Drop in fuel, agri product prices to ease inflation: PBBM

By RUTH ABBEY GITA-CARLOS

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed optimism that the drop in the prices of fuel and imported agricultural products would help tame inflation.

This, after the country’s headline inflation rate in January 2023 ticked up to 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report.

While Marcos viewed the latest development as “unfortunate,” he remained bullish that the prices of commodities would go down, considering the sliding prices of petroleum products and his administration’s efforts to boost the supply of agricultural products.

ISSUES IN EDUCATION: A CONCERN POSE

RODEL C. ENCALLADO - TEACHER 1

OWAYAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

SOUTHWEST B - DISTRICT

DIVISION OF TANGUB CITY

In the past year, major shifts occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some would argue the pandemic exposed underlying issues in all industries nationwide.

Unfortunately, the education system is one of these industries. As society progresses, our systems must adapt to the new standards we create. Leaders become better equipped when they acknowledge the system’s shortcomings. Only after that are they able to implement changes.

Classroom Size. It’s common for class sizes to fluctuate depending on population growth in a given area. However, it presents a challenge for school administration to maintain a fair student-toteacher ratio. Because schools are limited in their annual budgets, hiring more teachers may not be a feasible option.

Second is Lack of Funding

There’s no simple answer to where schools across the country receive their funding. Public school districts are typically underfunded, lead-

PH Army, USARPAC to help each other in capability dev’t

By PRIAM NEPOMUCENO

MANILA – The Philippine Army (PA) and its counterpart, the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC), have agreed to support each other in their ongoing capability development.

This came following the courtesy call of USARPAC deputy commanding general, Lt. Gen. James B. Jarrard, to PA commander, Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Tuesday.

statement.

“Salaknib” is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023 while “Balikatan” is on the second quarter of this year.

“Moreover, both Armies likewise agreed to support each other’s organizational and capability development plans, especially towards the PA’s modernization initiatives which would play a key role in revolutionizing and equipping the Army,” Trinidad added.

f ile photo

“As of now, with fuel prices going down and the prices of [agricultural] products with the importation slowly also going down, I think that we will see the effects on the inflation rate further down the road. And I sincerely believe that this is going to be as high as it’s going to get,” he said. Marcos, however, acknowledged that the measures being undertaken to ease inflation “have not yet done through the system.”

He added that it may take some time to bring down the prices of basic commodities.

“We have already taken some measures so that the supply will be greater and so that will bring the prices down but that will take a little time,” Marcos said, as he noted that agricultural products “have been a large part of the inflation rate.”

“And my continuing estimate or forecast is that by

“During the visit, Lt. Gen. Brawner and Lt. Gen. Jararrd explored a range of engagement opportunities to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The two generals also discussed the preparations on capability development and training, particularly the upcoming ‘Salaknib’ and ‘Balikatan’ exercises,” said Army spokesperson, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, in a

Joining Jarrard in his courtesy call were 19 USARPAC delegates including 25th Infantry Division (25ID) commanding general, Maj. Gen. Joseph Ryan; 25ID deputy commanding general for operations, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Van Antwerp; 1st Multi-Domain Task Force commanding general, Brig. Gen. Bernard J. Harrington; and other staff members.

Jarrard also visited the ing to a reduction in student achievement.Funding is an issue that’s long plagued the education system without proper funding, how can any industry succeed?

Third is Equity Concerns

It’s common for people to use “equity” and “equality” interchangeably. However, the two terms have distinct meanings. Simply put, equality is providing equal opportunities for all students. In contrast, equity is meeting the specific needs of a student who may be at a disadvantage. In light of the pandemic, students in lowincome families struggled to stay on top of their school responsibilities.

The first step to finding any solution for an issue is to acknowledge and identify the cause of the problem. It’s up to policymakers and leaders in the education industry to prioritize education reform to benefit students in the system. Taking on education reform can seem like a daunting task. Still, to see actual change at the classroom level, leaders must step up to the plate.

New era of Learning: Issues on Learning – Centered Teaching

21st century education poses three great challenges among teachers. Especially on the principles of learner – centered instruction. First, pupils tend to lose interest to instructions especially those do not involve with computer - aided instruction. This simply means that teacher must possess the quality of being a migrant from being an alien in terms of the manipulation that involves technology.

Second, is the teachers’ readiness to adopt these changes. Teachers are perceived to be flexible and productive in the way they should taught their pupils but contrasting to that teachers were remain traditional the way they taught their pupils. They tend not to embrace the new trends sense for them it means additional workloads.

Third is time constraints. This has been a challenge sense preparing for contex - tualized instructional devices which assures efficacy are very time consuming to prepare. It became more stressful on the part of the teacher but it needs to be overcame sense teaching is not only merely as a job description but more of it is outreaching.

Learning can effectively take place when the environment and teaching force are aligned in the attainment of the 21st century goals and objectives. When environment provides all the essentials to promote life – long learning and the teaching force are equipped with the 21st century skills, pupils will become not only a locally competent individual but a globally competent citizen. It is something to do with transformation of what has learned in the past that are not acceptable in the present scenario of the country’s educational system.

SEIZED DRUGS. The anti-narcotics campaign results in the seizure of around PHP30.9 billion worth of illegal drugs in 2022, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency reported on Tuesday (Feb 7, 2023). The PDEA also resolved 25,306 drug-related cases last year. ( c ontributed photo )

P31-B illegal drugs seized in 2022: Palace

By RUTH ABBEY GITA-CARLOS

MANILA — Around

PHP30.9 billion worth of illegal drugs have been seized during the conduct of over 37,000 law enforcement operations in 2022, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

This was revealed by Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil in a news release, citing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) 2022 accomplishment report presented to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“The government’s intensified anti-narcotics campaign has resulted to the seizure of some PHP30.9 billion worth of illegal drugs in 2022, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.,” Garafil said.

“The PDEA reported that among the commonly used drugs include methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, marijuana and methylenedioxymethamphetamine or ecstasy, with majority of those arrested last year were involved in shabu-related cases,” she added.

Garafil noted that apart from the multi-billion worth of drugs seized by law enforcement agencies, the PDEA also destroyed around PHP27.8 billion