The Department of Education changed its vision statement by eliminating a phrase that secular groups alleged were too sectarian for a government body. The words ‘God-loving’ were removed from the statement after Filipino Freethinkers sent an open letter to the department earlier this year.

In the letter dated February 5, 2014, the atheist group denounced the Department’s use of the words ‘God-loving’ and ‘Maka-Divos’ in its vision statement, saying it violates Philippines’ principle of secularism. It also noted the country’s constitution clearly states that there should be separation of church and state.

“They enshrine theism as a preferred belief system and imply that those who do not subscribe to belief in a deity are at best second-class citizens who have flawed or incomplete values… With this, we strongly urge the Department of Education to act on this matter through the omission or replacement of the said clauses with more universal values that apply to both theists and non-theists alike,” the group said in its letter.

The department released the revised version of the statement on September 4. Even though it did away with the words God-loving, it retained Maka-Divos as one of its core values.

“We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country and whose values and competencies enable them to realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.… Our Vision, Mission and Core Values statements is one document and should be read in its entirety to grasp the full meaning.… It is a living document that is meant to reinvigorate our Agency and society as a whole. It is meant to permeate and to affect the way we behave and how we find solutions to complex issues. It is meant to be part of public discourse and personal transformation. It is not static and not intended for mere posting on walls and tables,” the Department said in a statement.

While Filipino Freethinkers applauded the Department for its move towards secularism, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas chided the Department for its decision.

Urging teachers to continue teaching the Word of God despite the Department of Education incorporating the above changes, Villegas said, “A vision statement is not an empty platitude. It guides the articulation of policy. It orientates plans of action.… Our pluralistic society indeed accords respect for the option of some to believe and for others not to. This respect for pluralism does not compel civil society to expunge the name of God from public life, especially when the majority of Filipinos continue to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and to trust in Divine Providence.”

Villegas was not the only one that objected to the Department’s revised statement. The Philippine Fellowship of Isis decried the elimination of God-loving and insisted that it be brought back along with Goddess-loving for all those people who believe in the Divine Mother. The department received another letter, presumably from the Secret Satanic Society of Philippines, that said the words Satan-loving should be included in the vision statement instead of God-loving or Goddess-loving.

Amidst all the controversy, the Department of Education has now said that it will release another version of the original vision statement.

The working copy of the department’s vision statement reads as follows:

“We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country, who are functionally literate, can think critically, and for those so inclined, be God-loving, Goddess-loving, Allah-loving, Brahma-loving, Shiva-loving, Brahma-loving, Zeus-loving, Isis-loving, Satan-loving, Buddha-loving, Jesus-loving, Aphrodite-loving, Yahweh-loving, Na Tu Kong-loving, Bathala-loving, Baal-loving, Bast-loving, Ra-loving, Dagon-loving, Odin-loving, Jupiter-loving, Shangdi-loving, Lakapati-loving, Quetzalcotl-loving, Coyolxauhqui-loving, Ah Peku-loving, Kamilaroi-loving, Bundjalong-loving, Colel Cab-loving, Cthulu-loving, Quiboloy-loving, Flying Spaghetti Monster-loving...”

The final draft of the statement will be released officially once the Department of Education completes including all the deities of all religious groups in the country, irrespective of how popular or unpopular they are, to make sure no one is left out.

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