ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, CONSERVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

KNOWLEDGE CHANNEL - FUNDRAISING WALKATHON LAKAD MO, PANGARAP KO, 10 October 2004, EDSA -USC, Pasig City

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and thank you Mr. __________ for that kind introduction.

It’s a pleasure to be here today at the “Lakad Mo, Pangarap Ko” fundraising walkathon. I would like to thank the Knowledge Channel Foundation and its Chairman, Mr. Oscar Lopez for inviting me to be the Keynote Speaker for this event – it IS indeed a great honor to be in the company of philanthropists who took time out from their hectic corporate and personal daily scheduleS just to ORGANIZE this walkathon for a very noble cause.

Upon reading your invitation for this walkathon i did not hesitate to accept IT and even looked forward to THE EVENT. as you all know, dzmm, the sister company of the knowledge channel also spearheads a walkathon with a worthy cause (for the environment), the “takbo para sa kalikasan,” which i join every year. you see, it Is these sort of events that make me proud TO BE CONSIDERED A “ka-pamilya,” as i not only get a chance to walk and exercise (which is good for the health), i also get to do this fun and healthy activity knowing that this is for a very worthy cause, as it WILL BENEFIT THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM of our country, specifically our public school system.

This event clearly supports our president, gloria macapagal arroyo’s goal of IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND providing access to QUALITY EDUCATION, as declared in the ten-point agenda. we all know that the low quality of basic public education in this country contributes to the perpetuation of poverty among our filipino families and to our country’s underdevelopment.

This project aims to help alleviate poverty by increasing the math, science and other competencies of poor public schoolchildren by introducing educational television into the public educational system in the Philippines. This will be done by equipping elementary and secondary public schools with the Knowledge Channel (KCh), the only all-educational cable television channel in the Philippines run by Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc., (KCFI), which has curriculum-based programs. Access to KCh will be provided by cabling schools in urban areas reached by cable TV service or by installing satellite DISHES AND receivers in remote public schools which are most in need of educational investments. With increased knowledge, the target beneficiaries gain a definite edge and stand a better chance of earning well for their families in the future.

This will also equalize the learning opportunities between the well-off students in the developed urban areas and THE marginalized students in our remote barrios. secretary butch abad and the ENTIRE GOVERNMENT MACHINERY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION can attest to the fact that The quality of grade school and high school students from public schools has been progressively deteriorating; indications of which are below average scores in standard achievement tests. In the Third International Mathemathics and Science Study-Repeat conducted in 1999, which measures the math and science aptitude of 13 year old students, the Philippines ranked #51 in a field of 54 countries included in the study.

Thus, the need for, and THE importance of this project cannot be overemphasized. number one, focusing our efforts on public schools shall create an impact on the educational system and improve the quality of basic education… and number two, what better way to achieve this than through television as the medium and learning tool. television’s EFFECTIVITY and efficiency as a learning tool has already been proven due to its familiarity to young students. educational tv is in fact already institutionalized in advanced countries such as the us, australia, and japan, because it has been PROVEN to increase the comprehension and retention levels of viewers by 18-26%. IN THIS ERA OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STAY BEHIND. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IS PROPERLY EQUIPPED AND MODERNIZED TO MAKE IT MORE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE.

IT IS THUS WITHOUT SAYING THAT I WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT AND BELIEVE IN THIS PROJECT AND MIGHT I MENTION THAT IN CONTRIBUTION TO THIS WORTHY ENDEAVOR I HAVE ALLOCATED TWO MILLION PESOS (PHP 2,000,000) FROM MY CONGRESSIONAL INITIATIVE ALLOCATION UNDER THE PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FUND (PDAF) WHEN I WAS STILL A SENATOR. (UNFORTUNATELY WE ALL KNOW THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDERGOING A FISCAL DEFICIT AND I WAS INFORMED THAT the DBM HAS NOT RELEASED THE FUNDING FOR THIS).

SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE KNOWLEDGE CHANNEL FOUNDATION FOR MAKING THE INITIATIVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO DEVELOP AMONG US THE CULTURE OF “VOLUNTEERISM” AND SOCIAL SENSITIVITY. THE COUNTRY’S INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION AND IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPENDS ON AN ACTIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE GOVERNMENT AND THIS EVENT IS DEFINITELY A SHINING TESTIMONIAL OF THAT PARTNERSHIP.

TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TODAY AND HELPED MAKE THIS walkathon a huge success, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

GOOD MORNING.

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