The Society of Jesus Educational Apostolate (SJEA), composed of all Jesuit schools and universities in the Philippines, supports the findings and recommendations of EDCOM2, the Second Congressional Commission on Education.
We commend the comprehensiveness and depth of its analysis of Philippine education and its accomplishments: the National Education and Workforce Development Plan, passage of 10 laws, submission of 61 policy recommendations and 118 bills. EDCOM2’s initiatives in education reform helped realize a historic and unprecedented increase in the national budget for education to P1.37 trillion, or 4.5% of GDP for FY 2026.
We also thank and congratulate EDCOM2 for the following achievements that help address the Philippine learning crisis more decisively:
- Harmonizing the three education agencies, the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), toward greater synergy for education reform;
- Convergence of the legislative and executive branches, and government with the private sector toward a revitalized ecosystem in education committed to reversing the learning crisis;
- Striking at root or foundational causes of problems (e.g. early childhood education) leading to critical proposals that are comprehensive and continuous, beyond politics and terms-of-offices; and
- Diligence and passion in the conduct of broad consultations across sectors and stakeholders, rigorous data gathering and research, and consistently grounding itself in the basic goal of serving the Filipino learners as they cope and thrive in a very complex world.
We are extremely proud of our three Jesuit school alumni who worked together as fellow leaders in EDCOM2: DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, TESDA Secretary and Director General Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez, and EDCOM2 Executive Director Dr Karol Mark Yee.
We support the proposed directions of EDCOM2, and we can contribute through the following:
- Strengthening the role of private education in the whole process of education reform, in collaboration with private school associations like the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), aiming for more meaningful complementarity of public and private education;
- Enhancing the humanistic, value-based, faith-centered, character-building, and wholistic dimension of quality education, and the formation of learners and graduates who are adaptive to and discerning of the rapidly changing context and world of work;
- Providing scholarly support through studies and multi-disciplinary research to strengthen the viability of policy reform, program proposals, and advocacy positions;
- Partnership with public schools and universities to address the several issues surrounding the learning crisis (e.g. malnutrition, learning poverty, teacher training, curriculum development); and
- Participation in consultations, learning sessions, and advocacy activities that advance the many proposals of EDCOM2.
As Jesuit and lay educators whose institutions have served our country for close to 170 years, we recommit to the process of advancing Philippine education in quality, access, relevance, adaptiveness, and impact. Supporting EDCOM2 is a strategic imperative to our mission of education.
SOCIETY OF JESUS EDUCATIONAL APOSTOLATE
Fr. Karel S. San Juan, SJ
Ateneo de Davao University
Fr. Arnel T. Ong, SJ
Ateneo de Iloilo-Santa Maria Catholic School
Fr. Roberto C. Yap, SJ
Ateneo de Manila University
Fr. Aristotle Dy, SJ
Ateneo de Naga University
Fr Guillrey Anthony Andal, SJ
Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Fr. Neupito Saicon, Jr., SJ
Loyola College of Culion
Fr. Marlon Fabros, SJ
Pangantucan Community High School
Fr. Michael Ignacio Pineda, SJ
Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu
Fr. Joseph Y. Haw, SJ
Xavier School Nuvali
Xavier School San Juan
Fr. Mars Tan, SJ
Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
