Legarda urges urgent education reform as EDCOM II officially submits final report to Senate

Senator Loren Legarda called for urgent and sustained education reform as the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) formally submitted its Final Report, Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform (2026–2035), to the Senate of the Philippines on 27 January 2026.

Legarda, who co-chairs EDCOM II, emphasized the urgency for decisive action to confront the country’s education crisis.

“Kapag edukasyon ang inuuna natin, ang buong bansa ang itinataas natin. We all know that our education sector continues to face serious challenges, from learning poverty and classroom backlogs to teacher shortages and weak links to the labor market. But it is precisely because of these difficulties that we must persist and press forward with reform, not retreat from it,” Legarda stressed.

The EDCOM II Final Report revealed urgent realities in the education system. Nearly half of Grade 3 learners cannot read at grade level, 88 percent of Grade 7 students are still unready, and proficiency collapses to just 0.40 percent by Grade 12.

It also highlights that 23.6 percent of children experience stunting, over 213,000 toddlers remain unreached by feeding programs, and thousands of barangays lack early childhood centers. Teachers face pressure to pass unqualified students under a transmutation table that inflates failing scores. The report also flagged teacher mismatches, inadequate practicum hours, and promotion incentives that have fueled diploma mills.

Infrastructure gaps remain severe, with a backlog of 165,000 classrooms, while learning time is diluted by more than 150 mandated activities, and technical vocational training remains skewed toward low-level certifications.

In higher education, outdated curricula – standards updated only every 11 years – and overlapping mandates among CHED, TESDA, and PRC blur accountability and weaken policy alignment. Student financial aid remains inefficient a decade after the UniFAST Act, while DepEd, CHED, and TESDA still operate under 1990s structures despite expanded mandates.

Amid these challenges, Legarda reiterated that transformative change requires both urgency and persistence. She pushed for the Commission’s extension to sustain focus and deliver deeper, long-term solutions for education.

“As the sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1483, I once again thank my colleagues for their support in extending the mandate of the Second Congressional Commission on Education until December 2027,” Legarda said.

“This extension is not merely procedural. It is a reaffirmation of our shared responsibility to place our learners, teachers, and parents at the center of reform, and to give ourselves the time and institutional stability needed to pursue solutions grounded in evidence and lived realities,” Legarda added.

Created through Republic Act No. 11899 on 23 July 2022, EDCOM II was tasked to assess the entire education sector and recommend strategic reforms to enhance national learning outcomes and workforce competitiveness.

The four-term senator further highlighted gains already achieved, noting reforms that show progress in education.

“Three years ago, we embarked on a journey to confront a crisis. Today, I stand before you to declare that we have reached a turning point. In just a short span of time, through close collaboration between the legislative and executive branches, we have passed landmark laws, secured historic budget increases, and built a unified reform roadmap. These achievements show what is possible when we work together, and they remind us that we can achieve even more if we sustain this spirit of cooperation,” Legarda noted.

Legarda concluded with a call to action, rallying for unity and reform to achieve lasting national progress.

“As we submit this Final Report and the National Education and Workforce Development Plan, let us treat them not as endpoints, but as calls to action. Our success will be measured not by the documents we produce, but by the real improvements our learners, teachers, and families experience in their daily lives. Let us move forward with urgency, discipline, and unity of purpose, and sustain the reforms we have begun to build an education system that truly lifts every Filipino child,” she said. (30)

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Legarda nananawagan ng agarang reporma sa edukasyon habang opisyal na isinumite ng EDCOM II ang Final Report sa Senado

Nanawagan si Senadora Loren Legarda ng agarang at tuloy-tuloy na reporma sa edukasyon matapos opisyal na isumite ng Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) ang Final Report nito, Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform (2026–2035), sa Senado ng Pilipinas noong 27 Enero 2026.

Si Legarda, na co-chair ng EDCOM II, ay binigyang-diin ang pangangailangan ng mabilis at matibay na aksyon upang tugunan ang krisis sa edukasyon ng bansa.

“Kapag edukasyon ang inuuna natin, ang buong bansa ang itinataas natin. We all know that our education sector continues to face serious challenges, from learning poverty and classroom backlogs to teacher shortages and weak links to the labor market. But it is precisely because of these difficulties that we must persist and press forward with reform, not retreat from it,” diin ni Legarda.

Ipinakita ng EDCOM II Final Report ang mga kagyat na realidad sa sistema ng edukasyon. Halos kalahati ng mga mag-aaral sa Grade 3 ay hindi pa marunong magbasa sa tamang antas, 88 porsyento ng mga estudyante sa Grade 7 ay hindi pa handa, at bumabagsak sa 0.40 porsyento ang antas ng kahusayan pagsapit ng Grade 12.

Binanggit din sa ulat na 23.6 porsyento ng mga bata ay nakararanas ng stunting, mahigit 213,000 sanggol ang hindi naaabot ng feeding programs, at libu-libong barangay ang kulang sa early childhood centers. Ang mga guro ay napipilitang ipasa ang mga estudyanteng hindi kwalipikado dahil sa transmutation table na nagpapataas ng bagsak na marka. Tinukoy din ang problema sa teacher mismatches, kulang na oras para sa practicum, at mga insentibong pang-promosyon na nagbunsod ng diploma mills.

Malubha pa rin ang kakulangan sa imprastruktura, kabilang ang backlog na 165,000 silid-aralan, habang nababawasan ang oras sa pag-aaral dahil sa mahigit 150 mandated activities, at nananatiling nakatuon sa mababang antas ng sertipikasyon ang technical vocational training.

Sa mas mataas na antas ng edukasyon, nananatiling luma ang kurikulum—ina-update lamang kada 11 taon—at nagkakaroon ng kalituhan sa pananagutan dahil sa magkakapatong na mandato ng CHED, TESDA, at PRC. Hindi pa rin epektibo ang student financial aid makalipas ang isang dekada mula nang ipasa ang UniFAST Act, habang nananatili sa estruktura ng dekada ’90 ang DepEd, CHED, at TESDA sa kabila ng pinalawak na mandato.

Sa gitna ng mga hamon, muling iginiit ni Legarda na ang makabuluhang pagbabago ay nangangailangan ng parehong agarang aksyon at matibay na pagpupursige. Ipinanawagan niya ang pagpapalawig ng mandato ng Komisyon upang mapanatili ang pokus at makapaghatid ng mas malalim at pangmatagalang solusyon para sa edukasyon.

“As the sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1483, I once again thank my colleagues for their support in extending the mandate of the Second Congressional Commission on Education until December 2027,” ani Legarda.

“This extension is not merely procedural. It is a reaffirmation of our shared responsibility to place our learners, teachers, and parents at the center of reform, and to give ourselves the time and institutional stability needed to pursue solutions grounded in evidence and lived realities,” dagdag pa niya.

Itinatag sa pamamagitan ng Republic Act No. 11899 noong 23 Hulyo 2022, binigyan ng tungkulin ang EDCOM II na suriin ang buong sektor ng edukasyon at magrekomenda ng mga estratehikong reporma upang mapahusay ang pambansang resulta sa pagkatuto at kompetitibidad ng workforce.

Binigyang-diin pa ng apat na terminong senadora ang mga nakamit na tagumpay, kabilang ang mga repormang nagpapakita ng progreso sa edukasyon.

“Three years ago, we embarked on a journey to confront a crisis. Today, I stand before you to declare that we have reached a turning point. In just a short span of time, through close collaboration between the legislative and executive branches, we have passed landmark laws, secured historic budget increases, and built a unified reform roadmap. These achievements show what is possible when we work together, and they remind us that we can achieve even more if we sustain this spirit of cooperation,” pahayag ni Legarda.

Sa pagtatapos, nanawagan si Legarda ng pagkakaisa at reporma upang makamit ang pangmatagalang pambansang kaunlaran.

“As we submit this Final Report and the National Education and Workforce Development Plan, let us treat them not as endpoints, but as calls to action. Our success will be measured not by the documents we produce, but by the real improvements our learners, teachers, and families experience in their daily lives. Let us move forward with urgency, discipline, and unity of purpose, and sustain the reforms we have begun to build an education system that truly lifts every Filipino child,” aniya. (30)