Senators and Representatives forming the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) worked with experts to strategize how to solve the education sector’s peristent problems during the Strategic Planning Session held at the University of the Philippines, BGC Campus on Thursday, January 26, 2023. “The issues that we face today have just been ‘cut and pasted’ between 1990 and 2022”, Senator Win Gatchalian, EDCOM 2 Co-Chair, said in his welcome remarks, “EDCOM 2 is a big step towards leveling up the quality of education in the pursuit of its mandate”.
EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee led the event, with the assistance of facilitators from the Development Academy of the Philippines, Dr. Olivia Domingo, and Dr. Ma. Lourdes Rebullida.
Dr. Cynthia Bautista, UP Vice President for Academic Affairs, also presented a talk on “Understanding ‘Poor Learner Outcomes’”, where she discussed the detrimental effects of a weak education system on students.
Senator Gatchalian, Congressman Roman Romulo, and Congressman Mark Go presided over the planning session as Co-Chairs of the Commission. Also present were Senator Joel Villanueva, Senator Pia Cayetano, Senator Sonny Angara, Congressman Pablo John Garcia, Congressman Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, and Congressman Khalid Dimaporo, as Commissioners of EDCOM 2.
Also present was the EDCOM 2 Advisory Council, including the President of the National Teachers College, Mr. Fred Ayala; Professor and Former President of Ateneo de Manila University Fr. Ben Nebres, S.J.; Dr. Cynthia Bautista; Dr. Chito Salazar, President and CEO of PHINMA Education and Philippine Business for Education (PBEd); Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) Executive Director Ms. Doris Ferrer; Former TESDA Secretary Irene Isaac; President of Civil Society Network for Education Reforms, Ms. Olie Lucas; and Executive Director of Synergeia Foundation, Dr. Milwida Guevara. Also in attendance were Councilor Corazon Raymundo, representing Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, and Mr. Rene Lopos, representing Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano. Representatives from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) also participated in the event.
The brainstorming session highlighted top issues plaguing the education sector, including the lack of focus on foundational skills, excessive administrative work for educators, uneven resources and budgetary constraints, and the disparity in the quality of education between socioeconomic classes.
“A lot of the problems that we face today are not new. [The Philippines has] been trying to solve them since the very first education reform commissions in 1925”, Executive Director Yee explains.
EDCOM 2 follows in the footsteps of the First Congressional Commission on Education in 1990, which was the basis for the formation of the DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.
Dr. Yee adds, “We have the benefit of learning from the previous commissions to ensure that EDCOM 2 succeeds”.
