01/09/2025
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๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐
By Carmelo Miguel Manongsong
Wisdom knows no bounds.
With a light cut, a continuous stitch, and a rustic grumble from her sewing machine, nothing but sheer determination could be seen as she performs her duties as a seamstress, a mother, and a student.
It's as if each timeline were combined together. Where the endless lines of labour, the affectionate warmth of motherhood, and the ever-so-youthful yet unyouthful prospects of school life are now in one bundleโfor Imelda Macapagal Bernardo, at the age of 65 years old, has persistently been striving these tasks for the sake of her children, her goals, her everything.
Though it may seem surreal, people like Imelda, who had to postpone their education at a young age, get a chance to salvage their once-aspired dreams or at least get another start in life through the Alternative Learning System. ALS enables you to grab a high school diploma within a year or more, even if you are in your vibrant adolescence down to your ripened state
Because in the face of financial constraints, putting debt in reality itself would be the only option.
UNDER THE GUISE OF A BRIGHT MIND
In these marginalized sections of our country, poverty, which reaps about 18.1% of Filipinos by the day, has been a significant factor in Imelda's delay in finishing school. Being the 7th child among 10 siblings, with her father being a farmer while her mother caring for livestock, one thing led to another; sacrifices were made in the form of her and her sibling's futures now hanging in the thread of uncertaintyโfor even the countless sweats, painstaking tears of her parents wouldn't satiate the gruelling conformities life ceases to create.
Despite the initial hardships she faced, she never gave up. Determined to dress for a better future, she opted for tailoring, which became her lifeline, sustaining her future till she weaved her way along the lines of becoming a mother and, inevitably, a student once more by the guide of the ALS program.
As a mother of six, her days were a blur of multitaskingโattending the hourly classes in the morning, working tirelessly on her profession in the afternoon, and fulfilling her role as a mother into the night. It's a conglomerate duty she had to balance while believing in her capabilities, her abilities, and a saying that goes: "Kundi uukol, hindi bubukol(If it is not meant to be, it will not happen.)."
JUST A LESSON TOO SHORT
This is the prosperous solution the government has formed as a safety netโwith over 4 million out-of-school youths and adults enrolled in the program, some say it is a success, but the underlying fact is that these numbers only present the neglected concern to our society's education. The program, though beneficial, is often just a bandage to cover over 50% of secondary school dropouts in the Philippines, the reason being financial struggles, social struggles, and academic struggles.
However, without this second chance offered by the Alternative Learning System (ALS), millions of Filipinos would remain trapped in a cycle of unfulfilled dreams and limited opportunities. Furthermore, ALS provides more than just a diploma. In a study in Wiley Online Library, lower self-esteem and confidence have been proven to be evident to most dropouts, making it even more apparent that without the hierarchical cause, these bright minds in the dust would have never shifted to success.
With just a light cut, a continuous stitch, and a yearning ever-so-slightly clamouring with just a stareโthis is Imelda, and every ALS participant has garmented. A piece that patches the inconsistencies they've dreamt and longed for, a piece that supports the already rigid pillar they call their life, a piece that disregards all the finish lines of everything.
A piece that proves to all that wisdom knows no bounds.
