2 October 2013 - Senator Pilar “Pia” S. Cayetano called on Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe R. Natividad on September 27 during her visit in Berlin as part of her advocacy for education and in her capacity as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

Senator Cayetano visited some schools in Berlin to learn more about the German system of education, particularly with respect to promoting languages and sports among the youth. She is exploring the possibilities of bilingual education, particularly in the context of Germany.

The Senator went to the Friedrich-Engels-Gymnasium, the oldest Spanish bilingual school in Berlin for a discussion of the curriculum of the school as compared with that of the Philippines.  The school has 980 students from grade one to twelve and works in close cooperation with the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Senator Cayetano also visited one of the four elite sports and high performance schools in Berlin, and one of the biggest elite sports schools in Germany.  It has a land area of 5 hectares that trains students from grade one to twelve with special emphasis on seventeen sports disciplines.  The current Olympic World and European champion in the men’s discus throw, Robert Harting, is a product of said school as well as Sabine Lisicki, number 16th in the current singles ranking in tennis and a finalist in the 2013 Wimbledon tennis competition.

Senator Cayetano examines the possibility of integrating more sports in the Philippine education curriculum to increase Philippine participation in the Olympic Games and other sports competitions. END