Senate adopts 10-year plan to reform Philippine education system

The Senate adopted a 10-year plan to overhaul the Philippine education system from 2026 to 2035.

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 09 officially adopts the "National Education and Workforce Development Plan," submitted to the Senate by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) on January 27, 2026.

Senator Loren Legarda, in her sponsorship speech during Monday’s plenary session, February 2, 2026, said the country needs a long-term policy because problems in the education system "cannot be solved by piecemeal reforms, nor by policies that reset every election cycle."

“This resolution is born out of a simple but difficult truth: the challenges facing Philippine education are systemic, longstanding, and deeply intertwined with our workforce outcomes, our productivity, and our national competitiveness," Legarda said.

According to her, for the past three years, EDCOM II has examined the education system, from early childhood to tertiary education and technical-vocational training.

Legarda clarified that EDCOM II's 10-year plan did not propose a new bureaucracy, nor automatic spending mandates, or executive micromanagement but a policy discipline.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian expressed his full support for the resolution as the government’s 10-year policy framework.

“I fully support the call to prioritize the National Education and Workforce Development Plan, as well as the recommendations of the Second Congressional Commission on Education, as the government’s 10-year policy framework," he said.

"Not only are the findings comprehensive and data-driven, but the Commission’s work also has a proven track record of success,” he added.

As an example, he cited the significant improvements among elementary school learners in Marikina City, where Grade 1 to Grade 3 students showed gains in reading, math, and science.

Performance levels increased from 57.26 percent at the start of the school year to 94.03 percent by midyear, Gatchalian said.

He also noted the Department of Education report this month that reading readiness scores of more than three million learners in Grades 3 to 6 improved by approximately five points.

Similarly, he said scores of learners in Grades 7 to 10 increased by six points, improving the proficiency of about 1.72 million learners.

“Gains like these must be sustained over time and complemented by reforms in policy design so that problems are given permanent solutions,” Gatchalian stressed.

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said the findings and recommendations of EDCOM 2 confirm that the country’s education system has long been neglected and that a collective and decisive effort is needed to change, rebuild, and fix it.

“EDCOM 2 confirms the long-standing problems of our education system. Classrooms are overcrowded. Teachers and students are exhausted, yet learning outcomes remain poor. The resolution makes it clear that the education sector must be saved. If a child in Grade 3 cannot read, or if a high school student cannot do basic math, we are effectively cursing the future of our children and our country,” Pangilinan said.

He urged the government to institute education reforms through a clear, time-bound plan that would ensure sustained action and accountability across both houses of Congress.

-Paraluman News