CBCP head chides DepEd for removing ‘God’ from vision statement

The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines on Friday chided the Department of Education for removing the "formation of functionally literate and God-fearing Filipinos” from its vision statement.

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, in a statement, also exhorted teachers and the laity to continue teaching about God, despite the change to the DepEd's vision.

"A vision statement is not an empty platitude. It guides the articulation of policy. It orientates plans of action. While maka-Diyos remains one of the Department’s core-values, we maintain that the formation of God-fearing pupils and students is a vision that cannot be surrendered," he said.

He found it unfortunate that the 2013 version of the DepEd's vision, "there is no more mention of God, nor of the salutary fear of Him that, Scripture tells us, is the beginning of all wisdom."

While the DepEd does not mention God in its vision, its core values still include "Maka-Diyos."

"The Department's VMV (vision-mission-values statement) is one document and should be read in its entirety to grasp the full meaning. It is a living document that is meant to reinvigorate our Agency and society as a whole. It is meant to permeate and to affect the way we behave and how we find solutions to complex issues. It is meant to be part of public discourse and personal transformation. It is not static and not intended for mere posting on walls and tables," the DepEd said in a statement.

But Villegas stressed the right of a child "to recognize God, to love him and to hope in him cannot be harmful to anyone else, believer or not."

"Our pluralistic society indeed accords respect for the option of some to believe and for others not to. This respect for pluralism does not compel civil society to expunge the name of God from public life, especially when the majority of Filipinos continue to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and to trust in Divine Providence," he said.

He added the attitude of Philippine laws towards religion is characterized as "benevolent neutrality," or accommodating religion when it does not offend law or public policy.

In the meantime, Villegas exhorted the Catholic laity in public elementary and high schools to be zealous in forming pupils and students.

"Do not get tired of teaching that God is the beginning and the end of all things, that he is the Father who wishes all to have life, and to have it to the full!" he said.

As for public school teachers, Villegas reminded them of the dignity of their calling as "evangelizers within the world and its concerns."

"It is a challenge of particular urgency in this, the Year of the Laity. Stand up for God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," he said. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News