SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano has called on the government to address the lack of local educational assets and inadequate school infrastructure as it revisits the K-12 Education Program.
In a recent Facebook livestream, Cayetano pointed out the lack of time in studying the K-12 curriculum and resources, including classrooms and facilities, as one of the nation’s biggest problems. He hopes to revive discussions about such.
The lawmaker, who was at the Senator Renato Compañero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School in Taguig City during his live digital broadcast, was one of only two senators who opposed the program during its discussion in 2012.
The senator has since expressed dismay over the program’s failure to deliver on its promises.
He cited that what was promised for a school during K-12, it already has a “sports track, oval, gym, equipment, coaches, [and swimming pool. A technical-vocational facility has a garage, testing equipment, motor and the right] professors.”
In his livestream, Cayetano emphasized that quality and accessible education is key to a better life for Filipinos.
“We owe it to future generations…[and should give our children the best possible opportunities…we can do that by giving them quality education that’s] accessible to all,” he said.
Cayetano commended the Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM II—a body that was established last year to reassess the country’s education system after the pandemic—for “trying to find solutions” to the problems.
This sentiment echoes the deep-rooted belief of his late father: former senator Rene Cayetano, in the transformative power of education, as seen in the collaborative efforts between father and son in establishing the high school named after his father.
Cayetano mentioned that during his father’s youth, the latter was always told that one can also go far despite being poor, or doesn’t have the finances or a business.
