DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara (left), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian (Facebook)

Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian expects President Marcos to use his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) as an opportunity to give his "marching orders" to newly-installed Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara. 

President Marcos will deliver his third SONA on July 22, or just the fourth day after Angara will have taken over the reins at the agency from Vice President Sara Duterte. 

According to Gatchalian, the SONA should be an occasion for the President to publicly give his marching orders on the basic education sector, which should include clear targets that the administration should accomplish until 2028. 

Before his appointment as education chief, Angara was Gatchalian's colleague at the Senate. 

“Umaasa ako na tatalakayin ng ating Pangulo sa kanyang SONA ang mga repormang kinakailangan upang iangat ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa bansa at tugunan ang krisis na bumabalot sa sektor. Mahalagang pagkakataon ang SONA upang talakayin ang mga kinakailangang reporma, lalo na’t may bago nang liderato ang DepEd,” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education. 

(I expect the President to discuss in his SONA the reforms needed to lift the quality of education in our country and to respond to the crisis that is hounding the sector. The SONA is an important opportunity to discuss the needed reforms, especially now that DepEd is under a new leadership.) 

The President previously told the new DepEd chief that he wants senior high school graduates to be job-ready. To realize this goal, Gatchalian is pushing for the passage of his proposed ‘Batang Magaling Act’ (Senate Bill No. 2367), which seeks to align the senior high school program with market needs identified by industry partners and government agencies. 

The proposed measure also seeks to institutionalize free national competency assessments for the awarding of national certifications. 

The ARAL Program Act (Senate Bill No. 1604), which Gatchalian authored, is included in the priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council. The ARAL Program seeks to provide a national learning intervention program, which shall include well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed intervention plans. 

Gatchalian added that the Second Congressional Commission (EDCOM) will continue working with the administration to push for needed reforms.