WB report on PH education ‘alarming,’ says Gatchalian

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the World Bank report citing that 9 out 10 Filipino children aged 10 cannot read or understand a story is “alarming.”

Gatchalian said the lack of face-to-face classes has been linked to learning loss, with the World Bank estimating learning poverty in the country at 90.9% as of June 2022.

The World Bank also projected a decline in Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) from 7.5 years to 5.7 - 6.1 years, which means that 12 years of basic education would only be equivalent to around 6 years because of the pandemic’s impact.

Due to this, Gatchalian urged the enactment of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program which he filed and sponsored.

He said the proposal will be crucial in accelerating “learning recovery,” a top priority of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s education agenda.

In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Marcos expressed renewed hope in providing the best education to the country’s students, especially the 28.4 million learners who returned to school.

Court to Ducut: Explain dementia claim

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE Sandiganbayan wants the camp of former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chief Zenaida Ducut to explain why the pork barrel charges against her should not be reinstated after she fails to provide the anti-graft court with the necessary documents supporting her claim that she has dementia.

The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division, in a resolution dated July 25, 2023 said Ducut failed to comply with its order in July 2022 asking her to submit supporting documents from her mental examination report showing she continues to suffer from dementia.

“The two-page NCMH (National Center for Mental Health) report submitted by accused Ducut merely stated that Ducut was ‘seen and examined’ last 8 February 2023. It was not accompanied by copies of the results of medical tests supporting the report/conclusion,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Moreover, the medical report only stated that this evaluation was ‘based on the history, mental status examinations, observations and psychological test.’ Considering that the evaluation is supposed to be on a yearly basis [as ordered by the court], it fails to specify what tests were conducted this year to support the indicated assessment and remarks,” it added.