Senator Loren Legarda has pledged to overhaul the Philippines’ higher and technical education landscapes through a series of legislative reforms under the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).
Speaking at a Senate hearing focused on institutional restructuring, Legarda emphasized the urgent need to revitalize state agencies, elevate professional standards, and broaden financial support for students nationwide.
As the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education and co-chair of EDCOM II, Legarda underscored that the regulatory frameworks for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have become stagnant.
She noted that both entities, established over thirty years ago, are no longer equipped to handle the complexities of a modernizing global economy.
“The fundamental problem is institutional. CHED’s legal mandate has not kept pace with the sector’s growth, diversification, or the policy commitments the Philippine government has made in subsequent decades,” Legarda stated.
The committee’s agenda includes the CHED Charter strengthening acts, the TESDA Modernization Act, and several bills aimed at improving the governance of Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Current EDCOM II findings reveal critical systemic flaws, particularly within LUCs, where faculty face significant pay disparities and institutions struggle to meet CHED’s recognition standards.
The report highlighted that lower-income local government units are often unable to recruit top-tier educators due to uncompetitive salary grades, leading to a “quality gap” in provincial education.
To bridge these gaps, the proposed reforms introduce “differentiated autonomy” for SUCs based on institutional performance and the establishment of a Philippine Higher Education Leadership Academy.
For the vocational sector, the TESDA Modernization Act seeks to replace the existing board with a dedicated board of advisers and expand the agency’s Secretariat to better facilitate community and enterprise-based training.
Furthermore, the Philippine Professional Standards and Quality Assurance System Act aims to resolve the overlapping jurisdictions of CHED, TESDA, and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). This move is intended to eliminate outdated regulations that currently stifle curriculum innovation in professional fields.
Legarda reaffirmed that the committee is actively refining these measures through technical working groups to ensure the legislation remains robust and forward-looking.
She maintained that these changes are “long overdue” to ensure the Philippine education system meets the country’s long-term developmental goals.