Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday called on the government to tackle the lack of educational resources and inadequate school infrastructure in the country as it reevaluates the K-to-12 Education Program.
“Ito po ang isa sa pinakamalalaking problema po natin ngayon: y’ung kakulangan po ng oras [ng pag-aaral] sa K-12 curriculum, y’ung lack ng resources including classrooms and facilities. So hopefully po, mapag-usapan ‘to,” the senator said in a Facebook livestream on May 25, 2023.
Cayetano, who was at the Senator Renato Compañero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School in Taguig at the time of his live video, was one of only two senators who opposed the program during its discussion in 2012.
He has since openly expressed disappointment over the program’s failure to deliver on its promises.
“Ang ipinangako sa atin, ‘pag pumunta ka sa school at sports track ‘yan, may oval, gym, equipment, coaches, swimming pool. ‘Pag pumunta ka sa techvoc, may garahe, testing equipment, motor, at akmang professors,” he said.
In his livestream, Cayetano emphasized that quality and accessible education is key to a better life for Filipinos.
“We owe it to the future generations to give our children the best possible opportunities, and we can do that by giving them quality education accessible to all,” he said.
Cayetano commended the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) — a body that was established last year to reassess the country’s education system after the COVID-19 pandemic — for “trying to find solutions” to the problems.
This sentiment echoes the deep-rooted belief of Cayetano’s late father, Senator Rene Cayetano, in the transformative power of education, as exemplified by the collaborative efforts between father and son in establishing the Senator Renato Compañero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School.
“Kasi noong bata siya, parating sinasabi sa kanya na ‘pag hindi ka anak-mayaman, o ‘pag hindi malaki ang kapital mo at wala kang negosyo, hanggang diyan ka na lang. But Tatay never accepted that,” he said.
