MANILA — Lawmakers, education agencies, and academic leaders have expressed strong support for extending the mandate of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) beyond its initial three-year term, which is set to end on December 31, 2025.

During a Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education hearing on Tuesday, legislators deliberated on companion bills seeking to extend EDCOM 2’s operations to ensure that the reforms it initiated are fully implemented. The measures include Senate Bill Nos. 529 by EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Loren Legarda and 1418 by Senator Risa Hontiveros, as well as House Bill Nos. 4862 by Representative Roman Romulo and 5017 by Representative Jude Acidre.

“We hear it loud and clear: EDCOM has done wonderful work. Thank you for your dedication. I will do the Committee Report on the extension of EDCOM,” Legarda said during the hearing.

In her bill, Legarda noted that “extending the Commission’s mandate for an additional two years will help sustain policy momentum and build on the foundation laid not only by institutions but by the tireless work of education experts, researchers, and public servants who have supported the Commission’s mission.”

The Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) all expressed support for the extension, citing EDCOM 2’s crucial role in unifying the country’s trifocalized education system.

“We fully support the extension of EDCOM 2. Overwhelmingly, the data that is being generated by EDCOM is really very helpful to us in terms of planning and setting priorities,” CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said. “We have started using the data generated by EDCOM 2 and it is very helpful for us three in designing a seamless pathway to make sure that no one is left behind in the field of education.”

TESDA Director General Francisco “Kiko” Benitez echoed this view, saying, “It’s very clear that the data-driven studies that EDCOM has generated created the conditions through which the three agencies looked out of our own little silos and bureaucratic concerns, ensuring a much healthier education system.”

DepEd Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs Atty. Filemon Ray Javier said the data gathered by EDCOM 2 has helped shape the department’s policy directions. “EDCOM is also instrumental in linking together the educational agencies in the Philippines,” he said, adding that the Commission helped facilitate the first-ever Joint Management Committee meeting among DepEd, CHED, and TESDA.

The academic sector also voiced its backing for the extension. The Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) President Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, Association of Local Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (ALCUCOA) President Raymundo Arcega, and University of Makati President Prof. Elyxzur Ramos all supported the continuation of EDCOM 2’s work.

Pending measures in both chambers of Congress seek to amend Republic Act No. 11899, which created EDCOM 2, to allow it to continue developing and implementing education reforms.

The proposed extension aims to move EDCOM 2 from its current assessment phase to full reform implementation, ensuring that its data-driven recommendations are translated into laws and policies that will improve the country’s education system for generations to come.