Republic of the Philippines

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

School of Graduate Studies
Fatima, General Santos City

Erwin E. Rotas Professor: Dr. Lito Adanza

Course: MAEd General Education Subject: History of Education

Professional Reflection on the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines and the

Philippine Educational System during their Regime

The Japanese occupation in the Philippines for over 3 years marked a significant
part in the history of the Filipino people in terms of government, education and the
cruelties they imposed to mold the moral of the people. The so-called puppet
government manipulated the actions and minds of the Filipino people. On a positive
side, their inclusion of the teaching of Character Education in our educational system
emphasized and ignited the core values of love for work and dignity for labor by the
Filipinos. The teaching of Philippine History strengthened the cultural foundations of the
Filipino people to cultivate and cherish their beliefs, customs and traditions.
The integration of the Four Pillars of education in the curriculum was also a
remarkable influence of the Japanese regime that endeavored to cultivate the
collaboration and resilience among Filipinos. The highly treasured values of getting to
know the facts and empirical knowledge around us (learning to know), the passion and
drive to attain our dreams for ourselves (learning to be), the attitude of doing the things
we really love (learning to do), and the strong adherence to the principle that all things
are hard earned through teamwork and cooperation yields positive outcomes for the
common good and general welfare of the Filipinos (learning to live together). As a
teacher, these four pillars are my foundations in my training of the minds among my
learners making them the best version of themselves with great emphasis on character
building. That is why, I always go extra miles on the inculcation of desirable Filipino
values innate to the Filipinos a long time ago. Long time ago because some students
already had forgotten the value of discipline due to the emergence of technologies. As
part of my lesson planning, I always give priorities to the values they can acquire from
each of our lessons. Aside from the 30-minute lesson in Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao
(EsP), I always include values integrations in Mathematics and MAPEH lessons.
The six (6) principles embedded in the curriculum during the Japanese regime
taught me that character and strong commitment to the own culture are positive
predictors of economic solidarity and collective successes in all aspects. The great
emphasis on the spread of vocational education among schools during that time taught
me that practical skills and livelihood education must be essentially recognized and
practiced in schools and other institutions to ensure that graduates could land a job
despite having no tertiary units or degrees earned.
Furthermore, if the Japanese regime could have continued up to this day, the
Filipinos could have suffered more BUT could have flourished in its economy and self-
sustenance as a strong independent nation. The Philippines could have made itself
renowned in the world in terms of education and in all other aspects. These could haves
I believe are possible because the Philippines itself is a very rich country when it comes
to natural reserves and human resources. As a teacher, I believe that we can make this
possible if we are doing our best in educating the minds and the hearts of our Filipino
learners. Lastly, the Japanese regime taught me so many great things about how
Filipinos can do and can be in all aspects of life successes.