𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚’𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒕.
𝐈𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐑𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐬 emphasized this principle as local leaders work to bridge classroom education with national sovereignty and civic duty.
Dr. Banias called on the Department of Education, local government units, educators, and students to 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞, urging young learners to view maps as a blueprint for their future, reminding them that the 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝.
He stressed that 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦 rather than anger or bravado. This initiative is backed by 𝐈𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐨’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐍𝐨. 2026-347, which integrates West Philippine Sea values education into schools.
