Two senators have called for urgent and comprehensive reforms in the Philippine education system, urging the 20th Congress to pursue “radical change” through the 2026 education budget, and outlining a seven-point agenda to address the country’s education crisis.

In his first privilege speech as chairperson of the Committee on Basic Education, Senator Bam Aquino stressed that close coordination among key government agencies, the private sector, and advocacy groups is essential to effectively address the education crisis.

Drawing from consultations with key stakeholders and the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) Year 2 report, Aquino identified the key issues that need urgent attention—nutrition, classrooms, textbooks, connectivity, teacher support, the learning gap, and employability.

To provide Filipino students with the adequate nutrition they need, Aquino called for the passage of priority legislation from DepEd that amends Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act (RA 11037), which he co-authored and sponsored in the 17th Congress to strengthen its implementation and provide universal feeding for Kinder to Grade 3 and targeted feeding for Grades 4-6.

As part of efforts to address the shortage of 165,000 classrooms across the country, Aquino recently filed the Adopt-A-School Act of 2025 and Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, which will provide supplementary support to government initiatives once passed.

To aid students and teachers with online resources and multimodal learning, Aquino pledged to work closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to ensure the full implementation of the Free Internet Access in Public Spaces Act, which he sponsored.

“I recently met with Secretary (Henry) Aguda who committed to the full implementation of the law by the end of 2025. During last Monday’s SONA, inulit ito ng presidente na priority na ma-connect ang public schools sa internet. Our students and teachers deserve every possible method to access learning materials and should not be burdened by additional costs to access the internet,” he said.

“Our students should be able to access the textbooks they need on time, whether in print or over the internet,” Aquino stressed.

Alarmed by reports of two-year learning gaps among Filipino students, Aquino vowed closer coordination with the Department of Education on the proper implementation of the K-12 system and strengthening the National Learning Recovery Program.

“We will continue to hold consultations with teachers, education advocacy groups, and local governments to find the quickest, most effective, and most sustainable solution so that our students can catch up,” he said.

To boost employability among Senior High School graduates, Aquino submitted the School-to-Employment Program (STEP) Act, which empowers schools to make adjustments to the curriculum and revise their course offerings to be more responsive to labor market information and demands.

On the other hand, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano pointed to the 165,000 classroom shortage as something that can be addressed with radical budgetary decisions.

“I think the task of this 20th Congress is really the radical change that is needed in the education sector... I say all of this with passion because I saw it before my eyes — kung ano y’ung successful at ano ang mga dumudurog sa ating sistema. The solution is there but we have to be radical,” Cayetano said on the Senate floor on July 30, 2025.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education and co-chairs the Second Congressional Committee on Education (EDCOM II), made the statement in response to a privilege speech by Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino on basic education, highlighting systemic issues in the K to 12

He pointed to the 165,000 classroom shortage as something that can be addressed with radical budgetary decisions.

“The 165,000 classroom shortage was mentioned by EDCOM… The Department of Public Works and Highway’s budget is P1 trillion. Do you want to end the lack of classrooms in a year? If per classroom costs P1 million, that accounts to only P165 billion — almost half or two-thirds of the DPWH budget,” Cayetano said.

He also criticized the failed promises of K to 12, such as specialized tracks for high school students and transfer of General Education (GE) subjects from college to high school to shorten college to three years.

“The promise in K to 12, even in first year high school, junior high school, there's already a track… Another promise is that for the GE subjects, we'll transfer that to high school so that the colleges are promised to be cut to three years,” he said.

This was not the first time Cayetano opposed the program. In 2013, he was among the few senators who voted against K to 12.

In 2022, he reiterated his stance against the lackluster implementation of the K to 12, saying “we have to either i-suspend ang K to 12 for five to 10 years until we have enough resources, or fund the K to 12 now as it was envisioned.”

Cayetano also emphasized that the root of the education crisis lies in basic education, citing inadequate learning time, lack of facilities, and teacher shortages.

“In Metro Manila and many highly urbanized places, job matching, et cetera is still far away. Why? There are no more classrooms, teachers. Most of them don't have tablets or Apple computer labs or anything like this. Nag-additional two years ka pa (sa K to 12), pero half day ka naman sa klase. Ano iyon, diba? The problem is really much, much more basic. The bigger part of the problem goes back to pre-K to 12,” he said.

Cayetano also cited the scholarship programs of the City of Taguig, where, despite full financial support, dropout rates remain high due to out-of-pocket expenses.

He also called on the Senate to make tough decisions in the 2026 education budget.

“Let’s make the hard decisions and put our money where our mouth is,” he said.