DepEd targets 100,000 teacher career upgrades by 2026
Angara, Sandro Marcos lead oath-taking of over 700 teachers in Laoag
Published Jan 23, 2026 05:56 pm
Over 700 public school teachers take their oath in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte as the Department of Education (DepEd) pushes for 100,000 career upgrades by 2026, reinforcing teacher welfare and classroom-based advancement under the Expanded Career Progression (ECP). (DepEd photo)
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday, January 23, announced that it is accelerating efforts to uplift the teaching profession by targeting up to 100,000 teacher career upgrades nationwide by 2026.
In a ceremony held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos led the mass oath-taking of newly promoted public school teachers under the agency’s Expanded Career Progression (ECP) system.
In a statement, DepEd said the event marked a key milestone in its plan to deliver up to 100,000 teacher career upgrades nationwide by 2026, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s education reform agenda.
The oath-taking coincided with the rollout of the PBBM–GABAY ng Bayan Program, an integrated reform framework jointly implemented by DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to strengthen access, quality, and coherence across the Philippine education system.
READ:
DepEd reforms address long-standing promotion bottlenecks
Under the ECP system, DepEd said teachers may now advance in rank without leaving classroom teaching, addressing long-standing issues caused by limited plantilla items and promotions tied solely to natural vacancies.
Many of the newly promoted teachers had waited years—and in some cases decades—for career advancement, DepEd said.
DepEd also confirmed that more than 2,000 additional teachers in Ilocos Norte are currently undergoing processing for promotion, with reclassification documents already submitted.
Angara said the ECP reform reinforces teacher welfare and professional growth while remaining faithful to the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers.
“Hindi na kailangang umalis sa silid-aralan para umangat (There’s no need to leave the classroom to advance),” Angara said. “Sa ilalim ng ECP, kinikilala natin ang husay sa pagtuturo at binibigyan ito ng malinaw na landas (Under the ECP, we recognize excellence in teaching and provide it with a clear path).”
Angara stressed that the reform ensures experienced educators remain in classrooms, where their expertise has the greatest impact on learning outcomes.
Recognizing decades of service in public education
Angara cited teachers such as Lilliane Z. Tarriga of Filipino East Elementary School, who was promoted to Teacher IV after serving 37 years as a Teacher I, as an example of how the ECP corrects inequities in the previous promotion system.
As the Marcos administration moves to synchronize reforms across basic, higher, and technical education, DepEd said the Laoag ceremony highlighted how policy changes are now being translated into tangible outcomes for teachers on the ground.
For DepEd, the ECP system serves as both a recognition of long service and a strategic investment in instructional quality—signaling that education reform under the Bagong Pilipinas agenda is no longer aspirational but actively underway across regions and ranks.