Robredo vows to create face-to-face learning national system, policies

If she wins the presidency in Eleksyon 2022, Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday vowed to create a national system and policies for face-to-face learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robredo called for the reopening of schools with proper and safe health protocols so that students will not be left behind amid the COVID-19 threat.

“Gagawa tayo ng pambansang sistema at mga patakaran para sa face-to-face na pag-aaral. Dahil mas alam nila ang lagay sa mga bayan natin, iaatas natin sa lokal na pamahalaan ‘yung pagdedesisyon kung ligtas na bang magbalik-eskwela,” she said in her message at the Mapua University forum.

(We will create a national system and policies for face-to-face learning. Because they know the situation in our towns better, we will ask the local government to decide if it is safe to go back to school.)

The Vice-President said she would support teachers and school heads in creating communities of practice to provide local strategies for the safe and sustainable learning of children.

She added that a multisectoral council would be created with members from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), school heads, and local government units (LGUs) for higher education.

Meanwhile, Robredo said she would listen to experts in providing science-backed recommendations to create pandemic response initiatives.

Protect press freedom

To prevent attacks on free speech, Robredo vowed to enact provisions that would curtail attempts against press freedom and threats against media workers.

“The motivations behind it, the vast machinery that drives it, the dark intent to dismantle the common baseline of truth so that we may be more easily ripped apart. In doing so, we can begin to identify and address the sentiments being exploited to spread falsehoods,” she said.

“We can begin enacting provisions that will help us effectively hold the line and protect the truth,” she added.

Robredo admitted that she was also attacked by fake news items circulating on social media sites, and there was a need to understand the mechanism of spreading this disinformation and attempts to curtail press freedom.

“And I think pinakamahalaga ay 'yung (what is important is) we start creating pathways of outreach and empathy, especially to those who have been victimized by disinformation,” Robredo added. — DVM, GMA News