her pledge to the Filipino children’s future.

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