MANILA, Philippines—Ironic.
This was how Jonathan Geronimo, vice chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), described the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) request for P10 million to print 200,000 copies of Vice President Sara Duterte’s book, Isang Kaibigan (A friend).
As Duterte herself pointed out, the book, which she self-authored, stresses on the value of friendship, of not abandoning friends.
It seeks to impart this lesson through the story of Kwago (Owl), whose home was destroyed by a storm and Loro (Parrot) who came to help Kwago and offered shelter.
Owls in real life do not build homes but settle on trees unlike Duterte’s fictional character.
But while the OVP defended the book, saying that it would encourage reading, Geronimo asked if it is really necessary, especially since most students in public schools do not have a complete set of textbooks and that some do not even have a single textbook at all.
As the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) revealed, since the K-to-12 curriculum was introduced in 2013, only 27 textbook titles have been procured by the Department of Education (DepEd) out of the 90 required for Grades 1 to 10, with only Grades 5 and 6 having a complete set of textbooks.
Duterte was head of the DepEd for almost two years.
Aksaya’
Geronimo, who told INQUIRER.net that the Philippines is still far from having a 1:1 student-textbook ratio, said that government resources, like the 10 million requested by the OVP, should instead be allotted for learning materials in schools, “not for self-serving interests.”
For Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary-general, “we do not need self-serving materials that aim to promote a certain individual,” stressing that “we can better address the problem of learning poverty by having quality learning materials such as books in our schools.”
“While the education crisis is worsening, it is disappointing to find out that this is how our leaders want to spend government resources,” he told INQUIRER.net as he criticized Duterte’s request for P10 million to print 200,000 copies of her book, which the OVP said is “for young readers, not voters.”
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GRAPHIC: Ed Lustan / INQUIRER.net
As the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) revealed, since the K-to-12 curriculum was introduced in 2013, only 27 textbook titles have been procured by the Department of Education (DepEd) out of the 90 required for Grades 1 to 10, with only Grades 5 and 6 having a complete set of textbooks.
Duterte was head of the DepEd for almost two years.
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‘Aksaya’
Geronimo, who told INQUIRER.net that the Philippines is still far from having a 1:1 student-textbook ratio, said that government resources, like the 10 million requested by the OVP, should instead be allotted for learning materials in schools, “not for self-serving interests.”
For Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary-general, “we do not need self-serving materials that aim to promote a certain individual,” stressing that “we can better address the problem of learning poverty by having quality learning materials such as books in our schools.”
“While the education crisis is worsening, it is disappointing to find out that this is how our leaders want to spend government resources,” he told INQUIRER.net as he criticized Duterte’s request for P10 million to print 200,000 copies of her book, which the OVP said is “for young readers, not voters.”
READ: OVP explains Sara’s book: For young readers, not voters
Last Tuesday, Aug. 20, Duterte’s children’s book ignited a heated exchange between her and Senator Risa Hontiveros, who asked the Vice President to explain what the book is about. But Duterte instead accused Hontiveros of “politicizing” the hearing on the OVP’s proposed P2.037 billion budget for next year.
As pointed out by Hontiveros, one of the OVP’s programs for 2025 is the PagbaBAGo Campaign: A Million Learners and Trees, which involves the provision of bags to one million learners in remote communities while initiating activities where they can plant trees.
This program, the senator said, is expected to get P100 million in funding, but part of the campaign is an allocation of P10 million for the distribution of Duterte’s book, which the OVP said was made in 2023 and has nothing to do with elections.