MANILA, Philippines — Senator Bam Aquino on Monday filed 10 education-related measures aimed at addressing the country’s worsening learning crisis and bridging the gap between education and employment.

“We’re currently facing an education crisis that must be addressed urgently,” Aquino said. “We hope these bills help address the situation and respond to other pressing needs of our education system, so every Filipino student can enjoy the quality education they rightfully deserve.”

At the top of Aquino’s priority list is the School-to-Employment Program (STEP) Act, which seeks to establish Job Placement Offices in all public senior high schools, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local universities and colleges (LUCs). The bill also proposes the creation of national and local industry-academe councils to align academic programs with labor market needs.

Aquino also proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 10931 or the Free College Law to ensure that 4Ps beneficiarieswho graduate from senior high school and are accepted into CHED-recognized higher education institutions receive full support under the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).

The senator filed additional measures including:

• Bayanihan Work Program Act, a national job guarantee program for all willing and able Filipinos;
• Adopt-A-School Act of 2025 and Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, to address the estimated 165,000-classroom shortage;
• Angat Sweldo Para sa Guro Act, granting a ₱10,000 monthly pay hike for public school teachers and eligible non-teaching staff, to be implemented over three years;
• Libreng RLE Act, prohibiting nursing-related fee collections in SUCs and LUCs and expanding TES coverage to nursing students in private schools;
• E-Textbook Para sa Lahat Act, mandating all DepEd-approved textbooks be made available for free in digital format;
• Student Discount Para sa Load Act, granting students a 20 percent discount on mobile load and internet services; and
• Private Education Voucher Expansion (PEVE) Act, to boost support for private basic education and provide additional training resources for private school teachers.

Aquino, a former Senate education committee chair, said the bills are designed to ensure equity and employability in the country’s education system.