Published February 27, 2021 2:38pm Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Saturday that he is rallying his colleagues to adopt his proposed resolution seeking to reopen the schools for in-person classes so that the country s educational system could catch up with our Asian neighbors. In filing the proposed SR No. 663 (PSRN 663), Sotto insisted “there is no substitute to face-to-face classes, which is probably the best way to arrest the decline in (education) quality” in the country. Likewise, he raised concerns about the country s education that is now lagging behind our Asian neighbors. “There are deep concerns that while countries whose students had performed well in the past international assessments are already back on track, the Philippines is still lagging behind using the blended learning method, which to many is not an effective means due to lack of access to internet and gadgets by majority of pupils and students,” Sotto said in a statement.