Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano wants sports, arts and culture included in the government’s education and workforce development agenda, saying these are just as important as academic subjects in preparing students for life and work.
Cayetano raised the proposal during the Senate’s October 16 budget briefing for the Department of Education (DepEd), where he told Education Secretary Sonny Angara that these fields deserve a bigger role in shaping education policies.
“Let me lobby that sports and culture and art be included because it’s really as much a part of our education as anything else, as math and everything,” he said.
Cayetano described sports and the arts as the “soul” of education, saying students learn teamwork, creativity and problem-solving through activities that go beyond classroom lessons.
“In sports, tinuturo sa’yo na kahit lahat ng points sa’yo [individually], kung madupang ka naman at talo naman y’ung team mo, bale wala… [In art and sports you also learn] problem-solving, creativity,” he said.
Cayetano also wants the government to help Filipino artists break into the international market by improving coordination among DepEd, the National Museum and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). He cited the difficulties artists face in securing permits to bring their works abroad for exhibitions and return them to the country.
“Ang dami nating aspiring artists, breakthrough lang (ang kailangan)… and then, really, someone to champion it,” he said.
Angara agreed to work on the senator’s proposals, noting that the Second Congressional Commission on Education had started discussions with Filipino artists Patis Tesoro and Manny Garibay on improving DepEd’s art curriculum.IMT
