The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is a Philippine Congressional entity created by the 18th Congress of the Philippines.
Overview and History
The body was created by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 11899, which lapsed into law on July 23, 2022.
The commission is tasked to conduct a national review of the country's education sector after the COVID-19 pandemic exacted a heavy toll on learning. Its primary goal is to recommend legislation and policies to address the "learning crisis" and improve the quality of education in the Philippines.
On March 5, 2026, Bongbong Marcos signed an EDCOM II extension for two years.
The Education Commission of 1991 The first Education Commission was established in 1991.Cynthia, Ma & Bautista, Rose & Bernardo, Allan & Ocampo, Dina Joana. (2010). When Reforms Don't Transform: Reflections on institutional reforms in the Department of Education. It was tasked with assessing the state of Philippine education and recommending reforms. The commission's findings highlighted issues like low investment, disparities in access, low achievement, and high dropout rates. These findings led to significant changes, including the "trifocalization" of basic education and the creation of CHED and TESDA.
Results of international assessments The Philippines participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment for the first time in 2018. The country scored the lowest in reading comprehension and the second-lowest in mathematics and science, among 79 participating countries. A report by the World Bank also found that the Philippines’ learning poverty ranks among the highest in the Asian region, at 90.9%. The country fared the worst among the ASEAN countries, with the exception of Lao PDR (97.7%) and Brunei (no assessment). This means that nine in every 10 Filipinos aged 10 years old need to be taught how to read and to develop their reading comprehension.
The commission was formed as a result of these international assessments, spurred by widespread calls to reform the country's education system.
Mandate and Objectives Under Section 3 of RA 11899, the objectives of EDCOM II are to:
Set specific, targeted, measurable and time-bound solutions that are products of a comprehensive assessment and evaluation, effective planning, and strategic investments in education; Develop a more holistic, harmonized and coordinated education ecosystem, through a review of the mandates of the three (3) agencies of education, namely: the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Prioritize the adoption of digital transformation in education, and the use of science, technology and innovation through the promotion of digital literacy, and development of critical thinking, problem-solving and other related core competencies at par with global standards; Promote the development of 21st-century skills, including creativity, communication, collaboration, social skills, leadership, and initiative; Institutionalize educational reforms necessary to meet the new challenges to education, such as the implementation of alternative learning and delivery modes for basic education, higher education and post-secondary technical-vocational education and training as part of the adjustments and responses to the global pandemic, and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterized, among others, by digital revolution or the rapid development of information technology such as artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics, blockchain data sharing, quantum computing, and internet of things analytics; and Recommend the adoption and institutionalization of relevant and meaningful assessment tools, such as teaching and learning competencies assessment tools, based on the best global practices which shall be used by educational agencies and institutions for their continued monitoring, evaluation, and development.
The Commission's principal mandate is identified in Section 4: "To undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector for the purpose of recommending transformative, concrete and targeted reforms in the sector with the end in view of making the Philippines globally competitive in both education and labor markets."
Composition The Education Commission is headed by four co-chairpersons who lead the commission jointly – two from the Senate of the Philippines, and two from the House of Representatives.
In total, the commission has ten members, with five members from the Senate and five members from the House of Representatives.
Members The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is composed of the following legislators from the 20th Congress of the Philippines:
Co-Chairpersons Senator Bam Aquino Senator Loren Legarda Representative Roman Romulo Representative Jude Acidre Commissioners Senator Alan Peter Cayetano Senator Joel Villanueva Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Representative Steve Solon Representative Zia Alonto Adiong Representative Anna Veloso-Tuazon Former Commissioners
Senator Pia Cayetano, from 2023 to 2024 Senator Koko Pimentel, from 2024 to 2025 Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, from 2023 to 2024 Senator Francis Joseph Escudero, from 2023 to 2025 Representative Mark Go, from 2023 to 2025 Representative Kiko Benitez. from 2023 to 2024 Representative Khalid Dimaporo, from 2023 to 2025 Representative Pablo John Garcia, from 2023 to 2025
Advisory Council The commission is guided by an Education, Legislation and Policy Advisory Council, selected by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a pool of recognized experts from the following sectors: the academe, the business sector, government education agencies, heads of LGUs, and from civil society organizations and development partners engaged in education. The members of the council are:
Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J., former president of Ateneo de Manila University Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Bautista, former vice president for academic affairs of the University of the Philippines Alfredo Ayala, president of iPeople Group of Schools Dr. Chito Salazar, president and CEO of PHINMA Education Dr. Rhodora Angela Ferrer, executive director of PEAC Irene Isaac, former director general of TESDA Mayor Vico Sotto, Mayor of Pasig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, Mayor of Taguig City
Technical secretariat Dr. Karol Mark Yee serves as executive director of the EDCOM 2 Technical Secretariat
Selected findings +Priority AreaSelected FindingsEarly Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)The Philippines has one of the highest prevalence of l stunting under-five in the world at 26.7%, greater than the global average of 22.3%.Early childhood education is not equally accessible throughout the country. Despite RA 6972 of 1990 requiring each province, city, or municipality to establish a daycare center in every barangay, only 36% have at least 1 CDC/day care, or 15,207 out of 42,027 barangays in the country.5,800 barangays remain without a child development center Most daycare teachers and workers are aging, are not trained in early childhood education, and hold non-permanent positions with an average pay of P5,000 per month.Basic EducationSince 2012, only 27 textbooks have been procured for Grade 1 to Grade 10, despite substantial budget allocations. Out of the 27 key stage assessments scheduled to be conducted from SY 2016–2017 to SY 2022–2023, 13 were delayed, and 11 were not administered at all. Learners lose as much as 42 out of 88 school days due to calamities and natural disastersThe Philippines have a backlog of at least 165,000 classroomsTeacher EducationTeachers continue to bear the burden of about 50 administrative and ancillary tasks, despite efforts to allow them to focus on teaching.Between 2009 and 2023, the average passing rate in the licensure examinations for elementary (33%) and secondary (40%) has been dismally low, when compared to passing rates in other professions.Enhancement of the Teacher Education Council (TEC) has been at a standstill for 2 years, despite the pressing need for necessary reforms. RA 11713, or the Excellence in Teacher Education Act was passed into law last April 27, 2022.62% of HS teachers are handling subjects they did not major in during collegeThere is uneven allocation of non-teaching personnelTeacher promotions occur at an alarmingly slow rate. It takes an average of 15 years to progress from Teacher I to progress from Teacher I to Teacher III.Out of 45,199 public schools, 24,916 (54%) currently do not have principals, with thousands of schools not even having plantilla itemsHigher EducationMost beneficiaries of the tertiary education subsidy were not the poorest. Between 2018 and 2022, the proportion of the poorest of the poor* declined markedly, from 74% to 31%. Instead, the majority of grantees were those in municipalities and cities without SUCs and LUCs (from 26% to 69%). About 500,000 of the poorest high school graduates are not receiving support to attend college Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Lifelong LearningThe majority of students are enrolled in community-based training (CBT) programs, constituting 39% of the total TVET enrollment. 64% of programs with training regulations are low level (NC 1 & 2) Governance and FinancingThe staffing levels in CHED and TESDA have not kept pace with the growing responsibilities of the agencies and the increased investments in education from both the public and private sectors.The failure to permanently establish a high-level coordinating body has resulted in a long-standing lack of effective coordination between the education agencies.Budget allocated to education is increasing, but there is a tertiary tilt despite profound gaps in basic educationThere is a marked disparity in SEF income among different types of LGUs.Current levels of school MOOE budgets are insufficient to fully cover the operating costs of public elementary and high schools.
Laws Passed The Commission has shepherded several laws through the legislative process, namely: