The Department of Education (DepEd) has ended a decade-long deadlock in textbook procurement, recording a dramatic 289-percent surge in approved titles within a single year—exceeding the total number of textbooks procured in the previous ten years combined.

“Hindi puwedeng kulang-kulang ang hawak ng mga guro at bata (Teachers and students cannot be left with incomplete resources),” DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said in a statement issued on December 2.

“Kung gusto nating umangat ang kalidad ng pag-aaral, dapat kumpleto, tama, at napapanahon ang materyales na dumarating sa mga paaralan (If we want to raise the quality of learning, the materials that reach schools must be complete, accurate, and up-to-date),” he added.

Citing data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), DepEd noted that from 2012 to 2023, it managed to procure only 27 textbook titles, with complete books reaching only Grades 5 and 6.

Following sweeping reforms initiated by Angara, DepEd said it has already evaluated and procured 105 titles for 2024–2025, marking a historic turnaround in learning resource delivery.

DepEd added that this momentum is expected to accelerate under the Marcos administration as the agency secured P29.16 billion in the 2026 national budget for 103.9 million learning resources—its largest allocation in recent years.

The funding, DepEd said, expands this year’s 97 million printed materials and aims to ease classroom shortages, support teachers, and align content with the revised K–10 curriculum.

DepEd said it is relying on Republic Act 12009, or the New Government Procurement Act—authored by Angara during his Senate tenure—to eliminate long-standing delays that previously hampered the production and distribution of learning materials.

The law modernizes procurement systems and prevents procedural roadblocks that used to cause repeated bidding failures.

Supporting these reforms is DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2025, which requires the pre-selection and evaluation of textbook titles before the bidding phase.

This marks a major shift from the old process, where quality assurance was done during post-qualification—often resulting in failed bids and year-long delays, DepEd said.

By separating content evaluation from procurement, DepEd ensures that only pre-cleared titles proceed to bidding, helping fast-track deliveries beginning in 2026.

“Mula kay Pangulong Marcos at sa ating mga mambabatas, malinaw ang suporta na hindi dapat tipirin ang aklat at kagamitan kung ang nakataya ay ang kinabukasan ng kabataan (From President Marcos and our legislators, the support is clear: books and learning materials must never be skimped on when the future of the youth is at stake),” Angara said.

For Fiscal Year 2026, DepEd is set to conduct quality assurance for at least 176 textbooks and teacher’s manual titles, 360 learning resource exemplars, 2,000 self-learning resource titles, and 1,000 additional titles needed to complete the curriculum rollout across all grade levels.

In a first for the agency, DepEd has also procured educational toys for Kindergarten learners—a shift toward play-based and developmentally appropriate early education.

“Ayaw na nating maulit ang sitwasyon kung saan huli dumarating ang libro o kulang ang kagamitan (We do not want to repeat the situation where books arrive late or materials are lacking),” Angara said.

“Nauuna ang paghahanda para mauna rin ang pagkatuto (Preparation must come first so that learning can also come first),” he added.

DepEd’s accelerated procurement program marks one of the most significant operational improvements in the basic education sector in a decade, signaling a systemic overhaul aimed at ensuring Filipino learners receive complete, high-quality learning materials on time.