The Philippines missed out on Taylor Swift's worldwide tour in 2024. That is due wholly to the fact that Singapore contracted with Taylor Swift to hold concerts in Southeast Asia exclusively in Singapore. However, the Philippines hopes to attract Taylor Swift with a brand new entertainment complex.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/12/philippines-is-taylor-swift-ready-by-2028-ciac-exec-says |
The Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) is now on the process of receiving proposals for the construction of an entertainment and event center that may encourage pop icon Taylor Swift to consider Philippines in her next round of world tour.
“By 2028, we will be Taylor Swift-ready,” said CIAC president and chief executive officer Arrey A. Perez during the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum at the New Clark City in Tarlac on Friday, July 12.
In planning on Taylor Swift for the construction of its entertainment and even center, Perez explained that the intention is to showcase the flagship projects that will transform the Civil Aviation Complex into an Airport City.
Perez revealed that at least three investors have already shown interest in building the entertainment and event center— a Singaporean company, a US company and local firm— with some of the investors planning to join forces in building the facility.
The beauty of the planned entertainment and event center that they are planning to build, according to Perez, is that it would just be a walking distance from the Clark International Airport.
“You will not see that in other countries. Just imagine that after the plane lands, you will just walk—no traffic hassle— to the concert of Taylor Swift,” said Perez.
But that's if, and only, if they would be able to convince Taylor Swift to hold a concert in the Philippines as Perez himself said that Singapore has already bought the exclusivity of her concerts in Southeast Asia.
The Philippines was not included in the recent Eras Tour of Taylor Swift that prompted Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda to complain and later asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to question the Singapore's exclusivity contract.
The CIAC head, however, is optimistic: “We will court her because we are aware of the restrictions. But I hope that by that time we build our complex, and we are ready to host her, she would agree because the Philippines has been a music-loving country.”
Perez said the plan on an entertainment and event center started in November last year and by next year if they would receive the proposal before the end of 2024, they are expecting the signing of the contract with the private company that would be chosen to build the facility.
“Give us six to nine months to process the proposal and signing of contract definitely happens next year,’ said Perez.
“And the construction immediately starts by 2025, then you have two to three years to build this entertainment complex,” he added.
Perez said the plan is for the entertainment and event center to have 25,000 to 35,000 capacity since it is the ideal seating capacity based on their study.
Isn't it great that a whole new entertainment complex is being built with one entertainer in mind? The Alliance of Concerned Teachers says "no." They think the money would be better spent on education.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/21/group-criticizes-government-for-prioritizing-taylor-swift-ready-stadium-over-education-needs |
Calling it a “gross misplacement” of priorities amidst the country's worsening education crisis, a group of education workers on Sunday, July 21, strongly criticized the government's plan to build a Taylor Swift-ready stadium at Clark Airport.
“As we approach Brigada Eskwela next week, it's appalling to see the government prioritizing a concert venue over the urgent needs of our education system," said Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairperson Vladimer Quetua in a statement.
"This decision clearly demonstrates how out of touch our leaders are with the realities faced by millions of Filipino students and teachers,” he added.
Quetua emphasized the stark contrast between the proposed stadium project and the severe shortages plaguing the education sector.
The country’s basic education system, Quetua said, is “facing a staggering shortage” of 165,000 classrooms and over 100,000 teachers.
“Add to that the persistent backlogs in learning materials for the coming school year,” Quetua said. “These are the real issues that demand immediate attention and resources from our government," he added.
Quetua also questioned the wisdom of investing in infrastructure that primarily caters to entertainment when basic educational needs remain unmet.
"How can we justify building a stadium for international pop stars when our own children are crammed into dilapidated classrooms if they're lucky enough to have classrooms at all?” he asked. “This project may benefit a few, but it's certainly not addressing the needs of the majority of our people, especially our students,” he added.
ACT then called on the government to “reassess its priorities and redirect funds” towards addressing the critical shortages in education.
"Instead of dreaming about Taylor Swift concerts, our government should be losing sleep over how to provide quality education to every Filipino child,” Quetua said.
“We demand that they cancel this misguided project and channel those resources into building classrooms, hiring teachers, and producing learning materials. That's the kind of 'infrastructure' our nation truly needs,” he added.
Bluntly stated money will NOT save the Philippine education system. While it is important to have classrooms and books if the teachers are not of high calibre then the education will be no good. Take the instance of this newly minted teacher.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/22/failure-not-an-option-five-time-antipolenyo-let-taker-finally-becomes-licensed-teacher |
A 40-year-old mother from Antipolo City did not just become famous because of a now viral TikTok video.
She also became a true testament to hard work and perseverance after finally achieving her dream of becoming a licensed teacher despite taking the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) for five times.
Theresa Abibas, a resident of Barangay Mayamot, captured the hearts of netizens after being featured in a TikTok video where she was seen crying with joy after passing the March 2024 LET while riding a public utility jeepney (PUJ).
"According to Theresa, this is her fifth time taking the board exam after first taking it in 2005. She tried to take the exam again together with her sibling the following year but unfortunately, she had once again failed it while her sibling passed," Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares said Monday, July 22.
Abibas said that it took her another three years to once again try to take the LET. However, she also failed on her third attempt.
"Despite failing to pass the board exam on her first three tries, Theresa did not failed in giving her family a comfortable and happy life by focusing on her work to provide for her children," Ynares said.
After 13 years of putting her dream on hold, Abibas' dream of passing the LET was once again reignited after her younger sibling passed the exam. This inspired her to once again take the board exam for the fourth time.
However, luck was still not on her side as she got a 74.4 percent rating, just shy of .6 percent for her to pass. This prompted her to enroll in the city government's review center to help her prepare for the March 2024 LET.
"Because of her financial constraints, we helped Theresa through our Review Assistance Program for board exam takers to pay for her review center fee," Ynares said, adding that in May of this year, Abibas finally passed the board exam.
Abibas is now working as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher.
The mayor said Abibas expressed her wish to finish her masteral studies while also preparing herself and her documents for applying to the city's public schools.
"If ever she will continue her master's or PHD, the city government has financial assistance and scholarship programs available for those who wish to enter graduate school," he noted.
"We are so proud of you Theresa. Thank you for teaching us the beauty of determination, perseverance, and patience. Your story proves that if we keep trying, we will eventually succeed," the local chief said.
It took Theresa Abibas 5 times over 14 years to finally pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers. While her final score is not noted her fourth score was 74.4% just .6 points shy of passing. More than likely her passing score is not much better.
And the government of Antipolo City not only paid her exam fee but the local Barangay Chief congratulated her for "teaching us the beauty of determination, perseverance, and patience." He goes on to say, "Your story proves that if we keep trying, we will eventually succeed."
No kidding if someone keeps at it they will likely meet their goals. But this is not a sporting event. This is a woman who will now be tasked with teaching children. It is a shame that she will be allowed to do so because her failure at the exam has showed she is unqualified. The DepEd needs to put a limit to the number of tries to weed out people like her.
Could it be the reason she failed four times is because she obtained a poor education from a teacher who also took multiple attempts before passing the LET? Perhaps. One teacher took FOURTEEN ATTEMPTS before she BARELY PASSED with a score of 76.80%.
While building an entertainment complex just to attract Taylor Swift is unbelievably daft so is thinking tossing money at the DepEd will solve a single thing. It is past time for the DepEd to prevent test takers who fail the LET multiple times only to end up barely passing from becoming teachers. The majority of passers in 2022 were repeaters.
It is further announced that of the 8,737 elementary teacher passers, 2,678 are first timers and 6,059 are repeaters. For the secondary teachers, 4,652 passers are first timers and 7,422 are repeaters.
But that won't happen. The DepEd won't act and the ACT won't speak up. Idiots who can barely pass the LET after multiple times will continue to be praised as paragons of perseverance. Filipino students will continue to be dumbed down as they are taught by those idiots. It is time to end this vicious circle of stupidity.
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