TONY'S TAKE: PERSPECTIVE AND PERCEPTION
GLIMPSES ON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES - Series 9
By Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired
Academic Dishonesty: On March 5, 2021, the Philippine Department of Education said it is going to probe into reports of so-called “academic dishonesty” or "sagot-for-sale" schemes while on distance learning wherein parents are supposedly paying to have the modules of their children answered. It was during a recent Senate hearing when the alleged practice was bared wherein parents supposedly pay others to answer their children’s modules.
This came as the DepEd reported that 99 percent of students passed on the first quarter of the school year while under distance learning. One DepEd official said that "tolerating cheating such as this will not be beneficial to students in the long run." From the start, "we stressed that this should not be done because it won’t help in teaching young Filipinos honesty if the parents will buy or help in giving the answers." The DepEd is investigating to validate these reports and teachers who would be found engaged in any practice involving academic dishonesty will face sanctions.
However, the official saw nothing wrong with the findings adding that it is possible that teachers were even more considerate. "Ano ba talaga ang katotohanan tungkol dito? Katakataka man o hindi, kailangan ituloy ang imbestigasyon para matigil at maisa-ayos ang karapatdapat para sa mga mag-aaral, sa mga guro at lalo na ang inaasahang mabuting aral , dignidad at integredad ng edukasyon sa ating bansa."
MRT Line 4: The planned construction of Metro Rail Line-MRT 4 from N. DomingoStreet in Quezon City to Taytay, Rizal is expected to start in 2023 with the engineering design to be launched in 2021, according to the Philippine Department of Transportation. The MRT-4 will span 16 kilometers and will have 11 stations and train stops in Bonny Serrano, Greenhills, Edsa, Meralco, Tiendesitas, Rosario, St. Joseph, Cainta, San Juan, Tikling, and Manila East Road.
It will be designed to serve about 220,000 passengers a day The Php 59.3-billion project was approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority on Jan. 29, 2020, and is being supported by the Asian Development Bank. The government's "big-ticket" project is one of the infrastructure projects started by the Ramos administration in 1995 and being moved forward by the Duterte administration. It is part of the government’s push to significantly expand the country’s railway network from just 77 km in 2016 to about 1,209 km by 2022.
Currently, the government is also building a common station in Quezon City that will serve to link the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, LRT-1, and MRT-7. "Dahil dito, maaari kayang makatulong ito sa pag-luluwag ng trapiko sa Metro Manila? O walang pagbabago din ang mangyayari dahil dumarami rin ang populasyon at mga sasakyan? Isa pa, hindi daw makaka-tulong ito sa paghbawas na polyuson sa kapaligiran natin." O, pansamantalang kaginhawaan ito lamang sa mga tao at balik na naman dating gawi?
Online Sexual Exploitation: According to the International Justice Mission(IJM), the Philippines has become "the world’s largest source” of materials" relating to the online sexual exploitation of children. This problem is "going to grow worse due to the pandemic" crisis, said, one Filipino writer. As well, because of economic hardships, the digital chain of supply, the quarantine, and stay-at-home orders concerning children are likely to lead to an increase in exploitation cases.
If the perpetrators of this crime are not stopped, the situation allows more children to be abused in a way that profits from the pain of our most vulnerable victims, and the unscrupulous players are far from being caught. To minimize the gravity of cases, critics advocate that the holders of legislative franchises like that of Internet Service Providers must become paramount partners by assuming greater responsibilities to protect the public they serve.
"Kailangan talagang amendahan at palakasin ang batas na RA 9775 ( Anti-Pornography Act of 2008). At sa mga kabataan sana ay maging lalong maingat, at kaaka-bikat dito ay ang masusing pagsubaybay at tamang patnubay ng pagpapasunod ng kanilang mga magulang."
Planned City: The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) under the Office of the President has given the go-ahead notice for "Manila Solar City" to mobilize and commence the Manila Bay reclamation project of Manila Goldcoast Development Corporation. The Manila Solar City project involves the reclamation of 148 ha beside the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Complex and behind the Manila Yacht Club and Philippine Navy headquarters.
As early as March 1991, the Manila Bay project was decided a part of the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road Reclamation (MCCRR)-North Sector Reclamation Project, which is envisioned as a commercial, business, residential, and tourism centre. The reclaimed area will have a frontage of 635 meters parallel to Roxas Boulevard and will occupy less than 0.082 percent of the Manila Bay’s 1,800-square-kilometer surface area. Its boundary will be up to the Ospital ng Maynila, a full kilometer from the US Embassy.
Once completed the reclaimed area will have three islands: East Island 1, the closest to the Manila Yacht Club, measuring 28.73 ha.; East Island 2, 36.87 ha.; and West Island, the farthest, 82.40 ha. Manila Goldcoast is part of the Tieng family-led Solar Group of Companies, which is into entertainment, satellite communications, aviation, merchandising, and property development. "Talaga yatang tuloy-tuloy na ang dati ng maunlad na siyudad ng Maynila. Ngunit sabi ng mga environment activists ay masamang epekto at malaking pinsala ito sa kalikasan sa dako ng Kalakhang Maynila." Anong masasabi mo kabayan? ( Tony A. San Juan, OCT-Retired)