President Marcos received standing ovations for his State of the Nation Address (SONA) remarks on scrapping systems loss charges and his nationalistic stand on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.

For Parañaque City 2nd district Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, the Chief Executive made one more statement in his speech that deserved everyone's applause.

“Tulad nga nang sinabi ng Pangulong Bongbong Marcos sa kanyang SONA, 'Edukasyon pa rin ang pangunahing nagtataguyod ng kakayahan,'" Yansuan said.

(Like what President Bongbong Marcos said in his SONA, it is still education that is the primary factor in developing competence.)

Incidentally, the House is just weeks away from tackling the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), wherein the education sector is expected to get the lion's share of the budget allocation.

This scenario--along with the President's pronouncements--favored Yamsuan's advocacies, which included a bill that sought to develop a long-term plan to resolve the textbook shortage in public schools and "future-proof" learning materials for students. 

"This is why with the opening of Congress’ second regular session, we are hoping our measure could be taken up and swiftly acted upon as it will once and for all address the problem of the availability of textbooks in public schools, especially in areas outside Metro Manila and Luzon,” the solon said

The second regular session of the 20th Congress began last July 27, the same day as Marcos' fifth SONA.

According to a report by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS) cited by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), textbook production remains heavily concentrated in Luzon, with limited publishing capacity in the Visayas and Mindanao. 

To address this lack of publishing access outside Luzon, Yamsuan's House Bill (HB) No. 7868 mandates the printing of public elementary and secondary school textbooks at the regional or provincial level, whenever economically feasible.

The bill also requires the Department of Education (DepEd) to phase out its elementary and secondary textbook publication and distribution functions within a three-year period and support the phasing in of private sector publishers to assume these tasks.  

Under HB No. 7868, the National Book Development Board (NBDB) will be given a broader role in the preparation and production of public school textbooks by mandating the DepEd to team up with it in jointly formulating a National Textbook and Learning Resources Plan. 

This Textbook Plan includes establishing policies, guidelines, and measures to ensure the availability of textbooks in all public schools as well as the review every five years of these learning materials  to make them responsive to the needs of learners, Yamsuan said. 

He pointed out that while the DepEd has made commendable strides in bridging the textbooks-to-learner gap in public schools by allocating P19.5 billion for the production of textbooks this year and conducting early procurement activities, such initiatives need to be institutionalized under a comprehensive plan to ensure that learning materials in public schools meet industry standards and can readily address the educational needs of students. 

“Formulating a  National Textbook and Learning Resources Plan will not only see to it that enough textbooks are available for our public school learners,  it will also ensure that these and other learning materials are relevant and effective in  educating future-ready Filipino learners,” the solon said. 

Malacañang is scheduled to submit the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP)--the precursor to the proposed national budget--to the House of Representatives on Aug. 14.