Photo Release

Is ARAL Program mandatory?: Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III raises this question as he scrutinizes Senate Bill No. 1604 or An Act Establishing an Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program during the plenary session Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Pimentel said he had an impression that the ARAL Program was a kind of tutorial session and therefore it was only supplemental to the study of the learner. “If we make this mandatory… (Does this mean) to say that the covered learners are now expected to extend school time by the number of hours required under the program?” Pimentel asked. Gatchalian said it would be up to the Department of Education to design the type of intervention programs that would be appropriate for the learners. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)