US envoy cites century-old RP-US partnership in education

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - US Ambassador Kristie Kenney observed Filipino-American “partnership in education" and US Independence Day on Friday by visiting institutions founded by American educators in this northern resort city a century ago. “Philippine-American friendship started with education," said Kenney, adding that the relationship began with the Thomasites or American military teachers who started the first formal education in the Philippines. Her itinerary for the day included the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the country’s premiere military school founded in 1898 by early American soldiers to train future officers. She also toured Baguio Teacher’s Camp, now a regular venue for seminars and conferences for public school teachers, which is celebrating its centennial. A century ago at least 150 American military teachers commonly known as the Thomasites set camp in a pine-covered grove in Baguio, starting a tradition for annual teacher convergence. Kenny will be inaugurating a Thomasites park at Teachers Camp on Saturday morning. Another highlight of her tour was the University of the Cordilleras (UC), formerly Baguio Colleges Foundation, where she met with the faculty and students and Peace Corps volunteer Michael Herbig, who is assigned at the school. Kenney and her party were received by UC Chairman Jesus Benjamin Salvosa and other officials. She also met with the dean of the College of Law, Reynaldo Agranzamendez, who was the lead counsel in the recently decided murder case of Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell in Ifugao province. “We partner in so many ways in education," said Kenney, adding that assigning a Peace Corps volunteer like Herbig in a “high-tech cutting edge curriculum" like computer science “marks a new chapter or partnership." Herbig, a 24 year old Computer Science graduate from Auburn, New York teaches at the UC College of Information and Computing Sciences. Another partnership in education mentioned by Kenney includes the Energy and Clean Air Project (ECAP) under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The ECAP-USAID is stationed at the University of the Cordilleras campus. Kenney said Baguio has been her home while in the Philippines. “I feel very much at home here," she said. She was to host a dinner at the pre-war ambassador's residence inside John Hay, a former rest and recreation facility for American military personnel. – GMANews.TV