J. Albert Gamboa l May 17, 2024 l The Manila Times
THE provincial capital of Bataan — Balanga — is emerging as a major educational center in the Central Luzon region. Located 120 kilometers west of Quezon City and bordered by Manila Bay on its eastern seaboard, Balanga’s vision is to become a “smart university town” and an “established center for global technology businesses” by 2030.
In 2008, an area comprising 80 hectares of the city’s central district was declared a university town through a city ordinance. The area is envisioned as a hub for startups and tech-related businesses. Balanga today has one state university, 10 private colleges, four public high schools, and several private secondary schools.
Upon the invitation of the Bataan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (Baccii), I joined a group of media practitioners who visited Balanga City for a familiarization tour. Baccii is affiliated with both the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.
Highlight of our trip was the 2024 Culture and Arts Festival of the Bataan National High School (BNHS), the biggest secondary institution in the province, with its main campus in Balanga City. BNHS offers a special program in foreign languages (SPFL), with Mandarin as its most popular course over the past decade.
Based on the Department of Education (DepEd) manual of operations, the SPFL is designed to equip graduates of secondary education with meaningful interaction in a linguistically diverse global community.
The festival was organized by BNHS Principal Dr. Alma Poblete and DepEd teacher Catherine Labrador, who mentored the SPFL students. Labrador has credentials to boot after studying Mandarin and training as a faculty scholar at the Fujian Normal University in Fuzhou, China, along with many Filipino students and teachers.
It was amazing to watch the young students perform their song numbers and lengthy spiels on stage as though they were native Mandarin speakers. The lion and dragon dancers of BNHS seemed to be better skilled than their counterparts in Manila.
Guests at the culminating event were led by Balanga City Councilor Victor Baluyot and Raymon Co of PCCI-Bataan Chapter, as well as faculty members from Castillejos National High School in Zambales and Gordon Heights National High School in Olongapo City. The latter attended the festival to benchmark their schools’ SPFL Mandarin program with that of BNHS as their model.
Amid the ongoing diplomatic impasse regarding the West Philippine Sea, it was refreshing to witness local public school students showcasing Chinese cultural traditions and Mandarin speaking skills. Juxtaposed against the number of students from China enrolled in Cagayan Valley schools that has turned into a national issue, it makes one wonder if the people of Fujian province likewise questioned the presence of Filipino scholars in their foremost university.
Before the recent rise of geopolitical tensions in this part of the world, mainland Chinese investors and tourists were welcomed warmly to our shores. In fact, China has become the Philippines’ biggest trading partner, according to the latest report of the world’s second-largest banking institution, the Bank of America.
It may be recalled that during friendlier times, Beijing donated computer equipment to public schools in Balanga City and school buildings to other local government units, aside from relief assistance to disaster-hit areas of the country and reconstruction funds for the rehabilitation of Marawi City. In 2022 alone, it provided P1 billion worth of military assistance and rescue equipment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, based on the Department of National Defense’s website.
Sad to say, the current imbroglio has clouded Fil-Sino relations and is affecting how individual citizens of the two countries perceive each other. Hopefully, the “doves” will prevail over the “hawks” in both nations’ governments so that their differences could be settled amicably.
Meanwhile, the city of Balanga remains unperturbed despite its proximity to the controversial portion of the South China Sea. Its vision of becoming a center of education and technology is closer to attainment after being awarded to form part of the Unesco Global Network of Learning Cities. It has also been named by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines among the country’s 25 Digital Cities for 2025.
*** The author is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and vice chairman of the Finex Ethics Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and The Manila Times. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph Photo from Pinterest.