An Analysis in Article XIV of Philippines Constitution

ARTICLE XIV
EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORTS
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
EDUCATION
The State must provide quality education for all and does everything to reach out the farthest
community to educate each citizen of the country for free as much as possible. Provision for
formal and informal education in all kinds of citizen must be offered to respond to the needs of
each individual and the society. All educational institutions public, private, sectarian or non-
sectarian must include the study of constitutions and religion to promote nationalism, patriotism
and inculcate values. Teaching and non-teaching personnel have their own role to be educator on
their own way. Everybody is free to choose the course to be taken up in college as long as it is
within its ability and capacity.
Reflection

The program of GMA which is “Biyaheng Totoo” last December 2009,

shown the ten poorest places here in the Philippines and these are the rural
places which are the farthest communities. It seems that these places are not
known anymore by the government because they even do not know what is
happening to the city because of lack of electricity to be updated to what is
happening around them; no school or if there is, two or more hours are needed
to reach it through walking. How can they still think to be educated if the basic
food they need is also a problem.
In other countries especially in Japan, Great Britain and Russia, the state is
the one responsible for the education of the students unlike here in the
Philippines, although they claim that education is free but it’s not. They provide
very low budget for education and after that leave the responsibility to each
school to support their program which they call decentralization. Yes, it’s true
that every employee in the school is considered educator but still, self and
spiritual growth must be within each individual to be a good educator to every
student inside the classroom.
Everybody is free to choose any course as long as it’s within their
capacity but it is not controlled by the government because the state is not strict
to the policy of colleges and universities. It is very easy to get a license to put up
a school. The government is very lax on the criteria to meet before building up
an educational institution. The outcome of the students predicts the condition of
the country in the future. I think it’s better ifthe national test like National
College Achievement Examination (NCAE) will be used to identify the students
who are capable to a certain course to take in college.
Updates

The Philippine commitment to EFA global movement was translated

intoPhilippine National Plan of Action to Achieve Education for All By Year
2015.The country’s National Plan of Action was approved by Social Development
Committee composed of several government agencies in 2006.
The focus of this document is on basic education that will provide basic
learning needs towards the achievement of functional literacy. This stretched the
scope of education to formal and nonformal systems.
This further encompasses the entire society, including the national and local
government agencies and civil society organizations as responsible for the
provision of the basic learning needs. Therefore, education is made as a societal
responsibility, debunking the notion that education rests solely upon the
Department of Education.
Philippine EFA is a vision
EFA envisions that by 2015, the Philippine is an educated nation where
citizens are functionally literate. Functional literacy is indicated by the ability to
communicate, to solve problem, to sustainably use resources, to develop oneself
and to see the world through a broad perspective.
Specifically, Philippine EFA 2015 aims to make:
• All youth and adults functionally literate
• Children 3-5 year-olds ready to participate in schools to eliminate dropout
and repetition in Grades 1 to 3
• All pupils and students complete the basic education with satisfactory
achievement level
• Education be made a societal responsibility
Philippine EFA is a program of reform
To attain EFA, quality of and access to education must be improved. This
requires a holistic program of reform. This reform can be achieved by performing
nine urgent and critical tasks.

NINE EFA Tasks

Production Tasks
a. Make every school continuously perform better
b. Make expansion of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)
coverage to yield more EFA benefits
c. Transform non-formal and informal interventions into an alternative
learning system (ALS) yielding more EFA benefits
d. Promote practice of high quality teaching
e. Adopt a 12-year program for formal basic education to the existing 10-year
basic education schooling.
f. Accelerate articulation, enrichment, development of the basic education
curriculum in the context of the pillars of new functional literacy
Enabling Task
g. Provide adequate and stable public funding for country-wide attainment of
EFA goals.
h. Create a network of community-based groups for local attainment of EFA
goals.
i. Monitor progress in efforts towards attainment of EFA goals. Of particular
importance is the development and implementation of indicators of
“quality education”.
LANGUAGE
The national language of the Philippines is Filipino and it must be learned further than
other language evolves within the country. English is provided to facilitate instruction and further
communication. Other languages such as Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and
optional basis. Researches must lead to development and preservation of Filipino and other
languages.
Reflection

I agree to the part of this article that as Filipino, every citizen must be a
master of his/her own language. English must be a must for every Filipino for
globalization; it opens communication to other places around the world. I suggest
that at early age of the students especially in their pre-primary years additional
Asian language must be taught because we are part of the continent.
Updates

On December 2007, Philippinepresident Gloria Macapagal Arroyoannounced

that Spanish is to make a return as a mandatory subject in all Filipino schools
starting in 2008.
Last June 2009, the Spanish language was included in the curriculum of
secondary schools as an elective. The 15 pilot schools were selected by DepEd
regional offices based on Mean Percentage Score in English, ability to provide
substitute teachers to take over the classes of teachers in training, and availability
of classrooms and support facilities and equipment.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The State has
to give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their utilization; and to
science and technology education, training, and services. It must support indigenous, appropriate,
and self- reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country’s
productive systems and national life.
Reflection
I read an article on the Internet during my research recently and it was posted on
September 8, 2008. It discusses about Neglect of RP science and technology
holding back progress. It says that the government should invest heavily in science
and technology development, as well aseducation, to lay the foundation for the
country’s long-term progress. Solita Monsod, a University of the Philippines
economics professor and the director general of the National Economic and
Development Authority during the Aquino government, made the pitch for science
and technology as awards were given to 10 of the government’s outstanding
scholars in the field. Monsod lamented the perennially low budget of government
for research and development (R&D) despite its potential as a key to the country's
econmic growth.
"Science and technology is about the most powerful tool, probably at least
equal to education, in addressing the problems of development," said Monsod.
"Unfortunately, like education, science and technology in the Philippines is
not really given the importance that it should have," she said at the event marking
DOST's 50th anniversary.
This is the reality that happened two years ago and today. Nothing change;
the government has its personal undertakings why science and technology cannot
be given priority. Advancement and development of a country lie in research.
Many Filipinos have potentials in this field but the government cannot support
them. Researchers go abroad to get support in other country that benefit in their
intelligence.
May the next president of the Philippines set behind personal intentions to
see clearly what our country really need to move on and start going farther for
global development.
Updates

As one of the responds of DepEd to the continuous development of in the area of

Science and Technology, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) take its part
in the Research Activities for Manpower Development and Planning. Projects to
continuously upgrade the research capabilities of science and mathematics teachers are
undertaken. Grants are provided to teacher-proponents who develop successful modules
and/or instructional materials to improve the learning of science and mathematics in
schools. The results of the research projects are documented, published and distributed
as ready reference materials for teachers.

ARTS AND CULTURE

The State must foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino
national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and
intellectual expression. Arts and letters will enjoy the patronage of the State. The State has to
conserve, promote, and popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as
well as artistic creations. All the country’s artistic and historic wealth constitutes the cultural
treasure of the nation and must under the protection of the State which may regulate its
disposition. The State has to recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural
communities to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. The State must
ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the educational system, public or private
cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives, and community cultural centers, and
other public venues. The State shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and
culture.
Reflection

Even that the Philippines is influenced by western culture but it is still very
rich in the national arts and culture that is why the Philippines has been named
"cultural capital" of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) for 2010 and 2011, according to presidential adviser on culture Cecile
Guidote-Alvarez.
The major cultural agencies of government are the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, the National Historical Institute, the National Museum, TheNational
Library, the Records Management and Archives Office, and the Commission on the
Filipino Language. The Heads of these cultural agencies are all ex-officio members
of the NCCA Board and all except the Commission on the Filipino Language are
together under the National Commission on Culture and Arts are working hand in
hand with the Department of Education to openly show how rich is the culture and
arts of the Philippines to the Filipino students for them to be proud and
continually preserve and enrich the Filipino national culture.
Updates

In accordance to the support in the Philippine Constitution in preserving the

cultural and artistic traditions the Department of Education is continuously releasing
DepEd Orders and the recent is DepEd Order No. 71 a. 2007 constituting a special
committee on culture and arts. The following committee shall have the following
functions:
a. Develop, strengthen, and implement an integrated Culture and Arts program in
line with the Education for All program of the Department;
b. Formulate guidelines in the development, implementation, and strengthening of
the integrated program;
c. Conduct or cause the conduct of capacity-building activities, trainings, workshops,
seminars and conferences;
d. Recommend policy/program intervention and/or issuances;
e. Establish partnerships/linkages with stakeholders in government and the private
sector;
f. Monitor, assess, and evaluate the implementation of the integrated program;
g. Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Secretary.
SPORTS
The State must promote physical education and encourage sports programs, league
competitions, and amateur sports, including training for international competitions, to foster self-
discipline, teamwork, and excellence for the development of a healthy and alert formulation of
national plans and policies. All educational institutions shall undertake regular sports activities
throughout the country in cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors.
Reflection

Einstein no doubt had an excellent sense of humor. He formulated a formula

of success which is: SUCCESS=WORK + PLAY + KEEPING YOUR MOUTH SHUT!! I
want to focus on PLAY; Albert Einstein as a scientist and philosopher also
recommend that play is part of success. Having fun and making some relaxation after
hard work complete a person. This is the reason that is why the DepEd still takes
care of the physical activities of the students through sports.
The result of the 2009 South East Asian Games held in Vientiene, Laos shows
that among eleven countries, the Philippines ranked number fifteen. The senate is
not satisfied with this kind of performance that is why they take a closer look to this
issue. January 7, 2010, the Senate committee on Games, Amusements and Sports held
a public hearing to discuss various concerns in Philippine sports. Discussions will
touch on the "dismal" performance of Filipino athletes in international events and
how the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee plans
to rectify that in future stints abroad.
For me the, the standing of our athletes are fine as long as we excel in other
areas like academics, culture and arts. As developing country we have to take one
step at a time, develop our human resources wherein we know we can excel so that
we can take pride to even one area of competions abroad.
Updates

This November 28, 2009, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus called for public and
private sector teamwork to advance sports research and integration of sciences in
the training of coaches and athletes.
Lapus is batting for the creation of a Sports Academy to institutionalize and
professionalize training in sports. He keynoted today the ”Seminar on New Trends
and Innovation on Coaching Athletic Sports” organized by the Private Schools
association of Parañaque (PSAP), held at the Olivares College Stadium in Sucat,
Parañaque.
Lapus strongly pushed for students’ well-rounded development involving
physical, mental and spiritual growth. He cited the importance of a sound mind and
sound body. He pointed out that the people’s champion Manny Pacquiao is the
poster boy of DepEd’s Alternative Learning System.