Chiz Escudero

Bawat Pilipino, mayaman man o mahirap, congressman man o hindi, mayor man o hindi, tig-iisa lang tayo ng boto. Sana gamitin nang wais, sana gamitin ng tama at sana mabilang ang boto nyo.

Jose Cusido- College Editor’s Guild of the Philippines, Chairman:

Last year and even before the year last year may mga impeachment cases po na nafile laban kay Pangulong Arroyo. Wala po ritong nagprosper. At present meron pa rin pong people’s discontent. Galit na galit pa po ang mga mamamayan sa mga isyu ng pandaraya, ang mga isyu ng kabataan higgil sa edukasyon. So kung meron pong magfile ng impeachment complaint laban kay Pangulong Arroyo, magpoprosper pa bo ito sa taong 2007?

Ang kasagutan sa tanong na iyan ay nasa kamay ng bawat isa sa atin, partikular ng kabataang Pilipino. Ang pipiliin at iboboto ba ninyong kinatawan sa Kongreso ay boboto pabor sa pagkakaroon ng pananagutan ng isang opisyal sa gobyerno? Ang may-ari ng boses at boto ng mga mambabatas sa Kamara ay kayo. Dapat pinaparating ng mga congressmen ang boto at boses ninyo sa Kongreso. Itong Kongresong ito, hindi nila ginawa yan. Dapat bawiin muli ng sambayanan ang boto at boses na yan sa pamamagitan ng pagpili ng mga mambabatas na boboto pabor dito at boboto upang magkaroon ng accountability ang sinumang opisyal kabilang na ang presidente ng Pilipinas.

I am urging the Commission on Higher Education to order nearly 400 schools nationwide to immediately refund their students for charging them illegal exorbitant fees this school year.

CHED must also scrap its Memorandum Order No. 14 which was the basis for some 395 universities and colleges to increase tuition and other fees for school year 2006-2007.

CHED through a commission en banc resolution issued on May 8, 2006 have already directed these schools to refund the students, subalit ang naturang kautusan ay pumapaloob lamang sa pagbabalik-bayad sa matrikula at iba pang mga bayarin na lumagpas sa national inflation rate na 7.6 percent. Dapat ibalik lahat ang mga bayarin na itinaas ngayong taon dahil labag sa batas ang mga pagtaas sapagkat walang mga naganap na mga konsultasyon.

CHED Memorandum Order No. 14 allows schools to increase tuition and other school fees this year even without any consultation with students and other stakeholders provided the rate increase does not exceed the inflation rate of 7.6 percent.

Subalit sumasalungat ang memorandum sa probisyon ng Republic Act 6728 na nag-uutos na dapat magkaroon ng konsultasyon sa mga grupo ng mga mag-aaral, alumni at mga guro kung may planong magtaas ng matrikula. Lumagpas man o hindi sa national inflation rate ang porsiyento ng pagtaas, labag pa rin ito sa batas dahil walang mga naganap na konsultasyon.

In a joint committee meeting by the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education and Committee on Basic Education and Culture last September, it was estimated that some 140 school have assured CHED to adhere to en banc resolution issued lat May on school fee refund but this only covers the rate increase higher than the 7.6-percent inflation rate.

CHED must issue another memorandum order requiring schools which increased school fees this school year to refund the students even the increase did not exceed the prevailing inflation rate of 7.6 percent.

Records of the Kabataan Party show that most of universities and colleges still failed to comply in refunding the students this second semester. In fact some school have continued increasing tuition and other fees without any consultation.

I would like to warn you that Reforms in the education sector could suffer the most if this year’s midterm election would not push through.

Amidst moves by administration congressmen to postpone the national elections, the only chance to tackle the long ignored education bill is to elect lawmakers who could push for it.

The administration representatives are having their ways to postpone the election, where hopes for reforms rest. If the present Congress would not change, the bills that could help our youth will remain buried in the ground. And the only chance to change that is through elections and for every Filipino to be given chance to vote and select who they think would push for the education bill.

I am questioning my colleagues for spending too much time to impeach Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano than conduct hearings on proposed bills that needed to be addressed.

I find it funny that the Congress is conducting two hearings in a week to impeach Cong. Cayetano but could not devote even just one hearing in a month for proposed bills for the interest of students.

Since I became representative of the first district of Sorsogon in 1998, never did the House discuss in plenary the education bill that has long been pending since 1988.

Reforms in education, particularly a proposal that would limit tuition fee increase, has long been pending in Congress and the threat of the same representatives who keep ignoring to address education reforms would stay in power until 2010 if charter change succeeds is present.

Claims that the passing of laws under a unicameral parliamentary government would be easier than the present presidential bicameral government is a deception.

There is a big difference if cha-cha succeeds because there will surely be no change in the people in Congress and the policies. But if election will happen, we will have lawmakers who would vote for the bill that would give reforms to education.

Wag nyong hayaan na pagdating ng panahon, sisihin kayo ng susunod na henerasyon dahil wala kayong ginawa… Wag kayong pumayag na manuod na lamang sa gilid, pumalakpak, ngumiti at kumaway habang hinuhubog ang ating kasaysayan. Sana’y makilahok kayo sa paghubog ng ating kasaysayan.