Let's Encourage Senator Mar Roxas to Make a Clear, Principled Stand on the Issue of Tuition Fee Increases (Lalaban Tayo!)

4 May 2009

I sent the following email to Senator Mar Roxas on the issue of tuition fee increases at 4:26 this afternoon.  Please note my specific request to the Senator — "I shall highly appreciate receiving a personal response from you — one that bears your name Mar Roxas — on this matter":

This is as much a message to Senator Roxas as it is to Secretary Jesli Lapus.  I also sent copies to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, GMAnews.tv and ABS-CBN.com.  I also intend to send a copy to the UNESCO.

Dear Senator Mar,

Following is a post in my blog Philippines Rising (Taga Monumento) entitled, An Open Letter on the Nightmare of Tuition Fee Increases to PGMA, Deped Secretary Jesli Lapus,CHED Chairman Angeles and the Entire Filipino Nation.  It is quite self-explanatory. 

I shall highly appreciate receiving a personal response from you — one that bears your name Mar Roxas — on this matter.  

As somebody who has openly declared his aspiration to become the next President of the Philippines in 2010, you, Sir, will be judged by our people not on the basis of your infomercials but on how you do your job and how you keep your promise, "Lalaban tayo!" 

"Lalaban tayo sa isyu ng tuition fee!" is one call to action that the Filipino parents and students would be excited to hear from you, Mr. Senator. 

I would not have sent this message to you first if you were not a "presidentiable" and if you were not the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education Arts and Culture.  

This is one issue, I'm sure you'll agree with me, that will affect the future of millions of young Filipinos. This is one issue which will separate the men from the boys. This is one issue which will identify those who make promises, on one hand, and those who keep them, on the other. 

This is my second send of this message as I inadvertently sent the first one without a bcc leaving me without a copy. I have sent 5 other people with bccs. I will appreciate if you can reply to this second send and just disregard the first one.

I'll be posting a copy of this email message to my blog after it is sent. 

Thank you Sir and I hope to hear from you soon!

God bless!

Best regards,

Rolly Ocampo

Email: rollyocampo@yahoo.com

Phone: 3623459

Cell: 0908 2168441

Blog: Philippines Rising (Taga Monumento)

Blog URL: http://tagamonumento.blogspot.com

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Monday, April 27, 2009

An Open Letter on the Nightmare of Tuition Fee Increases to PGMA, Deped Secretary Jesli Lapus, CHED Chairman Angeles and the Entire Filipino Nation

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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Morale Booster from Old, Formidable Warrior Jovito Salonga

6 February 2009

This afternoon, I had the chance to talk over the phone with Senator Jovito Salonga.  I had faxed to his office at Kilosbayan and to his residence my appeal to the Philippine government to suspend the diggings at Monumento and give way to public consultation that will save the Monumento from further desecration.  

Senator Salonga was kind enough to hear my small voice over the phone.  He was in agreement with the call for consultation over the issue of protecting national dignity and honor at the Bonifacio Monument.  I expect to hear a public pronouncement on Monumento from Sen. Jovito Salonga, easily one of the greatest living Filipinos. 

Humility is a hallmark of this man's character.  

Here's an excerpt from Senator Salonga's "A Letter to the Filipino Youth of Today" published in the maiden issue of Living News and Good Education, June 1, 2005 (the entire article is found in the The Jovito R. Salonga Journal).

"Later, Japanese troops landed in Lingayen, Pangasinan, and in several places in Luzon. Filipino-American troops in those places fought back but had to retreat to Bataan and Corregidor. On December 26, 1941, Manila was declared an open city, which means the Japanese could enter freely without armed resistance. On January 2, 1942, Japanese officers and soldiers were swarming around Manila and surrounding areas, such as Pasig and Marikina. Because of the abuses committed by the enemy, especially against Filipino women and children, I went underground and joined the fight against Japan. During the Holy Week of 1942, I was captured by the Japanese military police (kempeitai), was tortured, jailed in Pasig, then to Fort Santiago, transferred to the City Jail on San Marcelino, then to the Old Bilibid on Azcarraga, and eventually sentenced by the Japanese military tribunal to a prison term of 15 years of hard labor. By a stroke of good luck, I was released from Muntinglupa one year later (1941) on the occasion of kigen setsu the Foundation Day of Japan. In 1944, I was allowed by the Supreme Court to take the bar examination and I passed it with a good rating. I joined the guerrillas in Rizal. US forces landed in Leyte; in the second week of January 1945, they landed in Lingayen, Pangasinan and Manila was liberated by American GIs, guided by Filipino guerrillas, in February 1945. Other places were also liberated in quick succession. The atomic bomb was dropped by US Air Force on 2 Japanese cities: Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Japan surrendered to the US in August 1945."

How's that again? "Passed the bar with a good rating?"

Here's what another source say really happened:

"However, because of the advent of World War II, he postponed taking the Philippine Bar Examination until 1944—which he and José Diokno both topped with a grade point average of 95.3%, the 2nd highest score in Philippine Bar history (Florenz Regalado holds 1st place).^"  

For more on Senator Jovito Salonga, please see this Wikipedia article: Jovito Salonga.

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Kapusong Gani Oro, Mabuhay Ka! Going on Air at DZBB 594kHz SuperRadyo

28 January 2009

This afternoon, I was blessed with the opportunity to what I set out to do -- to get on air via radio and what better place to do it than at   in Mr. Gani Oro's super program, Aksyon Oro Mismo.

I will be forever grateful to Kapuso Gani Oro and his staff, DZBB 594KHZ SuperRadyo and the entire GMA network for airing an urgent appeal for the Philippine government to cause an immediate suspension of the LRT-MRT3 construction near Monumento to give way to a public consultation that will spare the Monumento from further desecration.

True to Aksyon Oro Mismo's format, Ka Gani hosted a discussion on air between us and LTFRB Chairman and DOTC spokesman Thompson Lantion.  During the discussion, I was able to make the appeal for immediate suspension and public consultation.  Chairman Lantion asked me to write the DOTC.

To hear our on-the-air discussion:  

  

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Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez, A Giant of Our Times

27 January 2009

Today I had the chance to personally hand over to the Bishop of Kalookan, the Most Reverend Deogracias S. Iñiguez, D.D., a copy of my appeal to government authorities to immediately suspend the LRT-MRT3 diggings near Monumento and to conduct public consultations that will allow our people to arrive at a solution that will spare the threatened Bonifacio Monument from further desecration.  

The good bishop promised to look into the matter and asked me to furnish him other materials that will support the call for public consultation and dialogue on the issue of the LRT-MRT3 closing the loop project at Monumento.

Bishop Iñiguez is a giant of our times.  I consider it a privilege just to stand beside him.  Here is a man who stands head and shoulders above ordinary mortals, exerting his spiritual and moral authority on earth for the good of God's people.

 

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