Arroyo pushes for ‘K+10+2’ to replace current basic education program

Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is proposing a “K+10+2” basic

education program to replace the current K to 12 curriculum which, she claims, has
failed to attain its goal of producing job-ready students.

Based on House Bill No. 7893, the proposed measure will still cover kindergarten and
10 years of basic education. But after graduating, students have the option to take up
two additional years of post-secondary or pre-university education to prepare them for
professional degree studies.

“In a country like the Philippines where the poverty incidence is 18%, there should be an
option for the young to graduate from basic education soonest, after four years of high
school, so that they can help their parents in their farms or micro-businesses,” Arroyo
said in her explanatory note.

She noted that if students want to pursue tertiary education, they can prepare
themselves through the two-year post-secondary or pre-university program after high
school “to enhance their chances of succeeding in college or university and onward to
professional licensure.”
Philippine defense secretary vows to stand up to ‘bully’ China

China is behaving like a schoolyard bully toward smaller countries, the Philippine
defense secretary told CNN Friday during an exclusive interview in which he warned his
nation, and the wider world, had to stand up to Beijing’s territorial expansion in the
South China Sea.

“I cannot think of any clearer case of bullying than this,” said Philippine Secretary of
National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr. “It’s not the question of stealing your lunch
money, but it’s really a question of stealing your lunch bag, your chair and even
enrollment in school.”

His comments follow increasingly assertive moves by the Philippines to protect its claim
to shoals in the South China Sea during more than a month of high-stakes maritime
drama.

While tensions between China and the Philippines over the highly-contested and
strategic waterway have festered for years, confrontations have spiked this summer,
renewing regional fears that a mistake or miscalculation at sea could trigger a wider
conflict, including with the United States.
The region is widely seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflagration and the
recent confrontations have raised concerns among Western observers of potentially
developing into an international incident if China, a global power, decides to act more
forcefully against the Philippines, a US treaty ally.

Recent incidents have involved stand offs between China’s coast guard, what Manila
says are shadowy Chinese “maritime militia” boats and tiny wooden Philippine fishing
vessels, Chinese water cannons blocking the resupply of a shipwrecked Philippine
military outpost, and a lone Filipino diver cutting through a floating Chinese barrier.

Teodoro characterized the Philippines’ refusal to back down in the waters within its 200
nautical-mile exclusive economic zone as a fight for the very existence of the
Philippines.

“We’re fighting for our fisherfolk, we’re fighting for our resources. We’re fighting for our
integrity as an archipelagic state… Our existence as the Republic of the Philippines is
vital to this fight,” Teodoro said in a sit down interview at the Department of National
Defense in Manila. “It’s not for us, it’s for the future generations too.”

“And if we don’t stop, China is going to creep and creep into what is within our
sovereign jurisdiction, our sovereign rights and within our territory,” he said, adding that
Beijing wont stop until it controls “the whole South China Sea.”

Beijing says it is safeguarding its sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China
Sea and warned the Philippines this week “not to make provocations or seek troubles.”
It accused Philippine fishing and coast guard vessels of illegal entry into the area.

China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all 1.3 million square miles of the
South China Sea, and most of the islands and sandbars within it, including many
features that are hundreds of miles from mainland China. Along with the Philippines,
Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also hold competing claims.
Marcos: PH not looking for trouble

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines did not want to increase tension
with China by removing its controversial floating barrier, and that the country was just
defending its territory.

“In terms of taking down the barrier, I don’t see what else we could do,” Marcos,
speaking for the first time about the issue, said Friday on the sidelines of an event in
Surigao del Norte.

Earlier this week, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it removed the barrier installed
at the entrance to the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal, which is part of the country's
exclusive economic zone and a traditional fishing ground. Authorities and lawmakers
condemned the structure.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned the country against
making “provocation” or “stir[ring] up trouble.” China even dismissed the Philippines'
action as “nothing more than self-amusement.”
But Marcos said the Philippines was trying to avoid any conflict.

“Hindi tayo naghahanap ng gulo. Basta ang gagawin natin, patuloy nating ipagtatanggol
ang Pilipinas, ang maritime territory ng Pilipinas, ang mga karapatan ng mga fishermen
natin na mangisda doon sa mga areas kung saan sila nangigisda daang-daang taon
na,” the chief executive said.

Marcos added that after the PCG got rid of the barrier, local fishermen were able to
catch over 160 tons of fish in just one day.

Later that day, the PCG presented to the media the anchor of the barrier installed by
China.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said this
proved that the country got rid of the structure after the China Coast Guard claimed that
Filipinos fabricated the act.

“And the videos and the photos that we show the world is already a clear proof that we
are not fabricating this story,” he added.

But despite the removal of the barrier, Tarriela said it remains a struggle for Filipino
fishermen to enter the lagoon.

He reported that during a maritime domain awareness flight on Thursday over

Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines spotted Chinese vessels, including maritime militia,
guarding the lagoon.

The PCG also reported that Beijing had six radio challenges against Philippine
authorities during the flight.

While Tarriela said limited resources would prevent the PCG from constant presence at
the disputed shoal, he vowed the agency would increase presence in the area to assist
Filipino fishermen.