SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano emphasized the need for increased investments in education, pointing out that the quality of education today will determine the nation’s progress 20 years from now.

Cayetano highlighted the long-term benefits of prioritizing education and urged the government to allocate more resources to the sector.

“Tingnan mo ang kalidad ng education ngayon, and ‘yan ang kalidad ng bansa 10, 15, 20 years from now. Definitely, may mga areas na nag-iimprove tayo, nag-eexcel tayo, but as a whole, hindi pa rin talaga tayo nag-iinvest,” he said.

He likened education investments to a guaranteed return.

“Medyo mahaba lang ‘yung panahon na maghihintay ka na babalik sa’yo ‘yung benefits, pero sure, ‘di ba?” he added.

Cayetano also contrasted the Philippines’ slow progress in education to Vietnam’s rapid strides, noting how Vietnam has emerged as one of the top-performing education systems in the world.

“If you look at Vietnam, na grabe ang hinabol talaga sa Southeast Asia, now their economy has one of the best education systems in the whole world. Kung nagugulat na tayo na in the last 20 years, hinabol na tayo ng Vietnam, the next 20 years baka iwanan na tayo kung hindi tayo magbabago ng attitude pagdating sa investing sa education,” he said.

While recognizing the achievements of Filipino teachers and students in international competitions, Cayetano said the country’s overall investment in education remains insufficient.

He said the lack of financial support has left local universities and colleges struggling to bridge the gap.

“Sa edukasyon, everyone says it’s a good thing, pero kung titingnan mo ang priorities, hindi pa rin doon nilalagay ang pera ng bansa,” he said.

Cayetano said in order to address these challenges, the education sector needs stronger partnerships among the national government, private sectors, and local government units to better support LUCs.

He also encouraged young people, the media, and social media users to advocate for greater investments in education.

“It’s a change in culture and thinking, but it’s also a demand. Kung [ang] young people, they start demanding talaga—‘You give us less talk and put more money in education’—it will happen,” Cayetano said.