Borrowing for Quality of Life

Borrowing for Quality of Life (Day 30)

by Rey Laguda with Charmie Lising

(This is the  30th day of 50-day journey of DepEd Undersecretary Rey Laguda as being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account - Blogger/owner)

Education reform is not just about designing curriculum, building classrooms and facilities, and hiring teachers and personnel. It’s also about strengthening the organization and the bureaucracy mandated to oversee the entire education system of our country. It is important to work towards improving the quality of life of the people who operate within the bureaucracy, and one of the ways to do this is to help them attain financial security.

image - pixabay

In an effort to protect teachers from excessive loan interest rates and abusive collection practices, DepEd revamped the Automatic Payroll Deduction System (APDS) in 2003. By re-accrediting Private Lending Institutions (PLIs) that will be allowed to use the facility and formalizing memoranda of agreements with them, DepEd was able to set stricter policies on the use of APDS, which include putting a cap of 18% to the allowable nominal interest rates (approximately 33% Effective Interest Rate). Prior to this re-accreditation, PLIs were charging interest rates that were as high as a whopping 120%.

The Epic History of the Chinese and Roman Empires

When people think of the greatest empires of the ancient world, they think of the Roman Empire and the Chinese Han Dynasty. The history of the Roman Empire and of the Han Dynasty is epic. Both of these empires ruled over vast numbers of people, and both ruled for approximately four centuries. The Roman Empire was known for its unstoppable military. The Roman military literally changed the way that war in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of northern Africa was fought. The Han Dynasty had a similar effect on the way that war was fought in the Orient.

Both the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire were known for trade. Rome created trade routes that covered the globe. There are many accounts in history where the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire interacted for economic trade. The Roman Empire caused Latin to be the primary language that was spoken throughout Europe. For centuries, Latin was the language of the people, and then it became a language that was closely linked to Christianity. The growth of the Roman Empire had a powerful effect on the religion that was practiced by people who lived under the Roman domain. The Han Dynasty had the same effect.