PHILIPPINE Senate has approved on second reading Senate Bill 2568 or the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program or ETEEAP Act.

Senator Joel Villanueva steered the passage of the measure seeking to create pathways for working professionals to earn degrees through non-traditional means, thereby breaking the diploma wall and hindering their career advancement.

Villanueva thanked Senate President Francis Chiz Escudero for trusting him in pushing for the measure.

It can be recalled that Escudero sponsored the measure when he was still the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher Education.

In his sponsorship speech at the plenary, Escudero said the ETEEAP under Senate Bill No. 2568, once enacted into law, will provide more opportunities for working professionals who have not been able to complete their college education by earning a degree through non-traditional means.

SB 2568 will correct that inequality as the measure aims to institutionalize the ETEEAP and provide the necessary funds for its implementation.

The program focuses on academic equivalency and accreditation at the college level.

It validates the knowledge and expertise acquired by senior high school graduates, post-secondary technical-vocational graduates, and college undergraduate students through relevant work experiences and high-level, nonformal training.

The bill designates the Commission on Higher Education as the lead implementor of the program, assigning it powers and functions, such as choosing what academic programs shall be opened, and the certification process that applicants must go through.