MANILA — Senator Loren Legarda, Co-Chairperson of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) and Chair of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, urged a sharper, systems-based reform of the Department of Education (DepEd) to better align classroom realities with national development goals.

“Education is the system that enables every other reform to work,” Legarda said. “It is the mind that guides every hand that builds. From health to livelihood, from industry to defense, every pillar of progress stands on the strength of an educated people.”

Drawing from EDCOM II’s analysis, Legarda highlighted persistent structural challenges in the education system, including a backlog of about 165,000 classrooms, only 30 percent of existing school buildings in good condition, and nationwide gaps of 32,916 teaching positions and 22,124 principal positions, with 1,338 school head posts still vacant. She also noted that each School Division Office staff supports an average of 1,237 learners across 33 schools, underscoring the overstretched local bureaucracy.

Legarda commended DepEd’s ongoing initiatives, including the creation of 20,000 new teacher items and 10,000 Administrative Officer II positions, the One School, One Principal program, the issuance of Medical Allowance Guidelines, and increases in the Teaching Support Subsidy and Teaching Supplies Allowance under the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.

DepEd also reported efforts such as building 328 Child Development Centers, developing Project Ligtas to map school geohazards, launching Project Talino for data-driven partner matching, rolling out Project SIGLA to monitor nutrition outcomes, and scaling up early childhood and feeding programs.

Legarda called for full implementation of the National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008 and emphasized integrating environmental literacy and cultural identity into the curriculum. She also stressed the need for sustained funding for the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and Indigenous Peoples Education (IPED) programs, noting that only 46 percent of ALS learners completed the program in School Year 2023–2024.

“When education fails to reach the poor, the loss is not only in learning but in productivity, opportunity, and national growth,” Legarda said.

Legarda reaffirmed that EDCOM II’s review aims to align education governance with measurable human development outcomes. “Our goal is to build an education system that expands capability, reduces inequality, and prepares every learner to participate fully in national life,” she added.