Philippines: Human Rights Education in Nueva Ecija

47

Philippines: Human Rights Educationin Nueva Ecija

ANITA MAGBITANG-CHAUHAN, MARITES DALANGIN,LOLITA SANTOS, AND LASILA REYES

Human rights may be generally defined as those rights inherent in people andwithout which people cannot live as true human beings. The concept ofhuman rights came before the creation of the United Nations (UN). However,

it was through the UN that human rights gained formal and universal recognition.The preamble of the Universal Declaration

of Human Rights states that respect for hu-man rights and dignity is the foundation offreedom, justice, and world peace. The UNGeneral Assembly has proclaimed the declara-tion as “a common standard of achievementfor all peoples and all nations, to the end thatevery individual and every organ of society,keeping this Declaration in mind, shall striveby teaching and education to promote respectfor these rights and freedoms and by progres-sive measures, national and international, tosecure their universal and effective recognitionand observance both among the peoples ofmember States themselves and among thepeoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”

Despite international campaigns by bothgovernment and nongovernmental institutionsto promote human rights, it is taught in fewschools.1 Yet, education plays an important rolein making children aware of world issues suchas human rights, and in developing a properattitude toward such issues early in life.2 Edu-cation is recognized by the International Com-mission on Education for the 21st Century asa principal means to foster deeper and moreharmonious human relations and, thereby, toreduce poverty, exclusion, ignorance, oppres-sion, and war.3

There were early efforts to promote humanrights through education in some Asian coun-tries. In 1965, for example, Japan adopted theDowa education policy to stress the importanceof equality and to develop public conscious-ness against discrimination.4 However, promot-ing human rights education in Asian schoolsfaces some problems:5

• lack of opportunities for teachers to studyand apply new ideas in teaching humanrights;

• difficulty in convincing government bu-reaucrats of the importance of humanrights education; and

• resistance from teachers who fear thathuman rights education will be an addi-tional burden to their heavy teaching load.

Still, human rights education continues tomake progress, even if slowly, among Asiancountries, including the Philippines.

This paper is divided into three parts. Thefirst presents the efforts of the Philippine gov-ernment to promote human rights education.The second part looks at how human rightseducation is implemented in selected schoolsin the central Luzon province of Nueva Ecija,100 km north of Manila. The third part pre-sents the human rights education efforts of a

48 • HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIAN SCHOOLS

nongovernmental organization in Nueva Ecija,the Pampamayanang Ahensya na Nagtata-guyod sa Karapatan at Kaunlaran ng Tao(Pangkat) Foundation.

Government Efforts to PromoteHuman Rights Education

The 1987 Constitution upholds the dignity ofevery human person and guarantees full respectfor human rights (Article II, Sec. 11). It alsorequires educational institutions to promoterespect for human rights (Article XIV, Sec.3[b]).

Prior to the ratification of the Constitution,then President Corazon C. Aquino issued Ex-ecutive Order (EO) No. 27 (4 July 1986), or-dering the then Ministry of Education, Cul-ture and Sports (MECS) to include humanrights courses in the curriculums of all levelsof education and training in all schools. It alsoordered MECS to initiate and maintain regu-lar programs and special projects, includinginformal education and other means, to pro-mote information and discussion on, and re-spect for, human rights.

The same EO ordered the Civil ServiceCommission to include in the qualifying ex-aminations for government service some basicknowledge of human rights.

Memorandum Order No. 20, issued alongwith EO No. 27, instructed the Ministry ofNational Defense, the New Armed Forces ofthe Philippines, the former Constabulary, andthe Integrated National Police to make thestudy of human rights an integral and indis-pensable part of the education and training ofall police, military, and other law-enforcementpersonnel, especially those in charge of deten-tion and of prisoners. Completion of humanrights courses is a prerequisite for such per-sonnel’s continuance in office. The then Presi-dential Committee on Human Rights wastasked to assist in developing appropriate studycourses.

On 30 October 1987, President Aquino is-sued Proclamation No.177 declaring 3-10December of every year as National HumanRights Week. It mandated the Commission onHuman Rights (CHR) to initiate activities thatwould highlight the observance of HumanRights Week. All government offices and agen-cies were urged to conduct commemorativeand educational activities.

Pursuant to EO No. 27, the education sec-retary issued Department of Education, Cul-ture and Sports (DECS) Order No. 61 (9 June1987), ordering all schools at all levels, includ-ing nonformal, technical, and vocational, toinclude in their curriculums the study of hu-man rights and “accompanying responsibili-ties.” At the primary and secondary levels,human rights lessons may be integrated intocivics, culture, geography and history, and so-cial studies; and at the tertiary level, in politi-cal science or history. The schools were giventhe option to determine how to integrate hu-man rights lessons into their courses.

CHR published A Primer on Human Rights,which was distributed to the regions to pro-vide basic information on formulating and de-veloping instructional materials.

The DECS bureaus, which supervise edu-cation at various levels, including technical,vocational, and nonformal, prepared a sug-gested list of target learning appropriate foreach grade level and the corresponding proto-type teaching-learning materials to serve as abasis for regional curriculum development andevaluation. The regional directors were taskedto lead in integrating human rights in valueseducation programs, development of instruc-tional materials, and teacher training. They arealso tasked to lead in enhancing school-com-munity relationship through contests and otheractivities.

In 1990, DECS published a batch of pro-totype teaching materials developed with sup-port from the Asia Foundation. The materials,intended for higher education, were titled

Philippines: Human Rights Education in Nueva Ecija • 49

Foundations 1 and 2, Social Philosophy 1 and 2,Methods of Teaching, Student Teaching andHealth Education, and Livelihood Education.When the materials were distributed in the re-gions, the deans and heads of colleges wereconvened for orientation on their use.

On 9 December 1992, CHR and DECSsigned a Joint Declaration of Undertaking, inwhich the two agencies agreed to jointly imple-ment the following:

• Curriculum development• Continuing integration of human rights

and responsibilities education in pri-mary, secondary, tertiary, and nonfor-mal education.

• Continuing preparation and productionof instructional materials, including au-dio-visual and other teaching/learningaids, for both formal and nonformaleducation.

• Training and capability building• Regular seminar-workshops at various

school levels to identify problems andsolutions in teaching human rights andresponsibilities.

• Regular refresher courses for teachers.• Regional and national conferences on

the teaching of human rights and res-ponsibilities.

• A speakers bureau for students andteachers.

• Monitoring, research, and evaluation• Regular updating, research, documen-

tation, and development of humanrights instructional materials.

• Information campaign through sensi-tivity training and consciousness-raisingactivities directed in the academic com-munity.

• Assessment and evaluation of the short-and long-term effects of human rightsteaching.

• Policy and legislative support• Legislative and administrative support for

human rights teaching and promotionof human rights principles.

• Cooperative programs and networking• Linkages with local and international

NGOs for the following:• exchanging information and transfer

of technology to improve humanrights and responsibilities education;

• conducting programs and activitiesfor the celebration of events relatedto human rights, including HumanRights Week, adoption or ratificationof human rights instruments, etc.;

• generating and sharing resources;• continuing advocacy and social mo-

bilization;• creating a network to assist in human

rights information dissemination; and• establishing mechanisms for initiat-

ing and sustaining common pro-grams of action.

For the joint undertaking, the CHR-DECSImplementing Committee was created with thefollowing functions:

• operation of identified programs;• submission of regular progress reports to

appropriate agencies; and• performance of other functions as the con-

cerned agencies may direct.

In 1994, Republic Act No. 7722 put theCommission on Higher Education (CHED)in charge of supervising public and private in-stitutions of higher learning, including degree-granting programs in all post-secondary edu-cational institutions, public and private. On 18October 1996, CHR, DECS, CHED, andAmnesty International-Pilipinas signed amemorandum of agreement to jointly under-take the nationwide GO-NGO-Academe Con-sultative Workshop to define a national visionon human rights and produce the Long-termNational Plan of Action on Human RightsEducation.

In April 1996, DECS started the series ofseminar-workshops for regional education of-ficials in cooperation with CHR. The seminar-


workshops provide knowledge on humanrights as applied to teaching-learning processes,day-to-day interaction, teacher-training, andother activities.

On 16 May 1996, CHED issued Memoran-dum Order No. 31 pursuant to the memoran-dum of agreement, directing all higher educa-tional institutions to conduct human rightseducation, and training projects, including butnot limited to integrating human rights edu-cation concepts in subjects. All higher educa-tional institutions were required to documenttheir human rights education accomplishmentsand submit a semestral or trimestral report tothe CHED office in their respective regions.All reports submitted to regional offices wereto be consolidated and submitted to CHED.

The efforts of the Philippine governmentand its educational agencies to promote hu-man rights education, including the extent ofimplementation of the different laws, policies,orders, and memorandums on human rights,have not been fully evaluated.

Implementation of Human Rights Educationin Nueva Ecija

While human rights education stands on firmlegal and policy ground, respect for humanrights cannot be legislated. It should be incul-cated in the hearts and minds of all membersof society. Schools must help achieve this ideal.

To what extent human rights education hasbeen undertaken in schools and to what ex-tent it has enlightened the citizenry to respecthuman rights is the subject of an exploratorystudy conducted by graduate students enrolledin the legal foundations of education class(1998-1999) of the Nueva Ecija University ofScience and Technology.

Objectives of the Study

The study explored the extent of implement-ing human rights education in the schools sur-

veyed and the level of awareness of both teach-ers and pupils about human rights.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study covered teachers and pupils inthree public elementary schools: Talavera Cen-tral School in Talavera; Muñoz South CentralSchool in Muñoz; and Pulo Elementary Schoolin San Isidro. It sought to find out how hu-man rights education was implemented in theschools, and to what extent human rights as aconcept and value was inculcated in the teach-ers and pupils. As purposive sampling was used,the findings may not represent the generalsituation.

Methodology

The descriptive qualitative research methodand the purposive sampling method were used.Respondents were 29 grade-school teachersand 92 pupils. The questionnaire containedqueries on the implementation of human rightseducation and the extent of knowledge andvalues on the respondent’s human rights.

Data gathered were tabulated. Simple per-centages based on the frequency of distribu-tion of responses to each question item wereobtained. Findings from responses of teachersand pupils were presented in separate tablesand briefly discussed.

Findings

Responses of teachers

Of the 29 teacher-respondents, only 1claimed to have attended a training workshopon human rights. His attendance was financedby the school.

The teacher-respondents were asked ninequestions answerable by yes or no. Table 1presents the frequency distribution of the re-sponses. It shows that teachers received direc-


tives from their principals to teach or conductactivities on human rights education. Two fol-lowed the directives, and three said they didnot submit a report to their superior. Oneteacher claimed to have received a reward forfollowing the order. Twelve teachers attemptedto teach human rights on their own initiative.Ten indicated that they came across writtendirectives from DECS that human rights edu-cation should be undertaken in schools. Foursaid they used such directives in teaching hu-man rights.

Table 2 contains the teachers’ personal rat-ings of their knowledge of human rights. Itshows that the number of teachers who claimto have much knowledge of human rights isaround the same as those who do not.

Teachers were asked to rate 12 items basedon a five-point rating scale. Table 3 presentsthe findings. It shows that most teachers ei-ther highly agree or agree with the followingstatements on human rights:

• All men are born equal in dignity andrights.

• Men and women are equal.• Children and youth have rights that must

be respected.• The promotion of human rights is the

concern of all.

• By virtue of being human, we have rights.• It is important for every person to know

his/her rights.• If you want your rights respected, you

must respect the rights of others.

It was noted, however, that in the first twostatements, some teachers were not sure, oreither disagreed or highly disagreed. Moreteachers agreed or highly agreed with the state-ment “Our human rights are given to us byour government.” Only three either disagreedor highly disagreed, and six were not sure.These findings suggest that more teachers be-lieve that the government is the source, ratherthan the guarantor, of human rights.

Twelve teachers were not sure whether ornot “only the State can protect our humanrights.” An almost-equal number eitheragreed/highly agreed or disagreed/highly dis-

TABLE 1. Frequency and Distribution of Teacher Respondents to Questions on Human Rights Education

Questions Yes NoF % F %

1. Have you received any directions from your principal to teachor conduct activities on human rights education? 2 6.89 13 14.83

2. Did you follow the order given to you by your superior? 2 6.89 5 17.243. Did you render a report of your activities to the higzher authorities? – – 2 10.344. Did you receive any reward for following the order? 1 3.45 6 20.705. Have you attempted to teach human rights on your own initiative? 12 41.38 7 24.146. In your present work as a teacher, have you ever come across

any written directive from DECS that human rights educationshould be undertaken by the schools? 10 34.48 8 27.59

7. Did you use such directives as bases in teaching human rights? 4 13.79 3 17.24

N = 29

TABLE 2. Teachers’ Personal Ratings of the Extent of theirKnowledge on Human Rights

Teachers’ personal ratings Frequency %

Very much 2 6.89Much 8 27.59Not much 7 24.14Not very much 2 6.89


agreed. The respondents were divided on whowas responsible for the protection of humanrights. While the state has responsibility forpeople within its jurisdiction, civil society,which includes organized citizens, people’s or-ganizations, and NGOs, has a role in protect-ing human rights. In fact, all members of hu-mankind have the responsibility to protecthuman rights.

The findings also revealed that more teach-ers either disagreed or highly disagreed withthe statement that rich people have more rightsthan the poor, one was not sure, and three ei-ther highly agreed or agreed. This means thatsome teachers still believe that wealth makes adifference in matters of human rights, and thattheory is different from practice, the ideal dif-ferent from the real. This finding suggests thatthe principle of nondiscrimination in possess-

ing and enjoying human rights has not beenfully inculcated in all of the respondents.

To the question, “Should human rights betaught in the school?” all the respondents an-swered yes. Asked what the legal sources oftheir knowledge of human rights were, theypointed to various sources. As shown in Table4, 18 teachers, or 62%, obtained their knowl-edge of human rights from the Magna Cartaof Public School Teachers.6 Others, from in-ternational covenants or conventions such asthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights;the International Covenant on Civil and Po-litical Rights; International Covenant on Eco-nomic, Social and Cultural Rights; Conven-tion on the Elimination of DiscriminationAgainst Women; International Convention onthe Rights of the Child; and Philippine lawssuch as the 1987 Constitution and the Childand Youth Welfare Code.

TABLE 3. Teachers’ Reactions to Ten Statements on Human Rights

Highly agree Agree Not sure Highly disagree DisagreeItems F % F % F % F % F %

1. All men are born equalin dignity and rights. 12 41.38 10 34.49 2 6.89 1 3.45 1 3.45

2. Men and womenare equal. 10 34.49 11 37.93 2 10.34 1 3.45 1 3.45

3. Children and youthhave rights that mustbe respected. 12 44.83 8 48.28 — — — — — —

4. The promotion of humanrights is the concern of all. 8 27.59 16 55.17 2 6.89 — — — —

5. By virtue of being human,we have rights. 13 48.27 14 48.27 — — — — — —

6. Our human rights are givento us by our government. 5 17.24 12 44.83 5 20.70 1 3.45 2 6.89

7. Only the State can protectour human rights. 6 20.70 2 6.89 10 41.38 — — 6 20.70

8. Rich people have morerights than the poor. 1 3.45 1 6.89 1 3.45 14 48.27 6 20.70

9. It is important for everyperson to know his/herrights. 18 62.07 8 27.58 — — — — — —

10. If you want your rightsrespected, you must respectthe rights of others.


Responses of Pupils

Findings of the study from the responses ofpupils are presented in Table 5, which showsthat most pupils have little knowledge of hu-man rights. Most who did cited their teachersand parents as sources (Table 6). Many pupilscited the mass media, particularly television,as a source of knowledge, as some televisionads and programs promote human rights. Themass media are therefore a significant sourceof knowledge, as most Filipino homes have atelevision set and radio.

The smallest percentage of pupils cited mov-ies as a source of knowledge. Although it wasnot clear what specific knowledge of humanrights were gained from the movies, it was clearthat movies influence the pupils.

To the question, “Since you started school,have you ever been taught human rights?” 83pupils, or 90.2 percent, answered yes; only 7(7.6%) said no, suggesting that schools are pro-moting human rights education.

Of the pupil-respondents, 82 (89.1%) saidthat human rights were taught to them in theirschool. Only 6 (6.5%) said otherwise. Askedfurther if it was taught during the school yearwhen the study was conducted, 83 (90.2%) saidyes and only 2 (2.2%) answered no.

Asked if some school activities focused onhuman rights, 59 (64.1%) answered yes, and30 (32.6%) answered no. Asked further if theyparticipated in any of these activities, 58 (63%)answered yes, and 29 (31.5%) answered no.

Table 7 shows that 43 (46.7%) pupils indi-cated that human rights were often taught tothem, as against 38 (41.3%) who said other-wise; 6 (6.5%) said that human rights weretaught very often to them; and 1 (1%) said itwas taught only once.

Table 8 shows the pupils’ reactions to 10statements on human rights. The findingsreveal the pupils’ knowledge and values. Somepupils responded “not sure” to all 10 state-ments, which may indicate insufficient learning.

To three statements—“Our human rights aregiven to us by our government,” “Only the

TABLE 4. Legal Sources of Knowledge on Human Rights of Teacher-Respondents

Legal sources Frequency %

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 5 17.242. Article II of 1987 PhilippineConstitution 8 27.593. Child and Youth Welfare Code 7 24.144. International Convention on the Rights of the Child 4 13.795. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women 3 10.346. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 2 6.897. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 3 10.348. Magna Carta of Public School Teachers 10 62.07

TABLE 5. Pupils Extent of Knowledge on Human Rights

Extent of knowledge Frequency %

Very much — —Much 37 40.21Not much 51 55.43Nothing 1 1.08

TABLE 6. Sources of Knowledge on Human Rights

Sources of knowledgeon human rights Frequency %

From my teachers in our school 78 84.78From my parents 73 79.34From magazines and newspapers 41 44.56From books 32 34.78From radio 41 44.56From TV 56 60.86From movies 15 16.30


state can protect our human rights,” and “Richpeople have more rights than the poor”—manysaid the opposite of what was expected. Mostagreed or highly agreed with the statement“Our human rights are given to us by our gov-ernment.” As for the statement, “Only the statecan protect our human rights,” 11 pupils werenot sure, 23 agreed, and 8 highly agreed, 13highly disagreed, and 35 disagreed. The sametrend was observed in the pupils’ reactions tothe statement, “Rich people have more rightsthan the poor.” (Insert table 9.)

One disagreed and another was not sureabout the statement, “Children and youth haverights that must be respected.” The rest an-swered positively, showing that pupils are be-coming aware of their rights.

Summary of Findings

• Some teachers were aware of directivesfrom higher authorities to teach humanrights. Some admitted that they received

directives from their superiors to teachhuman rights.

• Some teachers taught human rights basedon the directives of superiors, but moretaught human rights on their own initia-tive.

• Teachers derived their knowledge of hu-man rights from international and locallaws.

• Most teachers showed positive reactionsto statements that conformed with accept-able knowledge of or values concerninghuman rights, but a few expressed uncer-tainty over some controversial statements.

• Pupils were taught human rights.• Teachers and parents were the main source

of knowledge on human rights of mostpupils. The mass media also contributedto their knowledge.

• A sizable number of pupils were not sureof their position on the 10 statements onhuman rights, although more conformedwith statements that revealed acceptableknowledge of and values concerning hu-man rights.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of this study, the fol-lowing conclusions are made:

• Human rights education is undertaken inthe schools surveyed.

TABLE 7. Frequency and Distribution of Pupil Respondents to Questions on Human Rights Education

Questions Yes NoF % F %

1. Since you studied formally in school, have you beentaught human rights in any school attended? 83 90.21 7 7.60

2. Were human rights ever taught to youwhere you are studying now? 82 89.13 6 6.52

3. If yes, were they taught to you this schoolyear? 83 90.21 2 2.174. Are there activities in the school which focus

on human rights? 59 64.13 30 32.605. Did you participate in any of these activities? 58 63.04 29 31.52

TABLE 8. Frequency of Teaching Human Rights

How often were humanrights taught to you? Frequency %

Very often 6 6.52Often 41 46.73Not so often 37 41.30Once only 1 1.08


• Teachers derive their knowledge of hu-man rights from legal sources.

• Teachers’ reactions to human rights gen-erally conform with acceptable knowledgeof and values concerning human rights.

• Teachers value the teaching of humanrights.

• Pupils are aware of human rights.• The frequency with which human rights

is taught varies.• Pupils need more instruction on human

rights to enhance their knowledge of andrespect for them.

• Human rights activities are conducted inschools.

• Pupil participation in human rights activi-ties is not widespread.

Recommendations

• Teachers should undergo regular trainingthat emphasizes content and methods inteaching human rights. NGOs may beinvited to share their experience in humanrights work and enrich the learning expe-rience of teachers.

• Compliance of educational institutionswith the mandate to conduct humanrights instruction should be regularlymonitored.

• Schools should conduct more humanrights activities that will encourage ormotivate more pupils to participate. Theseactivities should be appropriate to thepupils’ age, background, and interests.

• The Philippines has many laws and poli-cies on human rights, but they are notimplemented as they should be. All social

TABLE 9. Pupils’ Reactions to Ten Statements on Human Rights

Highly agree Agree Not sure Highly disagree DisagreeItems F % F % F % F % F %

1. All men are born equalin dignity and rights. 38 41.30 42 45.05 10 10.86 — — 1 1.08

2. Men and womenare equal. 15 16.30 59 64.13 12 14.13 1 1.08 1 1.08

3. Children and youthhave rights that mustbe respected. 59 64.13 22 23.91 1 1.08 1 1.08 — —

4. The promotion of humanrights is the concern of all. 12 13.04 47 51.08 31 33.69 — — — —

5. By virtue of being human,we have rights. 43 46.73 37 40.21 8 10.86 2 2.17 — —

6. Our human rights are givento us by our government. 14 15.21 62 67.39 15 16.30 — — 1 1.08

7. Only the State can protectour human rights. 8 8.69 23 25 9 11.95 13 14.13 35 38.04

8. Rich people have morerights than the poor. 12 13.04 4 4.35 6 6.52 29 31.52 32 34.78

9. It is important for everyperson to know his/herrights. 63 68.48 23 25 2 3.26 1 1.08 — —

10. If you want your rightsrespected, you must respectthe rights of others. 73 79.35 13 14.13 2 2.17 3 3.26 1 1.08


sectors should participate and be involvedin monitoring the implementation of thelaws at the local and national levels.

• School officials should be encouraged topromote human rights education. Incen-tives or awards should be given to institu-tions that perform well in human rightseducation.

• Teachers should be motivated to produceinstructional materials on human rights.The materials can be shared through net-working among teachers, with the sup-port and assistance of the school division.Incentives should be given to teacherswho show dedication in the teaching ofhuman rights.

• Implementation of human rightseducation laws and policies should beevaluated.

• Human rights education should be a ma-jor concern of all school officials and per-sonnel. Every school should cultivate aclimate conducive to promotion of respectfor human rights. Administrators andteachers should serve as role models inshowing respect for the human rights ofpupils and other members of the academiccommunity.

• Teachers and parents should jointly pro-mote the teaching of human rights. Par-ents should be involved in reinforcinghuman rights instructions.

• The curriculum at each grade level shouldinclude human rights courses. Periodiccurricular review should be conducted.

• DECS, CHED, and the Technology Edu-cation and Services Development Author-ity should rigorously observe Proclama-tion No. 177 and continue to improvehuman rights education.

• This study should be followed by a morethorough and detailed qualitative studyon the status of implementing humanrights education at different levels of for-mal and nonformal education.

PANGKAT Foundation

The Provincial Association for Human RightsAdvocacy—Nueva Ecija (PanlalawigangAsosasyong Nagtataguyod sa Karapatan ngTao—Nueva Ecija, or PANGKAT-NE) was es-tablished in 1986 as an alliance of human rightsorganizations in 3 cities and 29 towns in NuevaEcija province. Its members are groups of farm-ers, farmworkers, professionals, urban poor,women, youth, and students. It was convertedinto a foundation in 1991 and renamedPANGKAT Foundation.

The foundation primarily aims to promoteand protect human rights through preventiveand remedial legal measures. It also aims toconduct education campaigns for the generalpublic on basic individual and collective rightsand to institutionalize human rights educationby offering short-term non-degree and non-diploma courses on human rights teaching.

To implement its programs, the foundationestablished the Nueva Ecija Human RightsAction Center, which was later renamed theCenter for Human Rights and DevelopmentAdvocacy.

The PANGKAT Foundation implements thefollowing programs:

• Human Rights Education and Training;• Paralegal Training Development;• Legal Aid and Referral;• Community Organizing for Human

Rights and Development;• Family Welfare and Barangay (Commu-

nity) Development.

To support its programs, it organizes vari-ous groups such as chapter units in communi-ties, Human Rights Groups (HRGs) composedof people who have attended its human rightseducation activities, and volunteer-run HumanRights Extension Offices (HREOs) in sometowns. By 1991, the foundation had estab-lished 19 community chapters, 25 HRGs, and5 HREOs. It also organized students at the


Central Luzon Polytechnic College into theCLPC Human Rights Volunteers Association,which helps in campaigning for the rights ofchildren and youth in several towns.

The foundation’s human rights educationprogram is implemented through the follow-ing activities:

• a radio program;• an awareness program on human rights;• leadership training for core human rights

advocates;• study programs on

• human rights, law, and development;• human rights teaching; and• human rights and barangay (commu-

nity) justice;• seminars on human rights for teachers;• echo seminars on human rights protec-

tion systems;• seminars on curriculum and human rights;

and• orientation seminars.

In 1986, the foundation started a radio pro-gram called “Unlad Talino sa Himpapawid”(Knowledge Development through Broad-cast). The radio program broadcast five mod-ules on human rights (foundation of humanrights; human rights advocacy; civil, political,economic and cultural rights; rights of specificgroups in society; and human rights remediesand safeguards). The program broadcasts lec-tures by lawyers, public prosecutors, govern-ment officials, and community leaders. Homelisteners clubs were formed in schools and com-munities to help increase the number of lis-teners. In a 1987 survey of listeners, most ofthe 1,879 respondents said they became inter-ested in human rights through the radio pro-gram.

The radio program’s human rights courseschange their content every year. One of thefirst courses was General Course on HumanRights and Rebuilding of the Filipino Charac-ter. Another course which targeted teachers isListeners’ Course on Human Rights Teach-

ing. Enrolled teachers get a certificate for com-pleting the course by listening to the radio pro-gram, attending lectures to supplement radiopresentations, and passing an examination. In1993, the radio program adopted a magazineformat with live discussions among a panel ofspeakers. It stopped broadcasting briefly, thenreopened in 1995 as “Karapatang Pangtao atParalegalismo sa DWNE” (Human Rights andParalegalism in DWNE), aired every Sunday,8:00-10:00 am. The radio program has beenrenamed “Pinoy Gising sa Yong Karapatan atKaunlaran” (Filipinos Wake Up to Your Rightsand Progress). In this program, discussions onproblems on agrarian laws, human rights ingeneral, and specific sector rights (women andchild rights) are taken up.

Training under the human rights paralegaldevelopment program equips communitymembers with skills such as documentation ofhuman rights violations. Awareness campaignson human rights issues relating to children andyouth, women, the disabled, and indigenouspeople are undertaken under the Family Wel-fare and Barangay (Community) Developmentprogram.

Schoolteachers participate in many of thefoundations’s human rights education activi-ties. In the 1990 study program on humanrights teaching, 50 teachers from 10 primaryschools, 6 secondary schools, 2 colleges, and1 university participated.

In 1997, the foundation co-organized aseminar on the United Nations Decade for Hu-man Rights Education with the Central LuzonPolytechnic College (later renamed the NuevaEcija University of Science and Technology),the Commission on Higher Education, and theCommission on Human Rights. Organized foradministrators and faculty members of highereducational institutions, the seminar intro-duced the UN Decade and discussed the needs,problems, and activities relating to humanrights education.

In the same year, the foundation workedwith the Nueva Ecija University of Science and


Technology (NEUST), Department of Edu-cation, Culture and Sports, Technical Educa-tion and Skills Development Authority, theCommission on Higher Education, and theCommission on Human Rights to establish theCentral Luzon Human Rights Education Cen-ter. The center offers the following services:

• human rights education training;• consulting services on human rights edu-

cation programs and projects;• library services; and• materials procurement, development, and

dissemination.

The center’s library is housed at the NEUSTDepartment of Management library. The cen-ter aims to serve the needs of all educationalinstitutions in central Luzon and civil-societyinstitutions such as NGOs, workers and em-ployers organizations, community organiza-tions, and officials of local government unitsand national government agencies. It held aregional trainers’ training on human rightseducation in cooperation with NEUST andTESDA. Lecturers came from CHR, CHED,TESDA, DECS, NEUST, and PANGKATFoundation.

PANGKAT Foundation has influenced theNEUST in integrating human rights educa-tion in the activities of its students and offer-ing a subject on human rights education in itsgraduate programs where teachers from bothprivate and public schools enroll. Human rightseducation is covered under the subject LegalFoundations of Education for graduate stu-dents taking up courses on educational man-agement, master of arts in teaching, and mas-ter of arts in industrial education. Human rightseducation is likewise included in the practicumof students, which entails doing field researchand attending seminars. This system is em-ployed in NEUST’s graduate courses held incollaboration with the Aurora State Collegeof Technology (ASCOT). In March 2000,graduate students of ASCOT enrolled in Le-gal Foundations of Education held a human

rights education seminar in one community inSan Luis, Aurora, for the local residents (in-cluding indigenous people) and officials. Asimilar seminar held two years ago in two othertowns of the province resulted in the estab-lishment of the Teachers’ Legal Bureau com-posed of the teacher-graduate students. Theorganization aims to promote human rights.

Notes

1. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center,Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, Osaka, 1998,p. iii.

2. Valai na Pombejr, “The United Nations and Hu-man Rights Education in Schools ” in Human RightsEducation in Asian Schools, p. 2.

3. Ibid.4. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center,

p. 5.5. Ibid., p 6.6. The Magna Carta for Public School Teachers is

another name for Republic Act Number 4670, whichwas enacted on 18 June 1966. This law is meant to pro-mote and improve the social and economic status ofpublic school teachers, their living and working condi-tions, their terms of employment, and career prospects.Many provisions of this law “while qualified or strength-ened by subsequent laws, including the New Constitu-tion, are still valid.” Jose N. Nolledo, The EducationAct of the Philippines—Annotated, Manila: NationalBookstore, 1995, page 89.

References

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