The Claim: VP Robredo maligned Filipino seamen for possessing inadequate skills
Rating: FALSE
The Facts: In a COMELEC-led presidential debate, one of the topics the presidentiables would have to discuss is addressing unemployment. Vice President Leni Robredo proposed improvements in the educational quality, raising the compensation for teachers, and means to match applicants’ qualifications with available jobs.
VP Robredo has neither directly nor intently said that Filipino seamen possess insufficient skills.
Why we fact-checked this: As of this writing, this Facebook post has attained 46k reactions, 745 comments, and 54k shares.
The details:
On March 22, 2022, a Facebook user using the name “Sonny Goodz” posted an excerpt of Pilipinas Debates 2022, a COMELEC-initiated presidential debate, where VP Robredo was answering the question: “Ano ang inyong gagawin para magkaroon ng sapat na trabaho para sa lahat lalo na para sa nakapagtapos ng pag-aaral?”
Robredo answered: “Malaki po yung disconnect ng curriculum natin sa industry. Example ko na lang po dito yung BPO. Ang daming trabahong available pero walang nagquaqualify. Yung maritime, grabe pa yung opportunity dito pero yung skills kulang.”
The said viral post has the caption, “Mga kasamahan ko na seaman……payag kayo? Kulang daw kayo sa skills…….tsk tsk tsk….” [https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5701244396568670&id=100000494994157] “Sonny Goodz” has more than 1,800 followers.
Although the video attachment has no irregular splice, many of those who read it believed the statement and even commented adversely against VP Robredo. The Vice President was talking clearly about education and work mismatch, where Filipino seafarers could fill in those better-paying jobs however their qualifications wouldn’t match with what the position requires.
There are thousands of Filipino seafarers and provoking them could indeed cause anxiety and anger. A study reveals that greater emotionality predicts increased belief in fake news and decreased truth discernment. [https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/…/s41…] Being critical of received information allows an individual to make sound decisions.
NOTES
VP’s verbatim:
Unang-una ayusin ang kalidad ng ating edukasyon para preparado yung ating mga graduates sa kanilang trabahong gustong hanapin. Even during pre-pandemic, malaki na talaga yung problema natin doon sa kalidad ng edukasyon, in fact, pag titignan po natin yung ating mga ranking sa international assessments lagi tayong nasa bottom. Kaya kailangan, parati ko po itong sinasabi, kailangan magdeclare na tayo ng education crisis upang matutukan natin ito. Itaas natin yung budget natin sa education. Meron pong recommended ang UNESCO hanggang 6%, ngayon 3% lang yung ating budget. 3% lang ng GDP, itaas po natin to 6% para matutukan po natin yung mga items na dapat matutukan. Yung number 1, kailangan asikasuhin natin yung ating mga teacher. Ang salaries po ng mga teachers natin hindi competitive kumpara sa ibang mga lugar. Nilulunod natin sila sa maraming administrative work na ang dapat po nakatutok sila sa instruction. Dapat yung trainings nila tuloy-tuloy para magpoproduce din sila ng better quality rin na mga estudyante. Malaki po yung disconnect ng curriculum natin sa industry. Example ko na lang po dito yung BPO. Ang daming trabahong available pero walang nagquaqualify. Yung maritime, grabe pa yung opportunity dito pero yung skills kulang.
Sonny Goodz aka Sonny Godoy https://ph.linkedin.com/in/sonny-godoy-4a220b42
Useful links:
Full video of the presidential debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuFS1kuq29w
Pinoy seafarer jobs at risk from EU audit on maritime schools: https://businessmirror.com.ph/…/pinoy-seafarer-jobs-at…/
Jobs of 30,000 Filipino seafarers in danger of “drowning” – TESDAMAN: https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/…/2022/0303_villanueva1.asp
Villanueva’s statement on seafarers: https://drive.google.com/…/1wQehNRjvUi59RPGrq…/view
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