Press Release
August 5, 2020

OPENING REMARKS
Senator Joel Villanueva

Mapagpalang araw po sa ating lahat.

Im sure alam na alam ng ating mga kasamahan, sina Chairman Popoy, DDG Rose at ng aking mga kasamahan sa Senado -alam po nila yung halos araw-araw na pag webinar, pag zoom meeting, pag conduct ng mga gaitong pagtitipon, I'm sure naranasan po natin ito. I'm sure lahat po tayo ay naka log-in ngayon sa Cisco Webex may konting worry na baka mag hang up ang connectivity natin anytime

This worry stems from the fact that the Philippines remain a laggard in terms of digital adoption. Last year, Speedtest Global Index ranked the Philippines 103rd out of 139 countries in terms of internet speed.

Mas lalo po nating nakikita ngayon ang kabagalan ng internet sa bansa because we are all working or learning from home. Unfortunately, connectivity issues affected the implementation of the Open Distance Learning Act - imagine, after more than 5 years since the enactment of this law, only 22 HEIs offer distance education programs .

It's for this reason that we have filed Senate Resolution No. 383 to know how we can strengthen ODL amid the pandemic that has made all the more urgent the shift to online and other alternative modes of learning for our colleges and universities and TVET Institutions.

In line with this, Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino has also filed Senate Bill No. 1459 or the establishment of a Tertiary Online Education and Distance Learning Office to help CHED develop guidelines and quality standards for the implementation of online and distance learning, especially in times of national emergencies.

We are all aware that the shift to online learning within the shortest time and the lack of preparation of many schools have caused anxiety and resistance among students and faculty members. Halimbawa, sa isang Facebook post, naglabas ng sama ng loob ang estudyante ng isang SUC. Ang sabi po n'ya:

"Sobrang naiinis ako sa sarili ko ngayong araw dahil hindi man lang ako makasali sa online class namin. Nagpa-load ako ng GS50 (GoSurf50 ng Globe) pero hindi pala sapat 'yun. Kahapon, sinubukan kong magsign-in sa "Microsoft Teams" para makasali sa online class namin ngayong araw kaso hanggang ngayon "loading" pa rin. Tapos hanggang sa hindi na kinaya ng data, ako na ang sumuko." "Ang hirap namang mag-access ng klase namin. Naiiyak na lang ako kasi ang mga classmates ko may attendance pero ako wala. Nakakahiya namang manghingi ng pang-load kasi ngayon lang nakabalik sa trabaho si Tatay. Gustuhin ko man mag-comply sa mga requirements pero ang hirap talaga ng internet connection ." Ito po ang sabi ng isang estudyante sa Facebook.

Perhaps, this kind of situation prompted Senator Lito Lapid "Pinuno" to file Senate Bill No. 1538 which seeks for a moratorium on student loan payment to ease the burden of families during disasters.

In Central Mindanao University, only 56% of students have internet connection . And while we are happy to know that there are universities which are already discussing plans to give a gadget subsidy to their students, we also regret to hear other univeristies/students saying - "sana all".

The faculty members, being the front liners of the educative process, also warrants full support. And it's good to know that some SUCs like the Philippine Normal University will provide for a "Flexible Teaching and Connectivity Allowance" in the amount of P1,000 per month from September to December 2020 for its 366 faculty members while Technological University of the Philippines has sought for the approval of a "Pandemic Allowance" for reasonable expenses incurred during work-from-home arrangement in the amount of P5,000 .

Ang sabi po ng isang propesor na nakausap natin: "Pang-upgrade sa internet subscription ang dagdag na allowance para 'yung plan 499, pwede ko ng itaas sa plan 1199. Ang hirap na rin in the middle of your Zoom meeting, ma-cut-off ang internet access mo."

Alam ninyo habang nagsasalita po ako, yan din ang aking worry.

Sa gitna ng pandemya, walang maliit o malaking ayuda dahil lahat pwedeng makapagpagaan sa sitwasyon na ating kinasasadlakan lalo na ng ating mga estudyante at kaguruan. That's why I'm happy to inform you that "Bayanihan 2" includes P3 billion for assistance to state universities and colleges, specifically for the development of "smart campuses" to implement flexible learning methods.

Muli, maraming Salamat sa ating mga collegaues, especially to Sen. Pia Cayetano, who's very passionate about this.

Last May, Chair de Vera said that only 20% of state universities and colleges (SUCs) are equipped to conduct online classes this coming school year. In the recent BOR meetings that we attended this August, we found out that the level of preparedness to adopt flexible learning considerably vary across SUCs: PHILSCA, for example, has migrated only 10% of its courses to flexible learning while Pangasinan State University claims that it's already 90% prepared for flexible learning.

I can only surmise that this is the context of our colleague Senator Lito Lapid's Senate Resolution No. 415 which seeks to determine the feasibility of creating an online educational delivery platform that will be accessible to all tertiary education institutions, teachers and students.

Ang mga private HEIs, most especially 'yung mga maliliit na mga colleges, kailangang-kailangan din po nila ng tulong dahil nasa 60% lang ang kayang magpatupad ng "flexible learning" ayon po sa COCOPEA.

The Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) expects that enrollment in private higher education institutions will drop by up to 50%. This is equivalent to roughly 1.5 million to 2 million students seen to leave private schools.

Ito po ang pangunahing dahilan ng pagsasara ng ilang mga pribadong kolehiyo ngayong may pandemya. Masakit po ito para sa isang kabataang nangangarap makapagtapos sa napili o pinagsimulan n'yang paaralan. Masakit po para sa isang kabataang nangangarap makapagtapos sa napili at nasimulan na niyang paaralan, pero mas masakit po hindi lang sa estudyante kundi sa kanya ring mga magulang, mahal sa buhay ang malamang hindi makapasa sa board exam o hirap makapasok sa trabaho ang napa-graduate nilang anak.

Ano po ang pinupunto ko: naniniwala po tayo that education must continue and it seems that there is no better way to ensure learning continuity amid the pandemic than the use of digital and non-digital technology pero kailangan po nating matiyak na hindi maaapektuhan ng "flexible learning" modality ang kalidad ng ating mga graduates at ang kanilang kasanayan para makaseguro na may oportunidad o trabaho sila ngayon at sa post-COVID-19 future.

In this regard, I also filed Senate Resolution No. 376 to look into the preparedness of our colleges and universities including TVET institutions in the "new normal" education and ensure quality of graduates and alignment to our industries and the labor job market.

Finally, batid ko po ang bigat ng ating trabaho sa nagdaang mga buwan. Ang mga panukalang batas at resolusyon na pag-uusapan natin ngayon ay maaaring dagdag muli sa ating trabaho at mga responsibilidad. Subalit tiwala po ako na kahit gaano kabigat ang ating pinagdaraanan ngayon dahil sa pandemya, hinding-hindi tayo mauubusan ng lakas dahil sa atin umaasa ang milyon-milyong mga estudyante at kaguruan sa lahat ng ating mga pamantasan at training institution sa buong bansa.

Muli, magandang umaga at maraming Salamat po sa inyong lahat.

_______________

1. Senate Resolution No. 383
2. Posted in the Freedom Wall of TUP FB Page
3. Higher Ed Hearing Briefer
4. Approved by the PNU Board of Regents on August 3, 2020
5. Deferred by the TUP Board of Regents following the opinion of the OGCC that the proposal lacked legal basis.

News Latest News Feed