I take this opportunity to thank the UPOU for acknowledging our efforts in institutionalizing open and distance learning in the Philippines in the past years. During the opening ceremonies of UPOU’s 16th Anniversary Celebrations earlier this evening, UP President Pascual and UPOU Chancellor Alfonso presented to me the Hon. Rolando R. Andaya, Sr. Award for Open and Distance Learning, for our cumulative efforts in promoting and institutionalizing open and distance learning in the Philippines since the decade of the 90s.
The Andaya Award has been given only four times (I’m the fourth awardee). The first awardee was Dr. Asuncion San Juan (1999), UPOU’s Learning Center Coordinator at the Catanduaness State College in Virac, Catanduanes in the initial years of the UPOU. In 2007, former UP President Emil Javier and former UPOU Chancellor Ma. Cristina Padolina were given the award, and this year I’m the lucky recipient.
Other significant awards that the UPOU gave out yesterday were the following: Gawad Chancellor (Faculty) to Prof. Pat Arinto, Gawad Chancellor (REPS) to Larry Cruz, and Gawad Chancellor (Administrative Staff) to Mike Lagaya. This year was the second year that the Gawad Chancellor (Faculty) was awarded. The first time it was given out was in 2007, and Dr. Ma. Lurenda Suplido-Westergaard was the recipient. The Gawad Chancellor for REPS and Administraitve Staff were given out this year for the first time.
Dr. Sheila Bonito, Program Chair of the MAN Program, was awarded the UPOUFI Professorial Chair, and Dr. Prime Garcia was awarded the Faculty Grant from the UPAA-DCMD-VA (UP Alumni Association-District of Columbia at Maryland-Virginia). Funds for this Faculty Grant were donated by UP Alumni now settled in the District of Columbia area in the USA.
Congratulations to all the awardees.
I wish to emphasize that these awards are very difficult to come by. For example, the Gawad Chancellor may be given annually but the criteria are very stringent and the competition very intense. This is why the Gawad Chancellor of UPOU is prestigious. On the other hand, the Andaya Award is given only every two or more years.
The Andaya Award was launched by UPOU, with the approval of the UP Board of Regents, in 1999 in recognition of the great efforts of the late Camarines Norte Congressman Rolando R. Andaya, Sr. who, through his efforts in Congress, paved the way for a Congressional Fund for the UP to be able to establish the UP Open University. The establishment of the UPOU was through the efforts of then UP President Emil Javier.
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“The UPOU has my full support,” thus declared UP President Alfredo Pascual in yesterday’s opening ceremony of the week-long 16th anniversary celebrations of the UPOU. That was what everybody was waiting for. Earlier during the day (morning) UPOU Officials, with the support of Former UP President Emil Javier, briefed Pres. Pascual on the mandate and operations of the UPOU. In his message during the evening program, Pascual said that the UPOU was already actually implementing, at least partly, his vision of the UP, especially that part where the UP shall become more active in providing leadership in the development of more innovative quality educational opportunities for the Filipino people.
I’m not speaking for the UPOU Officials, but on my own personal behalf, I wish to thank Former UP President Emil Javier for making himself available to help brief President Pascual. I’m told that with UPOU Chancellor Gigi Alfonso and former UP Pres. Javier, Pres. Pascual got perhaps the best briefing he would ever get regarding the UPOU. Pres. Pascual will not regret having said that the UPOU has his full support because I know first hand that the UPOU’s programs are practically tailor-made in support of the President’s vision for the UP.
From a personal point of view, perhaps I can say that if there were any surprises during Pres. Pascual’s visit to the UPOU Headquarters during its 16th Anniversary, it might be that he found UPOU already doing what he has planned to do during his term as President insofar as higher education in the Philippines may be concerned.
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Normally, policy research is easy to do. Frequently, it involves secondary data analysis which leads principally to appropriate policy formulation. Or so I thought. Experience has taught me that this is easier said than done. In this country, it’s next to impossible doing policy formulation using secondary data mainly because there are too many data bases that do not provide the same figures.
The order of the day is for each government agency to have its own data base. And the figures from these different data bases are never the same. For example, let’s look at the problem of criminality. The PNP has its own data base; the NBI has its own, too; DILG would have another one; the DSWD has another data base; etc., etc., etc. None of these data bases, all dealing with the problem of criminality, would be able to provide the same figures on the same event or topic. Worse, none of these agencies would accept the figures from the data base of another agency. And you wonder why criminals cannot be caught? Or personalities cannot be located? For example, in the recent case of Sen. Ping Lacson, the NBI claimed they knew where Sen. Ping might be hiding, but the PNP didn’t know where such place was.
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You may already have heard about the fact that a very significant proportion of our S&T worker population has been leaving for greener pastures in other countries. According to the Science Education Institute’s own study over the last decade, there’s been a 148% increase in the number of S&T workers who have opted to become OFW’s. In 2009, 24,502 left for the proverbial “greener pasture” in other countries, compared to only 9,877 in 1998, for an increase of 148%.
This is brain drain. These individuals have good S&T training from our universities. But since the Philippine Government is unable to provide them decent jobs, they have opted to be expats in other countries. That is to say, in simple logic, other countries are the beneficiaries of our high standard S&T training in the Philippines.
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