THANKS to God, our devotion to the Sto. Nino remains strong, deep and growing. Yes, there may still be things that need to be made right and purified, but we cannot deny that this devotion has helped us greatly in pursuing the proper path toward God, especially in a world that is increasingly secularized and paganized.

Thanks to God the image of Christ as both a child and king, from swaddling clothes to kingly raiment, has truly so captured the Filipino heart that whatever situation we may find ourselves in, whether good or bad humanly speaking, we still keep our Christian faith and try our best to live by it.

On this Feast of the Sto. Niño, we are reminded that irrespective of whatever status we have in this life, it is always necessary that we be like children. Why? The quick answer to that is by becoming like children, as Christ wants us to be, we can also become king the way Christ is King.

Christ told his disciples clearly: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” (Mt 18,3-5)

Christ reiterated this necessity of being childlike a number of times during his preaching. “Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mk 10,15) St. James, in his letter, made the same affirmation. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (4,6)

We can ask what it is in children that Christ would want us to be like them? I suppose what can come to mind are the qualities of simplicity, transparency, complete trust to elders, etc.
These qualities enable us to deal with whatever situation and circumstance we can find ourselves in this life of ours here on earth. They enable us to dominate them, the way Christ dominated as king over all the possible human situations in the world.

We need to be clear about what makes for our human and Christian maturity, and how being like a child enters into the equation. We have to explode the myth that for us to attain our Christian maturity and perfection, we have to be an adult in age, with many years of experience, or popular in some religious ways, or knowledgeable about philosophy and theology. All these are helpful, but they are not the crucial elements.

What is essential is that our heart is fully conformed to God’s will, our life therefore somehow reflecting God’s goodness and holiness. And the child, with his inherent innocence and purity of heart, simplicity and openness, among other qualities, has the advantage of easily attaining that ideal almost effortlessly.

To be sure, what is being referred to here about childhood is not about the common proneness of the children to be naïve, thoughtless, or to get easily spoiled and to fall into tantrums when whims and caprices are not met.

It’s just the child’s humility, transparency and docility, among others, that make him easily drawn to God, and to the things spiritual and supernatural. These qualities lead him to believe and to trust. Talk to him about God, prayer and little sacrifices, and he gets it almost immediately and automatically.

With these qualities, we can channel in our life that transformation of the Sto. Nino from swaddling clothes to kingly raiment.

(Part one of a three-part series of articles)

What can we see in the new Roadmap for Teacher Education 2024-2033 as painstakingly wrote by the DepEd? Personally, it forwards a hopeful view that the department is seriously looking into the conditions and realities of teachers, given its wide array of tasks and responsibilities. In the very Introduction under the segment Understanding the Roadmap it recognizes that the roadmap is primarily centered on enhancing teacher and school leader quality. The recognition that human resource or human capital is the center of all the efforts in the roadmap is undeniably the best feature of the plan. That to me is a signal that good things are coming.

As the nation’s educational condition are put in the microscope due to the seemingly downslides of the metrics the same is subjected from, the DepEd is doing its job and addressing this harsh reality.

This writer attended the National Consultative Assembly on the Roadmap for Teacher Education 2024-2033 as convened by the Teacher Education Council as chaired by Vice President and Secretary Sarah Duterte and facilitated by Director Runvi Manrague and Jonas George.

Ranvi Manrague and Jonas George are officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines. Ranvi Manrague is the Director of the Bureau of Learning Resources, which is responsible for developing and producing quality, relevant, accessible, and cost-effective learning resources for basic education. Jonas George is the Director of the Private Education Office, which is responsible for providing policy direction and guidance to private schools and non-DepEd schools in the country. They are both part of the Curriculum and Teaching strand of DepEd, which is headed by Undersecretary Gina O. Gonong.
Attended by a hundred academics it was really a rare occasion wherein ideas flow freely and was met without prejudice nor frown. Ideas were celebrated and was even agreed on when it was agreeable.

The Roadmap for Teacher Education 2024-2033 of DepEd (as seen in the DepEd Website) is a comprehensive plan to improve the quality and relevance of teacher education in the Philippines. It is aligned with the Basic Education Development Plan 2030 (BEDP 2030), which is the strategic roadmap for basic education in the country1. The Roadmap for Teacher Education 2024-2033 aims to achieve the following objectives:

• To develop and implement a competency-based teacher education curriculum that is responsive to the needs and challenges of the 21st century learners and the changing education landscape.
• To strengthen the quality assurance mechanisms for teacher education institutions and programs, including accreditation, licensure, and certification.
• To enhance the professional development and welfare of teachers and school leaders, including their recruitment, deployment, performance management, and career progression.
• To foster a culture of research and innovation in teacher education, as well as collaboration and partnership among stakeholders.
This early its my prayer that this plan will be heeded and followed.

People are getting appalled by the continuous resetting of the supposed lowering of rice prices to twenty pesos per kilo in accordance with the presidential election promise of the doubtful president. About two years since the deceitful promise duped millions of gullible voters, rice prices are increasing daily to unaffordable levels.

There is no indication that rice prices would decrease in the next years until the next presidential elections. People who were duped by the presidential promise could not demand for its fulfilment as they voted for a price or even for free because they believed it is the best promise for their future and their family that willingly believed as well. The situation gets worse as income levels are stagnated below the minimum wages level.

Workers suffer from the unjust social order where businesses are adamant to workers’ demand for wage hikes. The contention is always that business will suffer losses if workers’ wages are increased to meet their demand. But over the years, business capitalists are getting richer while workers are gradually buried in the quagmire of unsettled cycle of debts. This reality dispels the capitalists’ excuse that they will suffer losses if workers’ wages are increased.

This could serve as good basis for government agencies in charge of regulating workers’ wages to tilt the balance in for wage increase as capitalists are bent on raising the same baseless if not fallacious excuse of business losses. There are clear indicators that such alleged losses are not true. The disparity in the socio-economic condition between the poor hapless workers and the business capitalists are too glaring to be ignored.

Granting workers’ wages a just treatment would lift them from their impoverished condition. It will improve their purchasing power to be able to buy the basic needs of the family, chiefly rice that had reached prices beyond the present wage levels. So far, only the rich business capitalists are able to enjoy decent living despite the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.

Meanwhile, people who relied on the campaign promise of rice prices going down to twenty pesos per kilo within the first year of the Marcos administration may just continue keeping their fingers crossed as the deadline of its fulfilment may go beyond the term of office as it is clearly a moving target.
comments to alellema@yahoo.com