Getting “Dumb and Dumber” Under Gloria

(Below is a statement of different youth and student organizations, under the banners of Freedom from Debt Coalitionand Laban ng Masa, stating the real situation of the Filipino youth, in time for the State of the Nation Address)

This coming 24th of July 2006, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be deliverign another set of promises in her State of the Nation Address supposedly to hel eradicate poverty, promote development and build sustainable peace. However, the Filipino youth and students can´t help but wonder where all this promises will lead to. Lest we forget, this is the same Mrs. Arroyo, pretending to be the president who at the zenith of EDSA 2 uprising recited a litany of promises and guarantees allegedly to defend and advance the genuine interest of the people, especially of the youth and students who gave power to EDSA 2. And yet, these promises, much more the pledge of assurance from Mrs. Arroyo, are still waiting to be fulfilled.

Five years under the disputed leadership of Mrs. Arroyo, the Filipino youth and students are uneducated, indebted abd hungry.

Last year alone, the education sector´s share in the fiscal pie went down by 27.9 percent. A large part of the education budget just went to financing personnel serviceswhiel funding for books, building and teaching tools was a measly 4.1 percent. Our country only spends 2.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on education while comparable countries within the Medium Deevelopment bracket spend an average of 4.41 percent according to the recent United Nations Human Development Report.

Proof of this is the dismal state of our education system. As of now:

1 of 10 Filipinos has never gone to school (6.8 million)

1 in 6 Filipinos is not functionally literate (9.6 million)

4.1 million are illiterate

11.6 million are out of school-youth

More than half (51 percent) of Filipinos had atmost elementary education

Out of 1,000 Grade 1 pupils, only 688 will finish their elementary education and only 7 will acquire teh required competency skills

Of 100 students enrolled in  Grade 1, only 13 will finish college

The Philippines has one of the most crowded classroom in Asia.Class size is 55 to 56 students per classroom.

Textbook shortage is pegged at 25 million

Public school teracher shortage is close to 50, 000

8.5 percent of schoolchildren are malnourished. Public schools are lacking in a comprehensive school based, institutionalized child nutrition program

On the other hand, debt servicing has been increasing in proportion to the total annual budget. From 2002 – 2005, the average debt to expenditure ratio is 63.60 percent of our national budget. Conceretely, durign this schort time, Mrs. Arroyo spent a total of PhP 2.83 trillion just to pay onerous and unjust debts. Enough money to augment much needed social services like eductaion. This also means, every single Filipino even the newly born has a debt of PhP 46, 901.00.

More than ever, unde the tutelage of Mrs. Arroyo, the Filipino youth and students have never been more uneducated and drowned in so much debt. Truly, ang utang ni Gloria na lumulobo ay nakakabobo!  

This is the real situation of the Filipino youth. This is what Mrs. Arroyo is not talking about in her blissful SONAs. This is the problem yearly drowned in empty promises, hollow rhetorics and orchestrated standing ovations. This is the crisis our government is refusing to admit and address.

Without a doubt, this year´s SONA will be like all previous SONAs. Rich in theatrics and promises. Nothing more, nothing less.

Because of this, Filipino youth reaffirm their commitment to safeguard and press forward our genuine rigth to quality, relevant and accessible education for all. This coming 21st of July 2006, we will give this government a taste of what it can expect from the militant youth and stduent movement come SONA time. In a time where turncoatism and hopelessness seems to define this particular juncture of our history, the Filipino youth and students will remain vigilant, militant and unwavering in their responsibility to help build a better future  – free from debt, free from Gloria!

Thus our calls remain:

Education for all!

Repeal the Automatic Appropriations Law on debt servicing!

Convene a Congressional Debt Audit!

Rechannel budget for debt servicing to education and other social services!

Oust the fake Arroyo regime!

Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Laban ng Masa (LnM), Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Lakas ng Kabataan (ALYANSA), Filipino Democratic Students Union (FDSU) ISKOLAR-UP Manila, KAISA-UP Diliman, Kalayaan Youth, Kabataan KOntra Kahirapan (KKK), Liga ng Sosyalistang Kabataan (LSK), Movement for the Advancement of Student Power (MASP), PADAYON Youth, Piglas Kabataan (PK), Sanlakas Youth (SY), Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK), Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP), and Youth for Nationalism and Democracy