According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Philippines lags significantly behind in education rankings globally. In the latest PISA conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in math, reading and science, Filipino students ranked 77th among 81 countries around the globe.

According to the World Economic Forum: “The importance of global competitiveness cannot be overstated. It directly affects a country’s economic prosperity and social welfare. It serves as a benchmark to develop strategies to enhance national productivity and standards.”

Education is the backbone of a nation’s progress. The most educated nations show that investing in learning creates strong thriving societies.

What the Philippines needs immediately is a corps of professional educators to devote their time solely to the education of our children.

The government can choose from among the successful practitioners in the national and local governments.

Today, I am showcasing the experience of Parañaque City, whose incumbent mayor, Eric Olivarez, recently won the city’s 1st congressional district race unopposed with a whopping 73,351 votes.

Olivarez is a politician who holds a doctorate degree in education He is also a registered nurse and a sports buff.

When he assumed office as mayor in 2022, he reorganized his executive staff by conducting a “rigodon” among department heads.

He crafted a simple service slogan, “Nurse Na, Teacher Pa,” the implications of which were easy to discern.

“Nurse na” implies child care and nutrition, from womb through childhood. Nutrition is crucial in education, impacting students’ cognitive functions, attention span, and academic performance.

“Teacher pa” implies skills in curriculum development, allowing one to analyze what learners need, set goals for learning, and choose suitable subjects to teach.

As a sports buff, Olivares spread the joy of athletics, the development of healthful activities, values, and character building.

He combined his academic acumen and practicality to encourage his constituents with the inclination to engage in small businesses, providing them with seed money of P10,000 without interest.

The foregoing programs and projects proved helpful in accomplishing his big plan. In 2022, with the help of his brother, 1st District Representative Edwin Olivarez, Parañaque broke into the top 10 richest cities in the Philippines with P27.3 billion in assets.

Mayor Olivarez recognized the hard work of the city department heads and employees.

Olivarez has demonstrated how an ambitious plan that appeared impossible to achieve could be achieved — by breaking down goals into smaller steps, prioritizing tasks, and maintaining motivation and accountability.

Effectively planning and executing a large project like overcoming the country’s significant lag in education involves a multi-step process — by upgrading the educational system, setting clear goals, creating timelines, identifying resources, and adapting to challenges.

It is worth mentioning that throughout the administration of Olivarez, he occasionally sought the advice of the Commission on Audit (CoA).

Here is a success story that really happens when the CoA is functional, enabling the local government to stay right and do right, in accordance with the law and the rules.