27 April 2009
Together with a fellow parent, I visited the DepEd NCR last Friday, 24 April, to find out if the school where my youngest child is studying (high school) has filed an application for tuition fee increase.
I enrolled my daughter as early as 1 April 2009 and the tuition fee increase WAS ALREADY IN EFFECT! NO VALID CONSULTATION WAS HELD BECAUSE ONLY A HANDFUL OF PTA OFFICERS, AMONG MORE THAN A THOUSAND ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS, WERE INVITED.
AND THE COLLEGE DEAN WHO CO-PRESIDED OVER THE MEETING WITH THE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, SPEAKING OF THE TUITION FEE INCREASE, TOLD THOSE PRESENT, "WE DON'T NEED YOUR APPROVAL, WE'RE JUST INFORMING YOU."
To make the long story short, this is what happened at the DepEd NCR:
1) Miss Gloria Alday, a high school education supervisor and DepEd NCR OIC at that time (since Director Teresita Domalanta and her deputies were not around), confirmed that they have recently received such an application, April 22 if I was not mistaken.
2) While Miss Alday was talking to us, Dr. Namoro, another education supervisor, left the room and came back shortly afterwards to tell us that one of the people in the DepEd NCR Legal Department headed by Atty. Joylyn Dulnuan told her that copies of the application for tuition fee increases could not be released to us since it was not yet a "public document" as they still have to process it. Na-receive na ng isang public office pero hindi pa rin public document?
Nakakatuwa po ba so far? Ano pang credibility mayroon ang proseso kung ganyan ang asal ng mga tauhan ng Deped? Imbes na matuwa sila dahil gumugol ka ng pera at panahon upang puntahan ang kanilang opisina sa kagustuhan mong tumalima sa panawagan ni Secretary Lapus para magkaroon ng moratorium on tuition fee increases this school year ay kabaligtaran ang isasalubong sa 'yo!
I'll leave it here for now ... I just need to post this to warn you about what's going and what we can all do to stop this menace of heartless tuition fee increases and the way the DepEd and the CHED are not doing all they can to help and protect us Filipino parents who send our children to private schools.
This is a work in progress partly because I have to run for work now and partly because I would like to give you, my fellow Filipino parents, the opportunity to think more deeply about the problem of tuition fee increases and the solutions to it. As I write, hundreds of thousands of pre-need planholders are scratching their heads thinking how they can enroll their children this school year. Many more parents have actually moved their children to public schools which, unfortunately, year after year are becoming more congested. Other children have simply dropped out of school. This is a developing nightmare and we'd better wake up now before it's too late!
Yes, we Filipinos can do something to stop unreasonable and untimely tuition fee increases. If we join hands and ask God to lead us in this battle for our children's future, we can do something! And the future will be brighter for our children!
To God be the glory!
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It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
Hooray to Mr. Philip Piccio and the entire PEP Coalition. Mabuhay kayo mga bro! In spite of your own problems, you still managed to help expose more of the underhanded tricks in this entire Legacy scam. Astig talaga mga Pinoy!
Hindi po ako personal na apektado ng CAP or Pacific or Legacy but I’m nevertheless very much concerned because the underlying reason for this entire mess is unmitigated negligence by people in government like those in the SEC who did not do their job failed to protect the interest of the people who invested in these pre-need plans — the very people who are paying them their salaries as government officials. Doubly ironic!
We all need to join hands to promote truth, justice, good governance and fair treatment of consumers and the hapless parents in this country. Right now, many schools are poised to raise their tuition fees even in the face of an open appeal for a tuition fee moratorium by DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, a call backed up by no less than the Archbishop of Manila.
I have posted an article in my blog about this issue, The DepEd, the CHED and Tuition Fees, Part 1 - Hanggang Pakiusapan Na Lang Ba?”.
My personal belief is that if we PARENTS forge the same unity that we’ve just seen at work in the Senate a few moments ago and demonstrate it before Secretary Jesli Lapus of the DepEd and the CHED Commissioners, we will be able to stop these tuition fee increases dead on their tracks. The result will be even better if we PARENTS and the STUDENTS will act as one to reclaim our rights and defend the future of millions of young Filipinos. That PARENTS-STUDENTS synergy should happen. It’s about time!
The DepEd and the CHED have their own negligent practices which have not yet been exposed. For example, do you know that the DepEd-NCR receives the applications for tuition fee increases filed by private elementary and private schools? The office of the DepEd-NCR is located at Misamis St. near the SM City Carpark in Quezon City.
Do you also know that the education supervisors of the DepEd will tell you that “we do not approve or deny tuition fee applications; we just acknowledge them!” The result, pasok ang tuition fee increase (kahit na may mga kwestiyon sa requirements), taob ang bulsa ng mga magulang!
Ang style naman ng ibang private schools, hindi areglado ang consultation process. Walang announcement, walang financial statements na ibinibigay sa mga kausap nilang sektor, etc. Tambalan mo pa ng attitude ng maraming parents na — “wala tayong magagawa diyan, pabayaan na natin ‘yan!” — and the result is a total disaster for all of us parents and students. Kailangan na pong mabago ang mapaminsalang sistemang ganito.
The bottom line?
My point is that we PARENTS and STUDENTS, through our faith, unity and determination, can convince this government to adopt sweeping policy and procedural reforms that will better protect our rights and promote our interests. This is our moment. And I believe that it is divinely-appointed.
We should support Senator Enrile’s call for resignation of the entire SEC officialdom. This should happen so that people in government will know that, from now on, the Filipino people will hold them for their complicity or negligence. The commitment shown by Senators Roxas, Enrile and Biazon on this matter should be sustained by our continued interest and determined efforts.
I urge Mr. Philip Piccio and other leaders of the PEP Coalition to seize the moment and to take the lead in this call for unity and convene a wider meeting not only among affected pre-need groups but also among consumer advocates. It will be a privilege for me to attend such a meeting (my email address is rollyocampo@yahoo.com). I know other people are just waiting in the wings to join such a movement.
Tayong malilit, palagi na lang inilalampaso at pinaglalaruan nang mga malalaki, mayayaman at ng mga makapangyarihan even though the Constitution says that we the people are supposed to be sovereign. Ang sabi, “”sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” For once, and finally, let’s prove to everyone that we really are!
Mabuhay ang Pinoy! God bless sa inyong lahat!
Hmmm, let me backtrack a little on my previous comment. In my excitement, the keyboard typed out the opening line like this:
It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
It should have read:
It’s 3:25pm, March 9, 2009. I just finished watching the Senate inquiry on the Legacy fiasco over at ANC and I’d say that this is a pivotal moment in Philippine consumerism history.
Sori, tao lang …