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NewsTranscript
00:00At the order of Malacanang, part of the flag-raising ceremony in public schools and government agencies is the new Philippine hymn and pledge.
00:08And we will be able to watch live Benjo Basas, chairman of the Teachers Dignity Coalition or TDC. Good morning to all of you.
00:17Yes, good morning to all of us.
00:22First of all, according to you, is that your coalition? Why or why not?
00:28No, because first of all, our land, land, land, land, and land are enough as part of our flag-raising ceremonies every Monday.
00:43And these are very beautiful. There is a national consensus. They are part of our cultural heritage.
00:53It really resonates in our hearts, especially our national anthem, its lyrics, and its history.
01:08And according to one of the judges, just like your coalition, it is also enough to sing the national anthem and pledge of allegiance.
01:18But is there anything else you can do? This is the order of Malacanang.
01:22Well, on the issue of is there anything we can do, it seems like there's nothing because this is the order of our President.
01:30But we are also looking at some views on this because there are some judges and other legal nominees who are saying that this cannot be imposed by our President
01:44because this will go beyond the mandate or it's beyond the mandate of the flag and heraldic code.
01:51So we are also looking at that. We will not defy if ever that this will continue because we have an obligation to follow the rules as a part of the Department of Education as public school teachers.
02:09But we haven't seen the practical side of this. We haven't seen that it needs to be added because this reached four minutes when we were simulating.
02:19It's already long. Just like what we mentioned, we have Pabansang Awit, Panatang Makabayan, Pananong Pasawatawat, we have regional hymns,
02:30we have provincial, we have division, we have municipal, we have school hymns. There's a lot of this.
02:37Well, it will be reduced. The number of hours will be reduced in the study of students every Monday, which is the most important day in a week.
02:48You will not defy, but will you appeal this? Just like what you said, there are legal luminaries who are saying that this will go beyond the mandate,
02:58the addition of singing or singing of Bagong Pilipinas hymn and pledge.
03:02Yes ma'am. In fact, these are public statements that we make ever since when this was released. This is our appeal to the government, to the President himself.
03:14Historically, as far as I remember, we don't have a President who imposed these songs to be added to our ceremonies whenever there's a flag-raising ceremony.
03:31Since the time of President Cory and up to the time of President Duterte, there's no such thing. We think that while this is impractical, it is also unnecessary to do this this time.
03:49We're different. There's a ban on the use of cellphones and other electronic gadgets during class. What is your opinion on this?
04:00Well, we share the sentiments of Senator Getchalian, the good senator, who's also the chair of the Basic Education Committee in the Senate.
04:09He knows that if there's a ban on the use of cellphones and electronic gadgets in school, it should not be a total ban.
04:19It should be a strict regulation of that. We already have existing rules in the Department of Education. We just need to implement and review this.
04:30Why can't we do this? The Department of Education specifically responded. There are functions, smartphones, in the education of children, even if they're in school.
04:47Aside from the practical use of this, because if our child has a cellphone, you can call them in case of emergency.
04:59For example, you can find out if they're in school or if they need to extend their home or whatever.
05:07Cellphone is a super gadget. Everything is already here. It can be used as a library. We can use it for research.
05:17In the Department of Education, especially now, the modules, learning activity sheets, materials,
05:26not all families in the Philippines can afford laptops or can provide laptops for their children, school children.
05:38Cellphones are the alternative. That's why it's important. But then, we have to strictly regulate the use of it, especially in classroom setting.
05:53All right. That's clear. Thank you very much for your time and for the information you gave us.
05:59Ginoong Benjo Basas, Chairman of Teachers Dignity Coalition. Good morning to you. Happy Independence Day.
06:04Good morning. Thank you.
06:23Thank you.