The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) launched its final report titled “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reforms” along with a 10-year national plan for education and workforce development on Monday. The report aims to address key issues in the education system and lay out clear reforms for the next decade.
During the plenary session, EDCOM II Co-Chair Roman Romulo expressed the lack of sustained national focus on education, and emphasized the negative impact of the so-called “mass promotion” due to institutional pressure. According to Romulo, this system causes students to be promoted to higher grades even though they have not yet fully mastered the necessary knowledge and skills.
Romulo also pointed out the mismatch in teacher deployment, where more than half of high school teachers are assigned to subjects outside their field of specialization. “For example, a values education teacher is expected to teach physics—a technical subject. This is unfair to the teacher and affects the quality of student education,” he added.
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, meanwhile, discussed the important role of Congress in educational reform. He noted that the report should serve as a guide for lawmaking, thorough oversight, and proper spending of public funds. As a testament to the government's priority on education, P1.34 trillion is allocated for education in the 2026 budget, more than 4% of GDP.
Romulo also emphasized the importance of quality early childhood education, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child's life. For basic education, they aim to end mass promotion, fully implement the ARAL program, and ensure that every child is literate by grade 3. The EDCOM II Final Report has also been made accessible to the public for transparency and broader knowledge of Filipinos.
