As more Filipinos express dissatisfaction with the K-to-12 program, Rep. Roman Romulo is dangling an option for Grade 10 students: to leapfrog senior high school straight into college. But there’s a hitch: Tenth graders must pass an “honors” examination to land into a college of their choice. Otherwise, they need to complete Grades 11 and...
Category: News
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Addiction to online gambling is a sickness from which those hooked can (slowly) recover
“Pedro” was tearful as he began to speak. “I really want to stop. My life is already being affected,” the 30-year-old said in Filipino. It was July 10 and Pedro’s first time to attend a session of Recovering Gamblers Philippines, a nonprofit established to help and guide compulsive gamblers in overcoming their addiction and regaining...
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In support of zero hunger through sustained, strengthened food rescue partnership
How to address hunger among Filipinos was the point of discussion at a recent Zero Summit led by Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Philippines, a food rescue and environment foundation that saves good-quality surplus food and makes this available to vulnerable communities. Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in the Philippines with 27.2% of Filipinos experiencing...
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Blended learning seeks to address classroom shortage, but outcome may be worse
In the postpandemic era, the Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City stands out for attempting to pioneer blended learning for its more than 15,000 students. With only 90 classrooms fit for 3,500 learners and no space to build more rooms, the administrators split Grades 7 to 10 students into morning and afternoon shifts,...
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An Agta wedding in the Sierra Madre demonstrates the precarity of tradition
It was not yet 6 a.m. and I was bouncing on the back of a hired motorcycle (locally called habal) navigating the rocky, slippery mountain road that leads to the sitio in General Nakar, Quezon, where I was to attend an Agta wedding. I had taken a bus past midnight in Manila and arrived a...
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Mayor Leni Robredo takes office, pledges transparency and good governance in Naga City
NAGA CITY—In her first day in office as the first woman to hold the mayor’s seat in her home city, Leni Robredo vowed to “purge corruption” at City Hall and promote transparency and good governance. “We will make Naga once more a center of good governance, development, and innovation, enhancing and sustaining the good governance...
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Filipino students’ functional illiteracy is a ‘real and widespread learning crisis’
A stone’s throw from the House of Representatives’ sprawling complex in Quezon City is a congested public elementary school literally crawling with thousands of students, including a great number struggling with their ABC. When he took over as principal at the President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in 2024, Gerry Isip made a startling discovery:...
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Senate move to send back impeachment complaint fuels protests anew
Various organizations took to the streets after the Senate voted to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, a motion that demonstrators and constitutional experts contend is unconstitutional. While the Senate maintains it is seeking clarification, the move has fueled speculation of a deliberate attempt to defer...
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Senate impeachment court convened, votes to remand complaint to House
Convened as an impeachment court Tuesday night, the Senate voted to toss back the complaint against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives for it to certify that it’s not constitutionally infirm. The senator-judges voted 18–5 to approve Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s motion to remand the complaint to the House so the...
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Senators are taking ‘baby steps’ toward trying the Vice President–De Lima
Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on Monday night, in what Representative-elect Leila de Lima called “baby steps” toward finally hearing the complaint against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. On Sen. Joel Villanueva’s motions, Escudero was sworn in by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., and the senators...