FOUR presidential aspirants in 2010 yesterday expressed their opposition on legalizing "jueteng" or the illegal numbers game during the Millennium Development Goals Leaders’ Forum at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City yesterday.
Senators Francis Escudero and Richard Gordon, Nicanor Perlas, an environmentalist and former activist, and JC de los Reyes, of Ang Kapatiran political party, said jueteng can never be used as a tool in fighting poverty.
Only former President Joseph Estrada said he is in favor, noting that most of the poor depend on jueteng for their livelihood. "I am not tolerating it but I am for its legalization."
Estrada stressed that in his 17 years in public office he was against the illegal numbers game but changed his mind after seeing that many people in depressed areas who act as bet collectors would be affected if it was eradicated.
"If you stop jueteng without providing them alternative jobs, they might turn to criminal activities like drug pushing. We all know that a hungry stomach knows no law," he added.
He said the illegal numbers game employs about 200,000 people, mainly as bet collectors.
"Imagine that. It could easily reach a million since they have their families also," he said.
He questioned the hypocrisy of those who opposed jueteng saying that if they are really against gambling, then they should oppose all forms of it.
"Bakit ang lotto pwede? Dahil ba sa ang jueteng ay para sa mga mahihirap?" he said.
Estrada was convicted of plunder for accepting jueteng kickbacks in 2001 but was pardoned in 2007 by President Arroyo.
Gordon said: "We should eradicate poverty by providing the people with choices rather than hope brought by gambling," he added.
Escudero said: "There are better ways of improving the lot of our people other than legalizing jueteng."
Perlas said jueteng is a contributory factor to poverty as "it fosters the belief that you can get out of poverty through gambling."
De los Reyes stressed that gambling is counter-productive but added the government should go against other forms of gambling so that there is no double-standard in the implementation of the law.
Estrada, Escudero and Gordon said they support the inclusion of sex education in the basic curriculum but differed on the children’s age.
Estrada said sex education should be taught only in high school.
Escudero and Gordon said only experts could determine the age of children that can fully absorb and understand the issues about sex education.
De los Reyes is against teaching sex at the elementary level.
"I do not think it is the role of teachers to teach issues about sex to our children but rather of the parents."
The Catholic Church has been very vocal in its opposition against sex education.
Last May, Fr. William Santiago, director of the Archdiocesan Family Ministry of the Archdiocese of Caceres, said an effective sex education to teach responsible parenthood should begin at home.
"Sex education, in order to be effective should start from parents and this should happen in their regular interaction with children at home," he said.
At present lessons in sex education are incorporated in the subject of 3rd and 4th year high school students. The lessons include topics about human reproductive system, hygiene, ovulation, reproduction and birth spacing methods.
DepEd Assistant Secretary Teresita Inciong said sex awareness or more appropriately called reproductive health is actually integrated in different subjects under the current elementary curriculum.
She however stressed that the focus of the information under the subjects is more on hygiene, body function and assumption during the child physical change or the so-called puberty stage while the reproductive health system, value formation, and population education are discussed in Science and Health and Social Science and family education subjects respectively.
The DepEd, in 2005, came out with a module that extensively dealt in teaching reproductive health among elementary students and identified a pilot school where it will be initially be taught and implemented.
However, the DepEd stopped the undertaking when the Catholic Church and other religious sectors raised a howl. – Ashzel Hachero
Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/oct21/news6.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment