NMYL Presidents’ reunion picture: “Young legislators’ group NMYL celebrates 30th anniversary”, the Zoom-captured picture shows from left: Love Baronda, Cecilia Clare Reyes, DV Savellano, Josie dela Cruz, Kiko Pangilinan, Ed Chatto, Herbert Bautista, Enrique dela Cruz, Julian Coseteng, Del de Guzman, and Dorothy Delarmente.

LOVE BARONDA, current president of the National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL), was only a toddler when the group was formally formed thirty years ago.

“Who would have thought na two years old pa lang ako, nag-birthing pains pala kayo conceiving this organization. And because of all your hard work, we are the beneficiaries of your thirty years of labor. So, thank you, thank you po sa mga founders natin especially kay Senator Kiko,” she said.

Councilor Baronda of Iloilo City, NMYL president from 2020 to present, made this remark at the online reunion of all the 12 NMYL presidents earlier this week, as kick-off to the group’s year-long 30th anniversary celebration.

At the reunion, all NMYL presidents from the founding president Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, NMYL president from 1988 to 1992, all the way to current president Councilor Baronda took turns reminiscing: spending their own money, not being able to work on official business, and having to squat in the office of what is now TESDA.

The young once recalled with fondness how the organization grew from a group of 250 idealistic young legislators to a 2,000-strong organization.

Former Marikina Mayor Del De Guzman, NMYL president from 1998 to 2001, and former Alicia town (in Isabela) Mayor Cecilia Claire “Jeng” Reyes, NMYL president from 2008 to 2011, both said all the hard work of organizing bore fruit.

In De Guzman’s words: “Masaya rin ako na I was part of the first group or core group na nag-start mag-organize. ‘Yun nga lang, ‘yung mga experience natin bago natin na-organize ‘yung first congress, we really had to spend our own money, our own time kasi hindi tayo binibigyan ng official time noon, official business. So kapag wala tayo sa station, absent tayo, wala tayong allowance, wala tayong kahit ano. So ‘yun ‘yung mga sacrifices na ginawa natin just for this advocacy. Alam naman natin ‘yung advocacy natin: anti 3Gs, guns goons, and gold.”

For Reyes, institutionalizing NMYL was a major accomplishment. “Nagpapasalamat po ako kay Senator Kiko kasi nagkaroon po ng permanent office space ang NMYL sa Regalia Towers. ‘Yun po malaking pakinabang po sa NMYL, na-institutionalize ang NMYL,” she said.

CAMARADERIE IN SERVICE

Inspired by the overwhelming success of young blood in the first post-martial law democratic elections in 1988, young councilors from Metro Manila headed by then-councilor Pangilinan organized themselves into the Metro Manila Young Councilors’ League.

But as more young politicians from various parts of the country wanted to be part of the organization, the group eventually came to be known as National Movement of Young Legislators. Amidst all kinds of challenges and after consultations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the NMYL Founding Congress was held on April 14-17, 1991 at University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, NMYL president from 2001 to 2004, said NMYL opened the national political stage to him, learning from fellow young leaders.

“Ito ‘yung naging opening ko to a national organization as an elected leader, and then nagsunod-sunod na ‘yun, Vice Mayors League, Mayors League…Thank you so much for giving this opportunity to be part of the leadership and the organization that is NMYL. I learned so much from this. I got to meet people who are ideal and until now very ideal,” Bautista said.

Former Quezon City Councilor Julian Coseteng, NMYL president from 2004 to 2008, remembered having fun while learning: “I cannot speak of my experience as a politician without speaking of NYML. NMYL has made my career in politics a lot more fun, a lot more enjoyable, very, very packed with very, very memorable experiences. I will always remember the fellowship, all the learnings that I had which helped me improve as well as a politician.”

Bohol Congressman Edgardo Chatto, NMYL president from 1995 to 1998, said the movement is a major part of his political and personal growth. “NMYL is really part of [my] growth process, development. And I am so happy that the young generation now are involved. So tuloy-tuloy talaga tayong mag-i-influence doon sa participation ng ating young legislators,” he said.

Former Quezon City Councilor Dorothy “Doray” Delarmente, NMYL president from 2011 to 2013, shared: “All my closest and dearest friends right now, in and out of politics, ay na-meet ko sa NMYL…I said one of the best reasons of becoming a public servant is because of my experiences and the friendship that I built from NMYL.”

Baliuag Councilor Enrique “Buko” dela Cruz, interim NMYL president from 2018 to 2020, acknowledged the positive impact of the organization. “Napakalaking tulong po sa mga kabataan, sa mga batang mambabatas ang samahan na ito. I just hope that I can make myself worthy of being a part of this noble organization,” he said.

Expressions of thanks marked the virtual reunion meeting. Pangilinan said that even after his NMYL term, he continued to support “our baby” as a sort of homage to the youthful idealism that inspired NMYL’s founding.

“Kahit na wala na ako sa NMYL, [my Senate] office has been there for NMYL. In fact, many of the programs we put together, wala na ako sa NMYL. Pero ‘yung mga exchange programs, with China, the United States, and Australia, tuloy-tuloy nating sinusuportahan ‘yun. ‘Yung AIM (Asian Institute of Management) Programme for over a hundred sixty young political leaders… Syempre, bilang ama, mahal natin ang ating mga anak eh syempre parang NMYL is our baby. Tayong lahat, hindi lang ako. Tayong lahat na andoon ‘nung unang term,” Pangilinan said.

NMYL Alumni president Congressman DV Savellano of Ilocos Sur initiated the NMYL presidents’ reunion meeting, which lasted almost two hours.

Brimming with three decades worth of memories, the NMYL presidents all agreed to work together to celebrate the movement’s thirty years of idealistic, imaginative, and impassioned service to the country.

“Really, it’s beautiful to be able to retrace and remember and recall all those that we shared. And I continue to share the same love for the country, the same desire to really see the kind of political reforms that we have been fighting for,” said former Bulacan Governor Josie dela Cruz, NYML president from 1992 to 1995.

What a mover Siayan Mayor Flora Villarosa is! With the support of EdGE, Mayor Villarosa invited all the Mayors and Local School Boards of Zamboanga del Norte to a regional meeting in Dipolog City to share best practices in education governance and and to cohort more education champions in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The local chief executives were presented with data on the status of education in their localities, which was followed by a discussion on possible causes for the poor performance of students. A “shock and awe” approach was needed to make the LCEs and LSBs realize that improving the quality of education is a shared responsibility. As leaders in the community, they have a huge role in setting education priorities. But their leadership and support are also necessary so that the entire community can be mobilized to work for solutions to problems impeding the growth of education.

When asked to prioritize their concerns, poverty alleviation was their most frequent response. Education did not seem to figure out among their LGUs’ top priorities. To this, Ma’am Nene Guevara, Synergeia CEO, shared the result of studies that showed poverty has become intergenerational because children from poor families are unable to study or complete elementary or high school. Giving children access to education gives them and their families opportunities for a better life. This was an eye-opener for the Mayors and LSB members.

The regional meeting also gave the Mayors the opportunity to listen to and be inspired by Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian and his successful 360 Degree Education Program of Valenzuela City. Mayor Rex presented the components and results of the Valenzuela program, a flagship education initiative which EdGE supports. Mayor Rex was a perfect example to the Mayors of a local chief executive who takes the driver’s seat in education in partnership with DepEd and other community stakeholders.

They were also fortunate to listen to Former Governor Josie dela Cruz, currently Synergeia mentor, sharing the education story of Bulacan back when she was still its governor. Bulacan’s education program, among the pioneers under the Synergeia wing, was also a success story.

At the end of the day, the Mayors gave their full commitment to prioritize education and undertake follow-up activities like conducting their own education summits to identify education gaps and proposed solutions, and re-inventing and expanding their Local School Boards. It was indeed a good day for education governance.

Source: Synergeia

With the New Year comes new beginnings and for the Municipality of Teresa, 2018 marks the beginning of a newfound commitment to education. On the 23rd of January, Synergeia and the Municipality of Teresa officially began its education partnership with the town’s first ever Education Summit.

Everyone was abuzz with excitement and eagerness. The participants yelled the summit’s title “We Can Work It Out” like a battle cry to kick-off the day’s program of activities. Mayor Raul Palino was inspiring yet firm in his remarks. To everyone in the room — to the school officials and teachers, students, parents, implementers of the 4Ps program, private sector, and local government officials, he posed this challenge: “May gagawin po tayo…Ang ating layunin ay sama-samang makatulong sa mga bata. Papaano natin itataas ang antas ng karunungan sa Teresa?”

Synergeia Mentor, Former Governor Josie dela Cruz, discussed School Governing Councils – – how they are created, who can be SGC members, their functions and how they differ from Parent-Teachers’ Associations. She highlighted their important role in the formulation of school improvement plans after finding out that many schools in Teresa did not have SGCs at all, or if they did, these were not functional or active in school policy making and planning. The SGC is the vehicle to involve members of the entire community who might have a stake in the improvement of every child’s education. As F/Gov Josie so aptly stated, “Ang edukasyon ng kabataan ay pakialam nating lahat…Pagkatapos nitong summit na ito, sana magbubuo po tayong lahat ng School Governing Councils sa ating mga paaralan.”

The two break-out groups facilitated by F/Gov Josie and Ma’am Nene were interactive, fun, and instructional at the same time. There were follow-through modules on identifying SGC circles of influence, how to make one attend an SGC meeting and what could be ground rules an SGC must observe. The participants worked on a group puzzle that quizzed them on historical facts about the Philippines and in the process, they learned about cooperation and working as one team. They next dove right into capacity-building activities that focused on setting attainable goals, translating goals into tasks, and differentiating between inputs, outputs, and outcomes. These skills are instrumental in building and fostering a successful SGC.

The participants, shown the National Achievement Test scores of Teresa schools, expressed concern at the declining trend of scores over the past few years. Participants, including young students, had stories to tell on possible reasons for this drop such as the sudden change in curriculum, the focus on mother tongue, parents who are unable to read themselves, newbie teachers assigned in the lower grades, students distracted with games, and so on. The bottom line, however, was everyone agreed that there was much work to be done.

To cap the day’s workshop, the participants were asked to prepare a simple action plan that identifies their desired goals and tasks. The teachers want to improve the reading and math competencies of schoolchildren. The parents look forward to a training on parenting skills. DepEd Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Meliton Zurbano, identified reading, numeracy and writing as priorities. Teresa Marble, the partner-private corporation of Teresa in its education program, promised to support and monitor the development of SGCs, the remedial reading training of teachers and parenting workshop.

After hearing the participants, we know that there is so much hope and promise that Teresa’s education program will succeed. Ma’am Nene promised Synergeia’s full support and commitment. Her parting note – “Ang programa ng Synergeia ay ang inyong edukasyon…”

Source: Synergeia