Heavy bags no laughing matter for Lapid

MANILA, Philippines—Stung by Education Secretary Armin Luistro’s swift rejection of his bill that would stop the overloading of schoolbags, Sen. Lito Lapid went nostalgic about his humble origins to defend his bill.

“If only I did not go through such hard labor in the mountain—I was a wood gatherer and I carried sugar cane when I was young—I should have been taller because the Lapids are very big. I should have been taller than my father who was 5 (feet) 11 (inches),” said the 5’9” Lapid.

“This is from my own experience. Because I carried heavy wood and sugar cane, I became smaller as it probably had an effect on my spinal column. I don’t want other kids to suffer the same with the heavy bags they are forced to carry to school. They still have very young bones, do you want them to get a bent spinal column?”

In his bill, Lapid proposed that schools limit the maximum load of schoolbags to 15 percent of a student’s body weight. Schools should provide weighing scales to implement this regulation. He also proposed that schools provide more lockers and buy thinner and lighter textbooks.

The former movie actor cited a study purportedly showing that a growing number of pupils had developed back deformities from carrying heavy backpacks in school.

Too many laws

Luistro told reporters earlier that he found Lapid’s Senate Bill No. 2179 too trivial to require enactment into law.

Luistro said the problem of overloading schoolbags could easily be addressed by the school principal and the parents themselves.

“If we pass too many laws, nobody will believe in our laws anymore. I think a simple news item on this topic is enough,” Luistro said with a mocking laughter.

But Lapid was not amused by Luistro’s reaction belittling his bill, “an act limiting the amount of weight of bags carried by children in school and implementing proactive measures to protect school children’s health from the adverse effect of heavy schoolbag.”

“What’s wrong with that? If he thinks it’s too shallow, well, he is the one who is shallow for not recognizing this problem,” Lapid said.

The senator said he got the idea from his “cabalen,” or province mate, Pampanga Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin.

Solutions not reminders

Speaking in Filipino, Lapid said the problem of heavy backpacks could not be addressed by mere memos or reminders to school principals and teachers as the current situation showed they had ignored the school children’s plight.

“He won’t be a secretary forever and I won’t be a senator forever, so we can’t just rely on reminders. We need to have a permanent solution to this, this is for our children and grandchildren.”

Lapid said Luistro’s reaction was nothing new since the Department of Education also derided his previous bill advocating the supply of school desks for left-handed students.

Gil Cabacungan, Phil. Daily Inquirer