‘Lupang Hinirang’ changes just a suggestion, insists

Sotto; celebs air mixed reactions

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III recently made the suggestion that the last
two lines of “Lupang Hinirang” be changed. Sotto referred last Sept. 18 to the lines
“Aming ligaya na ‘pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay nang dahil sa’yo” as having
a defeatist attitude.

Sotto then offered an alternative to the last lines: “‘Aming ligaya na ‘pag may
nang-aapi, ang ipaglaban kalayaan mo.'”

Sotto might be channeling his musician’s past. Before embarking on his political
career, he rose to fame as a member of the ’70s Manila Sound disco group “VST &
Co.” He also composed the song “Magkaisa” with Homer Flores and Ernie de la
Peña back in the ’80s in honor of the People Power Revolution that toppled the
Marcos regime.
Reaction to Sotto’s suggestion may be mixed, but for comedian-talent manager
Ogie Diaz, he didn’t seem to see the point of such. Diaz took to his Facebook last
Sept. 19 to give his own take on the matter.

“Pag pinalitan na po ba ang linyang yon sa ‘Lupang Hinirang’, bababa na po

ang inflation?” Diaz wrote. “Mababawasan na ba ang lumalagong bilang
ng corrupt officials? Magkakaisa na ba ang DDS, Dilawan at yung
mga worried at concerned lang naman?”

For Diaz, it seems that there are just other things to worry about. He, however,
suggested that “Ama Namin” and “Hail Mary” be changed as well if the things he
mentioned above would happen.
“Kung mangyayari po ito, nako, kahit po ‘Ama Namin’ at ‘Hail Mary’ palitan nyo
na rin po ang mga linya.”

But while Diaz wasn’t so keen on Sotto’s suggestion, composer-conductor Chino

Toledo suggested something else entirely.

Toledo took to Facebook on Sept. 20 to share the sheet music he worked on. The
sheet music changed the last line of “Lupang Hinirang” with the last line of “Eat
Bulaga’s” theme song.

“Ang mama-tay ng da-hil sa Eat Bu-la-ga! Pwede nga!” wrote Toledo in jest.
Sotto, on his end, has since addressed the suggestion he made days before. He took
to Twitter on Sept. 20 saying that if people don’t want the last line changed, then it
shouldn’t be.
Sotto, however, supported Joey Ayala’s version of “Lupang Hinirang” with the last
line changed to “Ang magmahal nang dahil sa’yo.”

“Maraming mahina intindimiento,” wrote Sotto on Twitter. “Ayaw nyo?

Hwag! But I will support Joey Ayala’s version of singing d Natnl Anthem. Tama
pronunciation n intonation. D orig translation frm spanish to eng to Fil is d cause
of d wrong cadence of words [sic].”

Sotto then shared a video of Ayala singing his version of “Lupang Hinirang,”
which he performed during his TEDxDiliman appearance in November 2013.

At one point in the video, Ayala referred to the last line of the “Lupang Hinirang”
and said in jest the anthem probably had caused psychological damage to the
Filipinos.
“‘Ang mamatay nang dahil sa’yo.’ Palagay ko may grave psychological
damage ginagawa yang kantang yan sa atin. Kaya kapag guma-graduate ang tao
gusto niyo mag abroad, kasi ang implicit belief is kung dito ka tepok ka, killed ka.”

Ayala also remarked then that there were many positive things to do than die.

“Yung ending, ‘Ang mamatay.’ Andami naman pwedeng positibong gawin….

andami namang pwede, yung general purpose na positive, yung mag-mahal. Ang
mag-mahal ng dahil sa yo…”
Ayala added, “Sabayan niyo ko, subukan niyo, you’ll never sing the national
anthem the same way again because you don’t really want to die.”

“Lupang Hinirang” was composed by Julian Felipe in 1898 as a march. Historical

records have shown that first Philippine President General Emilio Aguinaldo was
the one who commissioned Felipe. In 1899, Jose Palma wrote a Spanish poem
entitled “Filipinas,” which became the lyrics of the anthem.

EDITORIAL - World Teachers' Day

Not too long ago, little girls dreamed of becoming like their role models: teachers. These days, a
career as educator has lost much of its appeal. As little girls grow up, reality creeps in: teaching
calls for long hours of work, and the pay is rarely commensurate to the expertise required.

The realities are worse in some public schools, where a little girl might see the household of her
role model become prosperous only when the teacher leaves the profession and works as a
maid in Singapore.

This should make Filipinos more appreciative of the dedication of teachers who have opted to
remain in their own country. The Filipino educator gives justice to the description of teaching as
a noble profession. Teachers are in the front line of efforts to instill in the nation’s most
important resource, its human capital, the qualities needed for the Philippines to compete. The
country has lagged behind many of its Asian neighbors in competitiveness. This can be
attributed in part to a serious lack of qualified teachers.

With many government workers protesting funding cuts and low pay, there is no satisfactory
relief in sight for the country’s army of educators. But if teaching has become a profession for
the overworked and underpaid, it doesn’t have to be a thankless one. In 1993, the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated every Oct. 5 as World
Teachers’ Day. This was in recognition of the role played by teachers in shaping the minds of
the youth and in the life-long learning process.
This year’s global theme, “Teachers for Gender Equality,” aims to promote the inclusion of more
women in the teaching profession. In picking the theme, UNESCO noted that where there are
many women teachers, there is also a higher enrolment rate for girls. Two-thirds of the world’s
illiterates are women. This makes gender balance in the teaching pool a key concern of the UN.

Gender balance is not a major problem in Philippine education. The problem is under-
appreciation for the value of teachers’ work. While the government looks for funds to improve
compensation for teachers, others can do their part. Today at 10 a.m. in the Philippines, a
“Prayer for Teachers” will be recited simultaneously nationwide. Students are encouraged to
send a teacher a letter, a gift or card of appreciation. Thank a teacher today.

Sotto seeks to lower criminal liability age to 13

MANILA, Philippines —citing exploitation of criminal syndicates, Senate

President Vicento "Tito" Sotto wants to lower the age of criminal liability to
13 years old.

The senator filed Senate Bill 2026, which amends Republic Act 9344 or the
Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, to "adapt to changing times."

"Not only was the law abused by criminals but the innocence of these
youngsters were deliberately taken from them," Sotto said in his
explanatory note.

The Senate leader said the proposed measure is consistent with President
Rodrigo Duterte's goal to counter criminality in the country.

He also cited a Child Rights International Network study which showed that
the average minimum age of criminal responsibility in Africa and Asia is 11
years old, while it is 13 years old in America and Europe.

"The State must ensure that those children in conflict with the law who are
currently exempted from criminal liability who take advantage of the same
must not be given the same privilege," Sotto said.

Under Sotto's proposed bill, children above nine years old to 12 years old
would be deemed neglected under Presidential Decree 603 or the Child
and Youth Welfare Code of they commit serious crimes such as parricide,
murder, infanticide, kidnapping and homicide. They would be placed in a
special facility within youth care faculty or Bahay Pag-asa.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to nine was among the
Duterte administration's top priority legislative measure last year.

However, the House subcommittee in correctional reforms rejected the bill

making children aged at least nine years liable for their crime. — Patricia
Lourdes Viray
Lowering age of criminal liability an anti-child policy, says solon
BAGUIO CITY — Ifugao lawmaker Teodoro Baguilat is urging members of
the House of Representatives to fight the move to lower the age of criminal
responsibility from 15 to nine years old, saying that doing so will go against
the best interests of the child.

"We just celebrated the Feast of the Sto. Nino and we, as a Christian
Nation, believe that the path to our salvation is to see the world through the
innocence of a child. Children deserve and need our guidance and support,
not severe punishment," Baguilat said.

He said the proposal, which is part of President Rodrigo Duterte's

legislative agenda, is "cruel and unjust" and will not address the roots of
juvenile criminality.

According to the September 2018 Ulat ng Bayan, 63 percent of

the 1,800 respondents said controlling the rising costs of
commodities is their top concern.
Pulse Asia: Rising prices worry Filipinos most
MANILA, Philippines — A sizeable majority of Filipinos want the current administration
to immediately address rising prices of basic goods and services, the latest Pulse Asia
survey suggests.

According to the September 2018 Ulat ng Bayan, 63 percent of the 1,800 respondents
said controlling the rising costs of commodities is their top concern.

There is a 12-percentage point rise in the proportion of Filipinos who consider inflation
an urgent national concern from the June’s 51 percent.

“This is the predominant opinion in all geographic areas (53 percent to 66 percent) and
socio-economic classes (52 percent to 65 percent),” the polling firm noted.

It is also the first and second mentioned urgent national concern of Filipinos at 31
percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Inflation rose to 6.4 percent in August, the highest level in nine years, as oil and rice
prices spiked.

In the first eight months, inflation averaged 4.8 percent—well above the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas’ 2 to 4 percent target range for the year.

In a briefing at the Palace on Thursday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque assured

the public that addressing inflation is the government's "foremost priority."

Salary hike
Improving the pay of workers ranked second on the list of concerns that the
administration of President Rodrigo Duterte should address immediately.
Half of Filipinos (50 percent) consider it an urgent national concern—a sentiment
prevailing in Metro Manila (55 percent), Visayas (59 percent) and Class ABC (52
percent).

Other top concerns

Reducing poverty (32 percent), creating jobs (30 percent), fighting graft and corruption
on government (26 percent) and combating criminality (23 percent) were the other
issues deemed urgent by Filipinos following inflation and pay hike.

Other concerns listed on the survey were promoting peace (14 percent), protecting the
environment (13 percent), reducing the amount of taxes paid by citizens (12 percent),
and enforcing the rule of law (11 percent).

Filipinos, however, seemed to be least concerned about the welfare of overseas Filipino
workers (6 percent), population growth (6 percent), terrorism (5 percent), national
territorial integrity (5 percent) and charter change (3 percent).

Assessment of government response to price increases

The same survey showed that 51 percent of Filipinos have negative assessment of the
administration’s handling of the problem of soaring prices of basic commodities.

Twenty-eight percent and 21 percent of Filipinos disapprove of the work done by the
administration on the issues of reducing poverty and increasing the pay of workers,
respectively.

Filipinos, on the other hand, are appreciative of the government’s effort to fight
criminality (83 percent), protect the welfare of OFWs (75 percent), respond to calamity-
stricken areas (74 percent), combat corruption (71 percent), enforce the rule of law (69
percent), promote peace (69 percent), protect the environment (65 percent), defend
national territory (56 percent), create more jobs (56 percent) and increase the wage of
workers (53 percent).

The latest Ulat ng Bayan was conducted from September 1 to 7 using face-to-face
interviews.

It has a + 2% error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.

'Learning is not a competition': No more 1st, 2nd or

last in class for primary and secondary students
MOE said cutting the mid-year examinations will provide students with more time to adjust
during "key transition" years.
SINGAPORE - Whether a child finishes first or last will no longer be indicated in primary and
secondary school report books from next year - a move which Education Minister Ong Ye Kung
hopes will show students that "learning is not a competition".

Report books will not just stop showing a student's position in relation to class or cohort. The
information to be dropped includes:
Class and level mean
Minimum and maximum marks
Underlining and/or colouring of failing marks
Pass/fail for end-of-year result
Mean subject grades
Overall total marks
L1R5 (English plus five relevant subjects), L1R4 , EMB3 (English, maths, best three subjects) and
EMB1 for lower secondary levels
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday (Sept 28) that the change is to allow each
student to focus on his or her learning progress and discourage them from being overly
concerned about comparisons.

From next year all examinations for Primary 1 and 2 pupils will also be removed, and whatever
forms of assessment they have will not count towards an overall grade.

The MOE said that teachers will continue to gather information about pupils' learning through
discussions, homework and quizzes. Schools will use other ways like "qualitative descriptors", in
place of marks and grades, to evaluate pupils' progress at these two levels.

For older students in primary schools and secondary schools, marks for each subject will be
rounded off and presented as a whole number, without decimal points - to reduce the focus on
academic scores. Parents will continue to receive information about their child's progress in
school during parent-teacher meetings.
In an address to some 1,700 school leaders earlier this week, Mr Ong said: "I know that 'coming
in first or second', in class or level, has traditionally been a proud recognition of a student's
achievement. But removing these indicators is for a good reason, so that the child understands
from young that learning is not a competition, but a self-discipline they need to master for life.

"Notwithstanding, the report book should still contain some form of yardstick and information
to allow students to judge their relative performance, and evaluate their strengths and
weaknesses."