Lea Salonga has apologized Saturday after questioning the Department of Education (DepEd) over a module that allegedly linked tattoos to criminals.
Last Monday, November 16, an alarmed Lea shared on Facebook a photo of a page from a self-learning module (SLM) that asked the question, “Ang tattoo ay simbolo ng?” and provided the following answer choices, “A) pagiging kriminal, B) pagkaalipin, C) kagitingan at kagandahan, or D) pagiging mababa ng katayuan sa lipunan.”
“Okay, someone would need to tell me if this thing is really ok’d by the DepEd. And if so, WHAT KIND OF BS IS THIS???” the Broadway icon wrote in a post that quickly went viral.
Based on the screenshot, DepEd’s answer key supposedly indicated that the tattoo is a “symbol” of being a criminal.
“For the benefit of my friends that don’t speak the language… According to the DepEd answer key, letter A is the correct answer. (For the love of God…) I am THISCLOSE to getting a tattoo, if only to prove a point,” Lea further expressed her dismay.
Nevertheless, Lea requested for a full copy of the page for context on the tattoo module.
“Can someone upload a photo of the full, unedited sheet? That whole LETTER A thing covers the rest of it, and we need some context,” she said.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, it appeared that someone did provide the context that The Voice Philippines coach was asking for, as she clarified that there was “more to this DepEd tattoo story.”
She said, “Thanks to a direct message (you have my sincerest thanks… you know who you are) sent to me, turns out that the context of that page was such: the discussion was on Philippine History and on the significance of tattoos in our culture.”
The actual answer key of the DepEd module in question also debunked what was written on the photo she earlier posted, Lea noted.
“The correct answer was C, that tattoos were a symbol of beauty and courage. Not A, that tats are a sign of being a criminal.”
While she didn’t say how she got the photo, Lea surmised it was a deliberate attempt to cast “someone” in a negative light.
“So, in my amateur opinion, someone out there wants to make someone else look incompetent. Covering up a big part of the page and making it look like the answer key was marking the wrong letter as correct,” she added.
Lea then said sorry over her earlier reaction to the module. Her previous post is still up but already updated.
She said, “For my part in this, allow me to apologize. I just want for our kids to get as good an education as they can get. As for the saboteur, there’s a special place in hell for the likes of you.”
