MANILA — Senator Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill No. 1483, seeking to extend the mandate of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) until December 2027, emphasizing the Commission’s ongoing role in promoting evidence-based reforms in the Philippine education system.

Legarda, who serves as Co-Chair of EDCOM II, highlighted the Commission’s landmark reports, Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education and Fixing the Foundations: A Matter of National Survival, as “the most rigorous, data-informed diagnosis of our education system in recent memory.”

“The Commission brought together national agencies, local governments, schools, research institutions, and civil society partners to translate evidence into reform,” Legarda said, underscoring that EDCOM II has not only produced analysis but also influenced legislation, financing, and inter-agency coordination.

In the 19th Congress, EDCOM II contributed to the passage of ten education laws. In the 20th Congress, it supports six priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) and other proposals aimed at strengthening access, equity, and quality in education.

Legarda cited her commitment to reforms informed by EDCOM II’s research, including the Last Mile Schools bill and the modernization of the charters of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“EDCOM II has functioned both as a think tank and as a coordinating body, building trust and consensus among agencies, teachers, parents, and policymakers,” she said, referencing the Commission’s joint meetings with DepEd, CHED, and TESDA, and its role in establishing the Education and Workforce Development Group under Administrative Order No. 36.

While EDCOM II’s current mandate under Republic Act No. 11899 ends in December 2025, Legarda emphasized that the Commission continues to operate at full momentum.

“Instead, it continues to move with full momentum, compelled by the understanding that while much has been achieved, significant work remains to build the education system our people deserve,” she said.

“We are at a moment when progress is within reach. The work has direction. The coordination is in place. The momentum is real. It is only right that we see it through,” Legarda added.

The proposed extension has received support from DepEd, CHED, and TESDA, following a Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education hearing on October 8, 2025, which Legarda chaired.