Mong Palatino

In the past four years, Kabataan Partylist has consistently advocated an education reform agenda in Congress. We pushed for better tuition regulation, higher budget for public schools especially tertiary schools, and protection of student rights.

Through our intervention, the Commission on Higher Education revised its tuition guidelines. It also formulated new standards to regulate nursing OJT fees and field trips. By proposing an amendment in the NSTP law, we blocked the measure that would make ROTC compulsory again. Our first legislative measure which was approved on third reading in the House of Representatives was the Anti ‘No Permit, No Exam’ bill.

We exposed the drastic cuts imposed by the Noynoy Aquino government in the budget of state universities. In fact, the demand for greater public spending on education was the clarion call in the historic campus strikes in 2010 and 2011.

Our vision for a more progressive curriculum is reflected in our proposals to include the following topics in schools: good governance, Philippine Games, the life and philosophy of Andres Bonifacio, human rights, indigenous peoples, cinema appreciation, gender awareness, disaster preparation, and social media ethics.

We recommended the institutionalization of an alternative classroom learning day in all levels of schooling. We urged the scrapping of the practice of penalizing students if they use the national language inside schools. We reiterated our call to regulate, not ban fraternities in universities. We asked UP to offer an optometry course. We wanted the CAT in high school to be replaced by an NSTP-like program. The bill which would provide more government support to Special Education was consolidated with similar measures in Congress.

To promote non-formal learning especially among the out-of-school youth, we suggested a monthly free day in private museums. We also moved to expand, modernize, and digitize our public libraries.

Environment protection is another major advocacy of our group. We initiated congressional investigations on abandoned mines, the status of logging and mining permits in north Mindanao, the cutting of pine trees in Baguio, the Manila Bay reclamation in Las Pinas and Paranaque, the Padcal-Philex mining disaster in Benguet, the toxic waste dumping in Subic, and the massacre of the Tubbataha Reefs courtesy of the US Navy.

We appealed to schools to boycott theme parks which feature dolphin shows. We also proposed a styrofoam ban in campuses. We reminded the government to include animal welfare in the disaster preparedness program. We questioned the decision of the Aquino government to veto the budget provision about the use of the calamity funds for pre-disaster activities. We filed a resolution inquiring whether there is a comprehensive program to address the problem of e-waste in the country. We co-authored the ‘People’s Mining Bill.’

With regard to IT promotion, we introduced the ‘Free Public Wi-Fi’ bill. We submitted resolutions on e-governance, quality of broadband services, and the declaration of internet access as a human right. We opposed the Cybercrime Prevention Act as one of the Supreme Court petitioners which questioned the constitutionality of the law. Aside from arguing for the repeal of the law especially its controversial provisions, we proposed the passage of a Magna Carta for Internet Users to remind policymakers and the public that internet legislation should not only focus on cybercrime prevention.

We defeated the proposal to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan and pushed for the reform of the institution. We advised our young community leaders to focus on green endeavors, in particular, lead in climate change adaptation and mitigation activities.

Another important advocacy is the ‘BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection’ bill which is part of our broader effort to advance the rights of young workers in the country.

To improve transparency, we proposed the live streaming of Congress sessions. We also recommended additional session days and a more open and democratic proceeding of the bicameral committee.

Appendix

1. Kabataan Partylist filed 38 House Bills and 67 resolutions in the 15th Congress. We co-authored 156 bills and 181 resolutions. Click here to review our legislative output during the 14th Congress.

2. The ‘Anti No Permit No Exam’ bill was co-authored by 45 House members. It was adopted by the provincial council of Palawan and the city councils of Zamboanga and Quezon City.

3. The Quezon City Council adopted and passed our bills about the teaching of Bonifacio’s life, Philippine Games, and cinema appreciation in schools.

4. Kabataan Partylist voted in favor of the Reproductive Health bill. It opposed Aquino’s K-12 and the proposal to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 at 8:37 pm and is filed under congress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.