Press Release
November 18, 2017

TRANSCRIPT OF AMBUSH INTERVIEW WITH SEN. JOEL VILLANUEVA
Event: Teach for the Philippines Week
Venue: City of Malolos Integrated School, Atlag, Malolos City, Bulacan
Date: November 17, 2017

ON TEACH FOR THE PHILIPPINES

Question: Why did you decide to join Teach for the Philippines?

Sen. Joel Villanueva: It is such a great honor and privilege for me to be here and just to have this fellowship with our future leaders of this nation. We always say that they are not only the hope of our nation but they are also the owners of our future. And so it's such a great and honor and privilege, especially to talk about something dear to my heart which is what I'm doing right now as a Senator of the Republic and what I used to be being a member of the House of Representatives.

Q: Is this your first time to teach?

SJV: I love teaching. I thought I've been teaching for quite some time but iyong set up na inside the classroom with grade school students I think this is my first time.

Q: What was your feeling while teaching the students?

SJV: I have to say I got a little pressured by the little kids kasi I was not expecting much from them and when they talked about and opened up their ideas nagugulat din ako na at the early stage of their lives alam na nila the importance of our work in Congress, why we should be doing a better job in legislation and ensuring that our people, our young people most especially are protected and that there will be a better future for them.

Q: How important is education for you?

SJV: It is very important. As I have been saying and preaching all of my life, this is the key for success. If you want to be successful in life you have to have that thirst for knowledge and that is why it is important to put our acts together. We are deliberating on the budget right now in the Senate, we have been pushing for higher budget allocation. I was one of those guys who proposed free tuition for tertiary education. I have been pushing for Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) to ensure that we will have quality education at par with other countries of the world especially in the ASEAN region. I think it is important to note that it's not only the financial side na pagtuunan natin ng pansin kundi yung sa industry, yung partnerships, what is happening globally, yung emergence of artificial intelligence, yung emergence ng pagsulpot ng mga robots. We have Alexa right now that we can talk to. Sooner or later pag di tayo nag improve papalitan tayo lahat ng robots.

Q: How do you think will the education system be improved?

SJV: Definitely ito yung ginagawa natin as Vice Chair of the Committee on Education in the Senate. We have been pushing for PQF, we have been pushing for quality education at par with other countries especially in the region. We have been engaging our industries not only inside the coutry but also outside the country. Kaya yung trans education is very important, we are also pushing that. It is important to note that the government must be on the right side when we talk about quality education , yung pagsabay natin sa quality education sa iba't ibang bansa para naman sa gayon yung gumraduate sa atin na engineer ay engineer din sa ibang bansa, yung gumagraduate ng doktor sa atin, doktor din sila hindi mas mababa - yung doktor nagiging nurse, yung nurse nagiging caregiver so it's about time that we upgrade our education system and we benchmark it with other countries. Just recently in Malaysja nagkaroon ng Quality Assurance Conference and I laud the efforts of DepEd, CHED, and DOLE to really look into it and somehow bencmarkk our curriculum and our standards.

Q: Why do you think education should be eveyone's priority?

SJV: Kung saan natin gustong dalhin ang bansa natin ito ay nakasalalay sa kalidad ng edukasyon na maibibigay natin sa ating kabataan. And as I mentioned a while ago ang mga kabataan di lamang pag-asa ng bayan kundi sila rin ang tunay na may-ari ng ating kinabukasan and the more we engage them in education, the more they realize that it is important for them to be part of nation building especially when we talk about education being the owners of our future, I think it will give a very positive impact in the way we look at the education sector, if not the most important aspect of our governance.

ON ASEAN SUMMIT, 6.9% ECONOMIC GROWTH

Q: Reaction on ASEAN summit

SJV: Pinakalamalaki siguro sa akin bilang chairman ng Committee on Labor yung pagpirma nila sa migration concensus na nag poprotekta sa ating OFWs. Yung sa trabaho, pagprotekta sa kanila against sexual harrassment, yung pag protekta di lamang habang sila ay nagtatrabaho maging sa pagpunta nila doon. Malaking bagay po ito sa atin. I also had a dinner with the Premier of China. Yung binanggit nila by the end of the year we will be enjoying at least a million tourists from China. And all the pronouncements and commitments made by different Asean members na ibibigay na grants sa atin without compromising our position on the West Philippine Sea

Q: On effects of the Asean summit

SJV: We have yet to see yung effects nito. Maaga pa to state na sulit yan. Para sa akin di ganun kadali i-quantify yung magnitude that we will be getting as far as the Asean summit is concerned but i believe lasting ito, malaki ito at para sa akin yung for us to showcase yung ganda ng Pilipinas, yung hospitality ng Pilipinas, at higit sa lahat yung kakayanan ng Pilipinas bilang isang bansa. I laud our economic managers sa nakaraang resulta ng ating GDP. Isa sa pinakamataas ito 6.9 percent and I hope it will continue considering na kakatapos lang ng Asean summit at marami tayong problemang kailangang solusyonan maraming challenges but we are showing the entire world that we are capable of solving these issues and we are on the right track

Q: How would you rate our hosting of Asean summit?

SJV: Pasado naman

Q: Yung sa hearing on impeachment sa House kay CJ Sereno nasa probable cause na sya. Ano ang gagawin niyo sa Senado?

SJV: We will be ready. That I think is the only proper thing to say because if it reaches the Senate, I will be part of the jury meaning isa po ako sa magiging hurado. I don't want anything to be tainted right now and we don't want to make unnecessary comments on this particular issue.

ON AEGIS JURIS CHAT MESSAGES

Q: Is there a conflict on the rule of privacy on Facebook with regard to the conversations of Aegis Juris members revealed during the hearing?

SJV: When we talk about privacy even the Supreme Court made some decisions already. Now, when it's of national interest, hindi pwede kunwari magkapitbhay tayo bibirit ako alas dos o alas tres ng umaga tapos gigisingin ko lahat ng kapitbahay at sasabihin ko this is my right to express myself. They also have the right to sleep during that time. Mas matimbang po ang interes ng nasyonal kaya para sa akin malinaw na dapat maging admissible ito sa court proceedings.

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