Use education to uplift the Filipino people

Education is not only a tool for personal growth but also an instrument to uplift the level of behavior and standard of living of the nation's citizenry, Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) said.

Gordon conveyed the message at the 2009 National Convention of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), which was attended by around 2000 Catholic school officials, students, nuns, representatives from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and members of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA).

"Some people go to education for the title, so you have lawyers. We have 49,000 lawyers in this country but we don't have justice. We have doctors who want to be nurses because the pursuit is material things," he said.

"I am a graduate of a Catholic school. We were taught to be a man for others, to do things for the greater glory of God. But what is important is to use your education in such a manner that you uplift your people," he added.

Gordon said that being able to draw out the best from a people is the first thing that the country's leaders are supposed to do. However, he pointed out that if the citizens, who elect the nation's leaders, are not provided with nor have access to quality education, they would not be able to discern well and choose wisely.