Benedict Maravilla

Amid the sustained presence of China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), ‘Atin Ito’ coalition calls on the national government to include in the education curriculum the country’s maritime matters to raise awareness among the youth.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Akbayan Party.

In a Teleradyo Serbisyo interview on Feb. 22, Edicio “Ed” De la Torre, co-convenor of Atin Ito coalition emphasized the importance of education in deepening the understanding of the Filipinos towards the issue of WPS.

“Hindi puwedeng emosyonal lang [sa usapin sa WPS]. Ang tanong, nauunawaan ba natin ito? Nakita natin ang kahalagahan ng edukasyon spagkat sa kahulihulihan mas mahalagang may kalinawan, may malalim na pag-unawa [dahil] karapatan natin ito,” he stressed.

De la Torre underscored that students, as early as the first grade level, should already learn their roles as citizens of a country that faces territorial disputes.

He also underscored that there are several ways for the recommendation to be incorporated into the curriculum of the basic education, noting that it should be creatively crafted.

“Hindi [ito ipatutupad] sa isang taon lang, pero as early as even Grade 1, hindi naman kailangan napakalalim na laman, kundi gagamitin lang laging halimbawa [sa mga itinuturo],” De la Torre said. “‘Yong detalye…depende sa creativity [at] depende sa design ng curriculum,” he added.

The co-convenor explained that the proposal, if ever approved, should zero in on maintaining the historical and current-time truthfulness of the issue in the WPS, especially that the stance of Filipinos still differ from one another.

“Ang best is ma-develop ang critical thinking ng ating mamamayan…Tayong mga pilipino mismo hindi nagkakaisa sa ating posisyon dito dahil sa ignorance, prejudice, [at] dahil wrong ang information.” he cited. 

When asked why the organization wants to pass the recommendation directly to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instead of filing it in Congress to become a law, De la Torre said that the proposal is intended for immediate implementation.

“Ang batas syempre it takes a long time and better, batas. Pero magsisimula sa [executive order] para at least may immediate compulsion,” he said.

Although counting on the president’s executive order, De la Torre acknowledged that making it a law would promote longevity of the proposed WPS inclusion in school curriculum.

“Batas ang mas mahalaga…Dahil long term ito, agree [ako] na isama [ito] sa batas. Actually, application na ‘yan kasi mayroon na tayong batas tungkol sa ating maritime [law]. May existing batas—palakasin i-apply [sa edukasyon],” he said.

China still remains undeterred to date by deploying ships in the WPS despite calls from the Philippines to cease their operations.