Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla recently sat down with DLSU-D’s School of Governance, Public Service, and Corporate Leadership to talk about how the province has been responding to multi-sectoral concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the governor, Caviteños were able to adapt to the challenge of the Enhanced Community Quarantine, and eventually the General Community Quarantine guidelines. From an initial arrest rate in the high 1,000s per day during the first week of the ECQ for violations to curfew, face masks and quarantine passes, violators were reduced to only 150 in the past weeks, bringing down the numbers to as much as 90 percent.
“Sociologically the people have responded very well. They have been following the rules that we have set,” Gov. Remulla said. “People got used to it. The people have respected the policies we have set. So from a sociological point of view, we've done very well.“
The Governor also shared that on the health front in the battle against COVID-19, Cavite also managed to lengthen the doubling period and improve the recovery rate. He said that the province managed to address the infection which is now at 431. This accounts for .001 percent of Cavite’s 4.5 million population.
He warned though, that the province is not going to become complacent as data from PGH suggested that the second wave of infection has already arrived.
As he discussed key issues on economic recovery, transportation, tourism, environment, Gov. Remulla also touched on the challenges being faced by the education sector.
According to the Governor, there has been great apprehension among parents in enrolling their children for the next school year, as evidenced by the 1 percent turnout during the first day of enrolment for elementary school students compared to the figure in the previous school years. He agreed that the new normal in education would be tough.
The Governor revealed that based on their survey, only 10 percent of homes in Cavite have desktops and laptops while 99 percent have cellphones. However, the use of cellphones would not be enough for a students’ learning requirement. Even more of a challenge is that the parents are ill-equipped to teach their children their lessons.
“The biggest challenge is that parents are not equipped to teach their children. Teaching is a skill. It is an acquired skill. I have a child who is 15 and she is learning calculus already. And if she is now ready to do a home module test, I can’t teach her calculus. There is no way I can. Can you imagine students of 15 and 16 learning algebra? Parents are not ready to teach and to guide, and if they (students) want to learn via youtube, it takes a lot of bandwidth,” he said.
Remulla bared plans to set up 5,000 access points all over the province and use the province’s over 2,000 barangay covered courts as alternative learning centers where the students can engage in modular learning.
The governor said they are planning purchase desktops and set up computers in the covered courts which could accommodate up to 20 to 30 students on a three-hour shifting schedule. All of these facilities will have access points installed.
This will effectively address the students’ need for devices and internet connection and transportation cost from taking tricycles. He said that the province will be spending around P1 billion for the project.
Watch the full video for the Governor’s in-depth discussion of what’s in store for the province as it continues to brave adversities. The video was a joint initiative of DLSU-D’s School of Governance, Public Service, and Corporate Leadership, and the Strategic Communications Office.