Duterte urged to certify as urgent bill that seeks to convene EdCom

MANILA — Advocates on Thursday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent a bill that seeks to convene a Congressional Committee on Education (EdCom) to review the state of the country's education system, which they believed is facing a crisis.

In a virtual press conference, Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. called on Duterte to prioritize House Bill (HB) No. 10308 that will assemble an EdCom to address what the group views as the poor state of Philippine education.

Del Rosario said the EdCom's members should include not just lawmakers, but also various education stakeholders.

"The private sector, teachers, school leaders, education experts and civic organizations are ready to work collaboratively with the national government and complement each other's effort in building and re-building the [education] system," he said in a virtual press briefing.

"I am optimistic that we can overcome the learning crisis. Passing this EdCom Bill is a step towards that direction," Del Rosario added.

In talking about the "learning crisis," education advocates cited a World Bank report which found that 80 percent of basic education students in the Philippines "do not know what they are supposed to know" for their grade level.

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Filipino students have also performed poorly in several international assessments conducted prior to the pandemic.

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The learning crisis, advocates noted, has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced Philippine schools to close and shift to a tough remote learning setup.

"Our biggest challenge is emphasizing that this is a crisis... It is not a form of clickbait or just a way to sensationalize an issue," said PBEd President Chito Salazar.

House Basic Education and Culture Committee Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo said he is confident that the lower chamber can pass HB No. 10308 by the end of the year.

"It's (HB 10308) already on the floor. So that will be taken up the moment we resume session," he said in the same briefing.

Congress is scheduled to resume session on Nov. 8.

Romulo said he is open to including more representatives from the private sector into the EdCom since most public officials would be preoccupied with next year's national elections.

"While politicians will be busy with elections, maybe our private partners here would be able to proceed with this bill so the next presidency, next administration will have something on their plate," Romulo said.

Salazar added there are steps that government can take to address the "learning crisis" in the absence of the EdCom.

These include getting more students to attend in-person classes and addressing malnutrition, among others.

"However, long term, I think the EdCom is vital because we think many of the problems are systemic in nature," Salazar said.

Romulo said an EdCom would give policymakers a "roadmap" that would make it "easier to implement if laws are needed."