Tag: CNN Hero of the Year

GMA to replicate kariton classrooms – what was she thinking?

I wonder what GMA meant when she said she wanted to replicate the kariton classrooms initiated by Efren Peñaflorida. I mean, does she not recognize that the reason why these kind of classrooms existed in the first place was because of the inability of the government to provide adequate educational facilities for its constituents? Does she not recognize that if only the government provided adequate resources for education for the children living in slum areas then there would be no need for kariton classrooms?

 

The news came out on November 27 and it was only now that I have heard of it from the tweet of a friend. I am aghast and my sensibilities are again offended. I mean what was she thinking and what kind of mentality does she have? Should she not be ashamed of herself and her administration that such a basic service like education cannot be provided to those who need it? Is she not ashamed that the Philippines is coming out as such a poor country – very poor indeed – wherein the government can afford to fortify its armed defenses (or is it offenses) yet not improve its educational facilities?

 

I believe the funds that would be allocated for these kariton classrooms would help build more sturdy and real classrooms. I think if only the budget could be reviewed and government officials be less greedy (I do not ask for zero greediness, that being an impossibility, but just lessen the greediness) then I believe that there would be no need for make shift classrooms and instead we could have concrete ones.

 

I applaud the heroism of Efren. I admire the guy. But I think, even he, would want to see more concrete classrooms than more kariton ones. After all, shouldn’t better educational facilities promise better education? Or perhaps more motivation for the students and teachers alike? (Then again maybe not because I know of educational institutions who have the best facilities yet mediocre educational quality.) But still, many slum kids would benefit from concrete classrooms.

 

The point is, what our country, and the slums in it, needs are real and concrete classrooms not kariton ones. What we need are better educational facilities and systems. Efren’s efforts should be a wake-up call to the government, not a prototype of what they should do. NGO’s exist to augment what the government lacks. The government should not follow what the NGO’s are doing yet they should know what it is that they lack that the NGO’s are filling in. Then they should address that lack with concrete actions – better ones than what the NGO’s can provide.

pride turned to shame

Even as the Maguindanao massacre sheds a negative light to the Philippines, there are still people who give the country a ray of hope to hang on to.

 

The recent victory of Efren Peñaflorida as CNN Hero of the Year is a testimony to the world that the Filipinos are not all barbaric and merciless. That in this corrupt country there still exists people with a selfless heart and a sense of goodwill to others.

 

The constant victories of Manny Pacquiao also stands as a testament to the world that the Filipinos are good in their chosen field of expertise. And that there are Pinoys who achieve victory in the goals they set their minds to.

 

Yet I lament that these recent victories have to be overshadowed by the onslaught in Maguindanao. That right now, the world views the country as a very dangerous place to be in despite of the victories others have worked hard for to bring glory to the country. (Glory may not have been their first goal as in the case of Efren but still, he managed to achieve it.)

 

If before we were basking in pride that we were Filipinos, proud of the achievements our fellowmen brought in, now we cannot even hold our head high, as we cringe in shame at the inhumanity of some of our brothers.

 

I am extremely saddened that some Filipinos can have it in their hearts to soil the name of our country. No country really is perfect just as none in this world is perfect. But I still wish, and pray, and dream that there will come a time when Filipinos everywhere will be of one heart and soul – to bring glory to the nation and to the God Almighty.

 

And by that time, all these senseless killings would have ceased.

 

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I have read in comments and Facebook posts that some people are losing hope and thinks that another bloodshed would be better in resolving the conflict or bringing forth justice. But bloody vengeance has never been the solution to any bloodshed. As I replied countlessly, another bloodshed will not resolve a previous one. Cliché as it may be, or seemingly hopeless, the resolution of an injustice must be achieved by methods promoting justice – the accepted lawful way.