OVERLAPPING and competing mandates among the Commission on Higher Education, the Professional Regulation Commission,  and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are creating structural barriers that hinder the academic and professional progression of Filipino learners and workers.

This was revealed in the findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).

In its review, EDCOM II noted that while CHED, PRC, and TESDA were established to regulate distinct segments of the education-to-employment pipeline, their enabling laws grant parallel—and in some cases conflicting—regulatory powers.

The commission found that the lack of a clear hierarchy and regular coordination in implementing these laws has resulted in blurred lines of authority, particularly where academic programs, skills standards, and licensure requirements intersect.

This statutory ambiguity has led to duplicative regulation, inconsistent enforcement, and conflicting policy guidance for institutions and students.

The problem is further compounded by outdated professional laws enacted decades before the creation of CHED and TESDA in 1994.

“These provisions were crafted in the absence of a national higher education and skills regulator,” EDCOM II said, noting that they now conflict with contemporary standards and quality assurance frameworks issued by CHED and TESDA.

Even among more recent professionalization laws, the commission said the failure to specify which agency’s rules should prevail when standards diverge has subjected institutions to multiple, uncoordinated audits of the same programs, laboratories, and faculty.

These overlaps, the commission said, have real consequences for learners and workers.

Graduates of TESDA-regulated programs often face barriers when transitioning to CHED-regulated degree programs, as competencies earned through national certificates are not consistently credited.

To address these structural contradictions, EDCOM II proposed the Philippine Professional Standards and Quality Assurance System Act of 2025, which seeks to mitigate overlapping functions by creating a Board of Curriculum Standards and Skills to ensure seamless integration of tertiary education and professional regulation.

While the legislation is pending, CHED, PRC, and TESDA signed a Joint Memorandum Circular on October 10 to harmonize professional and technical standards in priority areas and support learner mobility and national development.

The circular establishes a permanent Tripartite Council to streamline curricula, licensure standards, and training regulations, and to delineate final authorities among the three agencies to minimize jurisdictional overlaps and unilateral policy shifts.