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Sharon Cuneta, Kiko Pangilinan hinabla si Cristy Fermin ng cyber libel

MANILA, Philippines — Technical-voca tional skills training will soon be given to all senior high school students regardless of strand or area of study after the government’s three education agencies agreed to streamline their policies to produce more employable graduates.

The Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Skills De velopment Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) signed a joint memorandum circular on Friday that embeds Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in all senior high school tracks. The Department of Labor and Employment is also a co-signatory.

An earlier TESDA press release said its purpose is to “equip high school graduates with industry-relevant skills and knowledge” by including at least one training regulation (a set of competencies for a certain industry or sector) in every grade level in the SHS. By the time a student graduates from senior high school, they would have earned two National Certificates (NCs). 

DepEd and TESDA also signed another joint memora ndum circular on Friday that requires senior high school students taking the technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) track to undergo assessments to receive a National Certificate (NC) from TESDA. An NC serves as official proof of a person’s mastery of a skill or competency when applying for jobs locally and abroad.

It’s currently optional for Grade 12 students on the TVL track to undergo assessments, which is needed to be issued a NC for their skills. Due to the apparent cost of applying for an assessment (average cost being P1,000 per individual) based on TESDA data, only a quarter of senior high school graduates received certificates for School Year 2019-2020. 

The 2024 General Appropriations Act has funding for the mandatory assessment of Grade 12 TVL learners, as well as a “capability building program” for more DepEd teachers to become accredited competency assessors, TESDA s aid in its press release.

The finalization of curriculum guides and pilot implementation in select schools and regions will be conducted in 2025 to assess the effectiveness of the program before the launch of the revised SHS curriculum, according to TESDA.

DepEd’s senior high school program differentiates those taking the academic track from the technical-vocational track. The academic track consists of three strands: Business, Accountancy, Management (ABM); Humanities, Education, Social Sciences (HUMSS); and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM). 

These academic strands do not have technical-vocational skills training as part of their curriculum. Students instead gain some measure of work experience through 80 hours of work immersion, which private sector group Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) said may be inadequate for employers to consider students as work-ready.

In a 2017 study by PBEd, out of the 70 leading companies across all sectors in the Philippines, only 20% were willing to accept senior high school graduates.  

While technical vocational courses remain popular among Filipinos looking to upskill, latest available data shows that graduates of technical vocational programs mostly end up in minimum-wage jobs. 

From 2010 to 2014, TESDA graduates earned only around P10,000 per month on average, according to the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP) 2018 to 2022.

RELATED: Most TESDA graduates earn less than minimum wage

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II) identified the absence of cooperation among the country’s three education agencies as an obstacle to enhancing current policies related to students’ learning. 

The finding, as detailed in Edcom II’s Year One report, said that the historial context behind the “trifocalization” of the Philippines’ education system, which led the then-sole education agency to split into three different bodies, exposed the “lack of effective coordination among education agencies.”

While several laws and executive orders require the three education agencies to work together, Edcom II found that these have not always been followed effectively.

“The scope is either too specific or too broad. Some interagency committees have a very narrow focus, such as the Interagency Committee on Economic and Financial Literacy, convened in line with RA 10922. This does not foster the systems perspective needed to orchestrate the sector as a whole,” Edcom II said. 

Edcom II also pointed out that some interagency bodies have “weak institutional arrangements and capacity.”

“Irregularity of meetings and lack of continuity were commonly cited issues in coordinating DepEd, CHED, and TESDA,” Edcom II added. 

MANILA, Philippines — Naghain ng reklamong cyber libel ang mag-asawang sina Sharon Cuneta at dating Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan laban sa showbiz columnist na si Cristy Fermin dahil sa mga diumano’y malisyosong ipinagkakalat sa personal nilang buhay.

Biyernes nang magtungo sa Makati City Prosecutor’s Office ang mag-asawa. Matatandaang nagkahiwalay sina Ate Shawi at Kiko ngunit nagkabalikan na kamakakailan.

“[We filed this] dahil sa malicious imputations and defamation of our personal lives. Sabi nga namin, yes we are public figures but we also have rights,” ani Pangilinan sa media.

“Eh ang daming nagsasabi na ‘hindi, pag public figure kayo dapat tiisin na ninyo yung pagsisinungaling at paninira’ but that’s not the case. In fact, we also have private rights, lalo na when the matter is not of public interest.”

Dagdag ni Cuneta, mabigat ito sa kanya lalo na’t 2021 nang subukan niyang makipag-aayos kay Nanay Cristy tungkol sa anumang hindi pagkakaintindihan noon.

Gayunpaman, may hangganan din daw ito nang maapektuhan na ang mga anak nina Sharon at Kiko dahil sa artikulo tungkol sa “Megastar,” kanyang buhay-mag-asawa at pamilya.

Hindi rin napigilan ng singer-actress maging emosyonal nang mapag-usapan ang ilang bagay na nabanggit ni Fermin sa kanyang YouTube channel na “Shobiz Now Na.”

“Kasi kahit hindi totoo, parang siyempre kahit papaano may limang maniniwala,” dagdag pa ng aktres, ito habang idinidiing hindi siya mahilig magsampa ng mga kahalintulad na reklamo.”

“I reached out to her. I had so much affection for her kasi feeling ko ang tanda na natin, ang tanda ko na. I was only looking for good points. And then after a while, parang suddenly I was shocked may konting lalabas, hinusgahan ka na agad. ‘Di ka man lang tinanong. There’s so much unfairness.”

Isang linggo pa lang ang nakalilipas nang ireklamo rin ng cyber libel ni Bea Alonzo si Fermin at Ogie Diaz. Ang huli ay host din ng sariling show sa Youtube.

Una nang sinabi ni Cristy na inirerespeto niya ang karapatan ni Bea magsampa ng reklamo, habang idinidiing handa siyang harapin ito. Gayunpaman, hindi raw nito mapipigilan ang karapatan niya sa pamamahayag.

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