These interruptions adversely affect their studies and their health.

And unless the government decides to shift the school year to avoid the rainy season, we will continue to have these harmful disruptions.

If in their wisdom, the authorities concerned do not see it fit to change the school year, I suggest they should seriously consider increasing the number of years preparatory to entry to college from the present 10 to 12.

Having been in the academe for the last six years, I can say without equivocation that our high school graduates nowadays generally are ill-prepared for collegiate work. This is especially true of graduates from public schools that are forever bedeviled by the lack of classrooms and qualified teachers and the yearly scandal in defective books issued by the Department of Education.

According to Swiss and World Bank surveys, the Philippines ranks 47th in Asia and 123rd in the world in terms of quality of education. This may be due largely to the fact that we are one of only two countries left with a 10-year pre-college education. (The rest have 12 or more.) The other is Burkina Faso in Africa .

But the real bad news is that Burkina Faso, a least developed country (LDC), is believed to be better than we are in that she spends more for education than we do. LDCs are considered the poorest among the poor countries of the world.

Increasing the number of pre-college education years from 10 to 12 may be an expensive proposition in the beginning but it will be well worth it in the long run. The socio-economic and political benefits to be derived from a truly well-educated citizenry are plain to see and do not need elaboration.

***

The resolution filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV calling for an investigation into the alleged involvement of top government officials in the July 10 ambush of Marines in Basilan resulting in the death of 14, 10 of whom were beheaded, is most disconcerting.

At first blush, the allegation is unbelievably outlandish and outrageous. But when one considers the reports about the Marines using the wrong radio frequency, mortars that misfired, helicopter support not firing a single shot and the confusion about who the perpetrators were, then one begins to wonder.

Presidential legal adviser Sergio Apostol, in reaction to Trillanes’ allegation, said no right thinking president would feed her soldiers as pawns to be massacred by the enemy of the state. He added that the AFP is already conducting an investigation on the July 10 carnage and that Trillanes should wait for the results.

"The military investigation into the matter proves that we are not hiding anything. President Arroyo will only start to take drastic action like sacking any erring official once the investigation result is released and Senator Trillanes should also do the same. We should wait for the military investigation to finish," he said.

(I believe "sacking any erring official" would be an insult to the memory of the slain Marines if the allegation proves to be true. The death penalty should be restored and meted out to the guilty parties.)

On the other hand, the statement of the AFP spokesman that "no commander in his right mind would allow his men to get into a situation that would harm them" brought to mind one of the reasons why the Oakwood "mutineers", among them Trillanes, supposedly did what they did. Among others, they accused a former AFP chief of selling ammunition to the enemies of the state in Mindanao.

***

Frankly, I don’t think the military will be able to come up with a convincing report on the Basilan incident. Whichever way one looks at it, the result of any investigation will not be flattering to the commanding officers of the slain soldiers and to the military command itself.

What will most likely happen is that any report on the incident will again be suppressed by the military, just like it did with the Mayuga Report on the investigation of military officers allegedly involved in the Garci-inspired irregularities during the 2004 presidential election, and the Provost Marshal’s report on the investigation of the plate number used in the getaway car of Jonas Burgos’ abductors.

***

Trillanes’ resolution was referred to the Senate Committee on National Defense chaired by Senator Rodolfo Biazon who said that such allegations should be backed up by evidence and affidavits of witnesses.

Trillanes’ lawyer, however, said "the Senator would not file that resolution if he does not have the testimonies to support…it may not be in writing right now but he has the appropriate witnesses to back it up. The back up of the resolution is actually information from responsible public officials, including members of the Philippine Marines."

Let’s see how this one plays out.

***

We are horrified by the number of casualties – about 50 soldiers and an undetermined number of secessionists and terrorists – in the recent armed clashes in Basilan and Sulu. (Fifteen more Marines were killed over the weekend.) And rightly so, notwithstanding the rather dismissive statement of AFP chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. that casualties are to be expected in armed conflicts.

Compared, however, to what is happening in Iraq, we could take comfort, albeit little, in the thought that the situation could be worse.

Imagine, 250 dead and more than 300 injured in just one day! And the carnage has been going on in Iraq for four years now.

That is why it is important that American troops should never be allowed to participate in the combat operations against the secessionists and terrorists in Mindanao. US involvement will certainly lead to far more serious consequences.

***

Last week, Washington was reported to be considering branding Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group, and possibly the entire Iranian armed forces as well.

Such a move would subject the Iranian forces to a financial squeeze by the US with far-reaching implications, not unlike the freezing of North Korean funds in a Macao bank. (The funds have since been released when North Korea finally agreed to dismantle its nuclear reactors in Yongbyon.)

It is interesting to note that US animosity towards Iran is not matched by the acts of the Iraqi government under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Last week, for instance, Iran and Iraq signed agreements to build oil pipelines between them. Iraq would sell and transport crude oil to Iran , and Iran would sell and transport oil to Iraq from its refineries.

How does one explain such moves when the Iraqi government is supposed to be pro-American? Obviously, Iraqi leaders do not believe in the old adage "the enemy of my friend is my enemy." Maybe the Iraqis have not yet made up their minds as to who their real enemies and who their real friends are.

***

I probably would have believed Ms. Arroyo was really serious about her much-tooted campaign against car smuggling in Subic had she ordered the inclusion of the high-priced Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches among those reduced to scrap metal.

The reason given for exempting the said vehicles was that the "importers" filed cases in court. Those cars must have been ordered by rich and well-connected people.

It would be interesting to know how and where they will eventually end up. Ah, but they will most likely be soon forgotten.

***

Today is the 116th day of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had earlier ordered AFP chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and other respondents to present Jonas before the Court of Appeals (CA).

They showed up at the CA but without Jonas, insisting that he was not in their custody and that they had no information on his whereabouts.

With the writ of "amparo," the military would be deprived of such a defense.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno said the Supreme Court has been working on the draft of the writ of "amparo" that would prevent state authorities or agents from simply denying they have in their custody victims of forced disappearances.

"That (denying) will be prohibited. We will be setting up a standard for them to follow, and if they cannot satisfy the standard, the proper relief can be granted by the court," explained Puno.

Let’s hope this development will lead to the solution of Jonas’ case.

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