SENATOR Loren Legarda called for a sharper, systems-based reform of the Department of Education that connects 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.”

Citing EDCOM II’s analysis, Legarda noted persistent structural inefficiencies in the education system: a backlog of about 165,000 classrooms; only 30 percent of existing school buildings in good condition; and shortages of 32,916 teaching and 22,124 principal positions nationwide, with 1,338 school head posts remaining vacant.

Each School Division Office staff supports an average of 1,237 learners and 33 schools, underscoring overstretched local bureaucracies.

Legarda commended DepEd’s ongoing initiatives, including the creation of 20,000 new teacher items and 10,000 Administrative Officer II positions, and its One School, One Principal target to professionalize school leadership.

DepEd has also issued the first Medical Allowance Guidelines, increased the Teaching Support Subsidy for private school teachers from ₱18,000 to ₱24,000, and doubled the Teaching Supplies Allowance to ₱10,000 through the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, a measure she championed.

The agency reported new collaborations with LGUs to build 328 Child Development Centers, the development of Project Ligtas to map school geohazards, and the launch of Project Talino for data-driven partner matching.

It also rolled out Project SIGLA to monitor nutrition outcomes and scaled up early childhood and feeding programs for learners.

Legarda emphasized the full implementation of the National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008, which she authored, and inquired about the teaching of culture and history.

DepEd assured lawmakers that both environmental literacy and cultural identity are integrated across the curriculum.

She also highlighted the importance of sustained funding for the Alternative Learning System and Indigenous Peoples Education programs.

For School Year 2023–2024, DepEd reported that only 46 percent of ALS learners completed the program.

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