Eddie Villanueva, founder of JIL. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Party list Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva has pushed anew a measure that seeks to create a Commission on Filipino Values and a Presidential Interfaith Council to preserve and instill national values, etiquette and moral uprightness among Filipinos of all ages. The Citizens’ Battle against Corruption party list representative said his proposed measure, House Bill No. 5762, or the proposed National Values, Etiquette, and Moral Uprightness Act, would prevent “forces of modernity” from supplanting Filipino values. A similar bill was filed in the previous Congress but was stranded at the committee level. “The deeply cherished Filipino values, etiquette and behavior on being “maka-Diyos, maka-tao, maka-kalikasan at makabansa (pious, humane, environment-conscious and patriotic),” are now being challenged by the lure of material prosperity from developed countries, propagated through the media and the internet,” Villanueva said. He said the commission will be chaired by the education secretary.