On Friday, Senator Imee Marcos expressed her dismay over the government’s decision to reopen cockpits while face-to-face classes are still prohibited nationwide.
“Talagang nadismaya ako na mas mahalaga pa pala ang sabong sa Pilipino kaysa sa edukasyon. Dalawang linggo ang nakalipas binuksan na ang sabungan pero ang eskwela sarado pa rin,” Marcos said during a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
(I was really disappointed that cockfighting was even more important to Filipinos than education. Two weeks ago, the cockpit was opened, but the school was still closed.)
“I think it’s most important na bigyan natin ng kahalagahan ang edukasyon. Alam naman natin na hindi super spreader ang mga eskwlehan,” she said.
(I think it’s most important that we give importance to education. We know that schools are not superspreaders.)
Last month, the Inter-Agency Task Force allowed cockfighting in areas under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), subject to local government units’ final decision.
The Department of Education, meanwhile, said it was still evaluating the possibility of reintroducing face-to-face classes next year.
Marcos noted that parents, especially working mothers, were suffering from the lack of face-to-face classes.
Imee Marcos says Filipinos values cockfight over education
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate committee on basic education, said he favors localized and limited face-to-face learning workshops to help parents who could not teach their children at home.
“I think the situation has dramatically changed from March to date… Puwede na ho magpamasahe ngayon, DTI approves full body massage… baka nga ‘yung sabong pwede pa mag-social distancing but the full body massage imposible ho mag-social distancing. It goes to show that the situation has dramatically improved,” said Gatchalian.
Senator Nancy Binay pointed that while there were no classes, some students were being allowed to travel.
“At the moment, puwede na ngang bumyahe ang mga estudyante. We allow them to go to Boracay, we allow them to go to Baguio, but we don’t allow them to go to school,” she said.
As part of the government’s efforts to revive the economy, the IATF allowed persons aged 15 to 65 to go out of their homes.