CUTTING the country’s dropout rate is a key goal for Partido Reporma presidential candidate Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III under their “Edukasyon Plus” program, as they aim to reverse a disturbing trend and give Filipinos the quality education they deserve.

According to a report in 2019, the Philippines has the highest dropout rate among countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which for Lacson and Sotto is simply unacceptable, as education is a means to bring more Filipinos out of poverty and to move toward progress.

Through “Edukasyon Plus,” the longtime public servants would solidify the government’s commitment to protect the right to quality education for all Filipinos, while crafting a vision that would eliminate the dropout rate of 6.38 percent in elementary students and 7.82 percent of secondary school students, according to The Borgen Project released on Oct. 6, 2019.

Making matters worse is the COVID-19 pandemic, as one-fifth of Filipino elementary and high school students—equivalent to more than five million school children— failed to enroll for the academic year 2020-2021, according to reports.

Lacson and Sotto said in a town hall meeting in San Juan, Batangas this week that the government should not only focus on releasing regulations to boost the quality of education in the country, but also take care of the needs of the youth who are forced to stop schooling owing to poverty and other issues.

Under “Edukasyon Plus,” Filipino youth would have free tuition and a P5,000 allowance every month along with access to an internship program in government offices starting with senior high school students.

Once implemented, students would then have the freedom to choose the courses they want to take in college, giving a chance for the country to strengthen its agricultural and medicine sectors, the veteran tandem told Batangueños.

The discussion on education was prompted by a question from the barangay chairman of PutingBuhangin, who noted the lack of interest among Pinoy youth in taking up farming and agriculture.

“Hindi po gusto ng mga kabataang kumuha ng agriculture dahil wala raw pera sa agriculture. The youth don’t want to take agriculture because they say there’s no money in agriculture,” the official said.

But Lacson and Sotto said this can be answered through their “Edukasyon Plus” program and by stamping out corruption in government, which was truly making life hard for Filipinos as the funds meant to boost the agricultural sector never reach the intended end-users – farmers and food growers.

“Ang ninanakaw ‘yung karapatan ng ating mga anak para sa magandang edukasyon. Hindi nila na-re-realize ‘yon. What’s being stolen is our children’s right to quality education. They don’t realize that,” the former national police chief said.

Lacson and Sotto also mentioned their plan for the government to buy 50 percent of the produce of local farmers and fishermen at the correct prices, to guarantee their income and to insulate them from middlemen, who take advantage of them by lending them capital and then buying their goods at less than farmgate prices.

“Ito’y pinag-aralan na namin, kinuwenta na namin, kaya talagang tugunan ang pangangailangan para umangat ‘yung buhay at ma-inspire ‘yung ating mga kabataan na kumuha ng courses sa agriculture,” the three-term senator added.

We have studied this and computed its costs, we can answer the needs (of farmers and fishermen) to improve their lives and to inspire our youth to take courses in agriculture.

Lacson and Sotto only asked voters, in Batangas and across the country, not to fall for the sweet but empty promises of other politicians, especially those who would only steal taxpayers’ money.

“‘Yung magnanakaw sa gobyerno hindi nila alam anong ninanakaw nila—kinabukasan ng ating mga anak, ‘yung karapatan natin para sa isang maayos na kalusugan. The thieves in government don’t know what they’re stealing – it’s the future of our children, their right to a healthy future,” they said.