Coloma pushes for human rights subjects in school curriculum

MANILA, Philippines (PNA) — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma, guesting at an academic forum at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman in Quezon City on Thursday, cited the need for the inclusion of human rights subjects in the basic and tertiary education levels.

Secretary Coloma said Malacañang will soon ask the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to include human rights in the curriculum of the secondary and collegiate levels.

The PCOO chief disclosed this when asked by the Philippines News Agency (PNA) during a forum about the infamous Ampatuan massacre that happened on November 23, 2009. He was among the panelists who appeared at the event organized by the U.P. College of Mass Communications (UP- CMC).

It will be recalled that the massacre claimed the lives of 57 people, including 32 journalists.

Coloma noted that peace and human rights are among the essential elements in order for the Filipino people and their children to grow and develop as human beings.

He said these constitute the foundations from which the Filipinos can build a truly just and humane society.

Coloma, who is formerly president of the University of Makati (UMak), said educators play an important role in human rights and peace education.

“As socializing agents, they have the power to shape the hearts and minds of children and youth through the kinds of knowledge, skills and values they teach in schools,” Coloma told a jampacked UP-CMC auditorium.

The creative and innovative means of conducting human rights and peace education in public high schools greatly depend on the commitment, competencies and readiness of teachers and administrators in performing the task, he said.

Also appearing in the forum were Maria Ressa, former vice president for news of ABS-CBN; and Rowena Paraan, director, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, who presented their analyses from the media’s point of view.

Atty. Rose Setias-Reyes, national director for legal aid of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), discussed the progress of the case against the Ampatuans and their accomplices.

Also at the forum was Aquiles Zonio, a journalist from General Santos City, who is among the survivors of the massacre.

Reynafe Momay-Castillo spoke for the families of the massacre victims. Castillo’s father, Midland Review photographer Reynaldo Momay, is also among the massacre victims whose body remains missing.

The forum was organized by the UP-CMC and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). —
Coloma pushes for human rights subjects in school curriculum
November 18, 2010, 2:51pm

MANILA, Philippines (PNA) — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma, guesting at an academic forum at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman in Quezon City on Thursday, cited the need for the inclusion of human rights subjects in the basic and tertiary education levels.

Secretary Coloma said Malacañang will soon ask the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to include human rights in the curriculum of the secondary and collegiate levels.

The PCOO chief disclosed this when asked by the Philippines News Agency (PNA) during a forum about the infamous Ampatuan massacre that happened on November 23, 2009. He was among the panelists who appeared at the event organized by the U.P. College of Mass Communications (UP- CMC).

It will be recalled that the massacre claimed the lives of 57 people, including 32 journalists.

Coloma noted that peace and human rights are among the essential elements in order for the Filipino people and their children to grow and develop as human beings.

He said these constitute the foundations from which the Filipinos can build a truly just and humane society.

Coloma, who is formerly president of the University of Makati (UMak), said educators play an important role in human rights and peace education.

“As socializing agents, they have the power to shape the hearts and minds of children and youth through the kinds of knowledge, skills and values they teach in schools,” Coloma told a jampacked UP-CMC auditorium.

The creative and innovative means of conducting human rights and peace education in public high schools greatly depend on the commitment, competencies and readiness of teachers and administrators in performing the task, he said.

Also appearing in the forum were Maria Ressa, former vice president for news of ABS-CBN; and Rowena Paraan, director, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, who presented their analyses from the media’s point of view.

Atty. Rose Setias-Reyes, national director for legal aid of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), discussed the progress of the case against the Ampatuans and their accomplices.

Also at the forum was Aquiles Zonio, a journalist from General Santos City, who is among the survivors of the massacre.

Reynafe Momay-Castillo spoke for the families of the massacre victims. Castillo’s father, Midland Review photographer Reynaldo Momay, is also among the massacre victims whose body remains missing.

The forum was organized by the UP-CMC and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). –Manila Bulletin