The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts is mulling the imposition of penalties against persons behind the publication and distribution of school books, learning materials, and self-learning modules containing errors or misleading information, whether intentional or not.
Probinsyano Ako Party-list Representative Jose Singson Jr., panel chair, said they will expect from the DepEd an acceptable justification for its “continued failure” to comply with the provisions of Republic Act 8047 that removed from the department the responsibility of publishing books.
The House Committee on Public Accounts conducted an initial hearing on House Resolution 1670 that directed the House panel to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the Commission on Audit’s findings on numerous errors in the learning materials and modules that DepEd approved, published, or distributed to basic and secondary education students.
“The Mabalacat learning module that contained vulgarity is very alarming.”
“The Mabalacat learning module that contained vulgarity is very alarming. While DepEd officials boasted that they corrected the error, it pains us to learn that the culprit has not been punished,” Singson said.
The legislator was referring to the report of educator Antonio Calipjo-Go who revealed that the vulgar Filipino word for sexual intercourse has been written in a self-learning module (SLM) distributed to students by the DepEd division in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
The obscene word was used in describing what an “aswang” is and what it does.
DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali admitted that while they have acted on the issue as early as February 2021, the person who purposely put the vulgar word in the SLM has yet to be identified and punished.
“What he or she did was intentional, glaringly malicious and utterly despicable. Like the numerous errors found by COA in DepEd learning materials, it will be difficult for our students to unlearn what their teachers asked them to digest,” the lawmaker stressed.
To address the issue, he said the public accounts panel will determine whether or not there is a need to impose penalties against persons involved in the publication and distribution of books and learning materials for students in basic and secondary education.
“Aside from authors and writers, government officials and personnel tasked to edit, proofread, examine and approve errant books for publication and distribution should also be penalized.”
Singson said aside from authors and writers, government officials and personnel tasked to edit, proofread, examine and approve errant books for publication and distribution should also be penalized.
“Unlike our students who are minors and are gullible to assimilate what is taught them in school, I believe it is now time to teach those who committed mistakes, whether intentional or not, a lesson,” he concluded.
