A Serious Question about Br. Armin Luistro as DepEd Secretary
Br. Armin Luistro FSC has already accepted the invitation of President-elect Noynoy Aquino III to be the top honcho of the now controversial Education department. The President of DLSU and a De La Salle Brother has been known to be very close to the late former President Corazon Aquino and to the Aquino family especially during the time when calls for resignation of outgoing President Gloria Arroyo filled up the streets.
The DLSU official statement says,
“After due consultation with various stakeholders in the Lasallian community, Bro. Armin Luistro has accepted the invitation of President-elect Aquino to be the Department of Education (DepEd) secretary.”
The appointment of Br. Armin Luistro for me reveals to the vigilant public tidbits of the road that the Education department is going to trod in the midst of controversies hounding the implementation of sex education in public schools. Advocates of anti-sex education and Catholic Bishops by now are certainly seeing a sign of relief as their crusade may easily find a defender in the person of a religious Brother as a DepEd secretary. The collaborative efforts between the Department of Health and Department Education may soon find its natural death?
This appointment of a religious Catholic brother thus raises a serious question whether the present implementation of DepEd’s PopEd (Population Education) Program will be continued under Br. Armin’s watch (which is unlikely, me thinks), will be watered down to a program that is more acceptable to the Catholic Church or will be totally scrapped and thrown into the nearest trash bin.
The most vicious critics of sex education dragged the issue into court asserting that what the Education department is presently doing is unconstitutional by thwarting the right of parents to rearing the total being of their children more particularly their moral character. For them, the present sex-ed program only leads our “kids towards being sex obsessed.” This blinded understanding totally ignores also the equal right of state “in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being.”
Unfortunately, sex is a taboo if not considered a sin in Philippine society that parents as studies reveal are actually properly educating their children about it but the more serious problem is that parents themselves are even not educated about it. It will only be like a blind guiding his fellow blind man. And with the present phenomenon of parents working abroad, the state is much more compelled to do its constitutional duties of protecting and educating its youth.
Taking from the standpoint of Imbong and company: If teaching about sex-ed to children is the sole prerogative of parents as what the Catholic Church also says, maybe then the State could also sue and jail all parents who fail to do their constitutional duty with the obvious burgeoning of our population, teenage pregnancy and rise of sexually transmitted disease.
But will Br. Armin defend the right of the state over his vows as a religious Brother if the need arises about this particular issue? Will he become the bridge between the state and the religious sector in order to come to a more acceptable sex-ed program? Or will he succumb to the lobbying of the Catholic Church on education programs and issues that the latter finds against its so-called moral stand?
There is no question about Br. Armin’s competence; he is a great educator and school administrator, and an upright man, but what were raised above is some of the burden and biases a person strongly affiliated with a religious group carries with him when he enters the government. He is strongly bound by his religious beliefs and vows.
But at the end of any long arguments and discussions on what will Br. Armin Luistro do regarding the present sex-ed program of DepEd, everything will rest on President-elect Noynoy Aquino’s policies and programs. Well, we can also say that his choice of cabinet secretaries will also tell us of his stand on the controversial issues of sex-ed and the RH Bill.
I am hoping to hear Br. Armin’s stand on the present sex-ed program of DepEd soon.
What is your thought of Br. Armin Luistro FSC as the secretary of DepEd?
Image from Metropark.com
16 comments
Your concern is valid. There could (would?) be conflict of interest in the future. Also, it could violate the separation of Church and State. In math, it is like 2 – 3—cannot be. Your template is nice.
I’ve been pondering on the same question since I’ve read it on the news.
How Bro Armin will handle this issue would be interesting as we must remember that Noynoy Aquino was in favor of the RH bill which could be construed as equal support for the PopEd by DepEd.
For now, let’s wait and see.
.-= Jhay´s last blog ..Taking a Break from College =-.
Totally the point Luke…the separation of state and church is in question here. There is no big issue whether Br. Armin is a good educator, but teaching is not the sole responsibility of DepEd, and indeed there will be conflict of interest then.
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The issue of Pop-Ed was the first thing that entered my mind when Br. Armin accepted the post…unless Noynoy Aquino is softening his stance on this particular issue as he is also rumored to appoint Galvez Tan for the DOH portfolio, a man who is quite allied with pro life groups, tama ba?
Pero yun nga, at the end of the day si Noynoy pa rin at ang kanyang mga agenda ang masusunod.
.-= elmot´s last blog ..Lady Gaga Nosedived on the Floor in London, PHOTO =-.
Ok, that really worries me now. I’ve seen how ignorant many parents are when it comes to this issue (it’s all over the internet). Even the parents need to be educated about this issue. I’m on a wait-and-see mode. Maybe this Br. Armin is liberal. Hopefully.
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I think the best strategy is to wait-and-see. It’s too early to judge the incoming secretary even before he acts.
.-= Vincent Isles´s last blog ..RN license lost =-.
Exactly, and many more parents out there are not only ignorant also has some phobia talking about sex-ed in their homes; they shut it off as fast as it knocks their doors.
Hopefully Br. Armin will be open-minded…but for me, it is like winning the jackpot on Lotto.
.-= elmot´s last blog ..Gerald Anderson Fainted on ASAP XV- =-.
Thanks for the comment Vincent.
Br. Armin’s decision regarding this matter in the last few days has been of mixed messages, hope to hear more definite one from him.
.-= elmot´s last blog ..Netherlands vs Uruguay Live Stream Highlights- Results Videos World Cup 2010 =-.
I wonder: what’s the root cause of the sex-ed problem?
I question: is it really the government’s duty to educate children about this personal & family topic?
I believe: that it is when parents stop or get lazy teaching their kids about the topics that are private… it’s a father-to-son thing or a mother-to-daughter thing.
I hope: that the Filipino father & mother take this matter seriously & take time to teach it properly to their children.
Have you seen his attitude towards media? Not so surprising at all since he is from LA SALLE.
Thanks for the comment Mikey…I think the issue of sex-ed especially at this moment makes it a concern of the state and should work hand in hand with the family in order to form the youth.
.-= elmot´s last blog ..BPI Bank Housing Loan- Interest Rates and Information =-.
Yep, saw how he handled the media….first day jitter.
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As per statistics the problem here in the Philippines is not population hence the equal distribution of wealth.
thats right population is not the problem,find out how many japanese lives in japan and compare their population density than ours.
Based on the DepEd order no.23 s.2011,Implementing kindergarten summer program (KSP). This order was implement in our school last April teaching kindergarten pupils. Why is it that this program didn’t pursue? We receive the memorandum May 1. We already taught kindergarten pupils for almost a month. The memo stated that no payment shall be given to IT teacher but according to the order no.23 that there is honoraria should be given to IT teachers. please do something about this. We rendered our service for one month.
i have a certificate of massage therepy but they have no sealed of TESDA ..it is true certificate or false?i have another problem about that bec until now the 3 certificate did not released bec. my tutor teacher wants gave another payment. in every 1 head i gave it 8 thousand…now what can i do pls answer my problem..thank you so much..
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