QUEZON CITY — 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.
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