The House Committee on Basic Education and Culture took a decisive step toward resolving the country’s education crisis on Monday by approving three landmark reform bills. Spearheaded by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and TINGOG Party-list Representatives Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, Andrew Julian K. Romualdez, and Jude A. Acidre, the measures target the nation’s 165,000-classroom shortage and stagnant learning outcomes.

The legislative package focuses on speed and specialization. The Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act (HB 5577) and the Emergency Classroom Building Act (HB 5103) empower local governments and the private sector to bypass traditional bureaucratic delays, even granting the President emergency powers to fast-track construction for the 5.1 million “aisle learners” currently affected by the backlog. Simultaneously, the Education Pathways Act (HB 4248) aims to fix the Senior High School system by splitting it into two distinct tracks: a University Preparatory Pathway under DepEd and a Technical-Vocational Pathway under TESDA.

These reforms come at a critical time, as recent data shows 90% of Filipino 10-year-olds struggle with basic reading and the Philippines continues to rank at the bottom of international assessments in Math and Science. Representative Jude Acidre, who chairs the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, emphasized that the time for debate has passed in favor of immediate action.

“We cannot expect better learning outcomes from a system that lacks the basic conditions for learning. Infrastructure, curriculum, and governance must move in coordination,” Acidre said. “The era of diagnosing the problem is over. The next phase is disciplined implementation: classrooms delivered, pathways clarified, and results sustained.”

The approved measures now head to the plenary for further consideration, marking a significant shift in the government’s strategy to modernize the foundations of Filipino education.