Senator Loren Legarda yesterday urged government to focus on "viable and relevant" education to make effective use of the P150 million proposed in the 2008 national budget, which is the biggest allocation for the sector so far.

"The contribution to our highly-skilled and highly-competitive human capital should be a sizable portion of our GDP. Only a competitive education system can lay the foundation for this," she said. The P150 million proposed budget could be a big boost to education if wisely spent on programs that really matter, she said.

Legarda, who spoke before members of the Negros Occidental Teachers Federation in Bacolod City, also said she is filling a bill that seeks to give a fair and just compensation package to teachers, enough to give them decent lives.

It is an amendment to the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers to make their pay at par with private school teachers, she said.

"We cannot overstate the need to increase the pay of teachers, give them the full dignity and pride due to the teaching profession and allow them to fully bloom in the profession," Legarda said.

Teachers should be beneficiaries of year-round training and retraining, she said.

"In many developed economies, training and retraining of skilled workers and professionals is called the strategic new frontier in maintaining competitiveness," she said.

Legada stressed that for the basic education sector the central thrust should be Back to Basics.

This means building enough classrooms, with science laboratories and well equipped libraries, as well as dedicated teachers who are well-motivated by higher compensation and perks, she said.

Legarda also stressed the need to establish "smart classrooms" that are wired with computer and Internet connections.

"National realities and global imperatives have practically spelled out for us the thrust and direction of our education programs," she said.

"This is to provide generic adequacy to students in the fields of science, match, reading and writin, which should be the basic objectives of schools, along with courses in civics and culture," she said.

"We should train scientists and engineers, from nuclear physicists to hard-core workers in the Information Communications Technology fields," she said.

She also stressed the need to train the best accountants, finance men and industrial designers, and for turning universities into enclaves for research and development.

Legada said she is also refilling her bill seeking to create an ICT Department to make the Philippines at par with other Asian countries, like India.

She also stressed the need for others to train in technical skills that the manufacturing and services sectors need from world class welders, to bartenders.

"Superior skills will vest our workers with a competitive edge either in the domestic or global job market," she said.

'TREES ARE OUR FRIENDS'

After a press conference yesterday morning Legarda planted an Ipil tree at the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation's Biodiversity Conservation Center next to the Capitol Lagoon Park in Bacolod City.

She said the planting was symbolic of the need for everyone, especially politicians, to be mindful of the value of trees. "Trees are our friends and protectors," Legarda said. "They produce life-giving oxygen and remove air pollution as they lower air temperature, release moisture into the air, and trap dust and other particulates harmful to people."

She added that trees prevent erosion by holding soil in place and slowing runoff from storms, allowing rainfall to percolate into the soil. Along streams trees help reduce floods and erosion by slowing water and trapping sediments.

Legarda was joined by NFEFI chairman Gerry Ledesma and trustee Robert Harland during the tree-planting activity.*CPG

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