Senator Alan Peter Cayetano backed the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) 7-point agenda for 2025 to 2030, saying the country’s higher education system must be both values-centered and data-driven to truly prepare Filipinos for global challenges.
Presiding over the organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, Cayetano said education agencies should create the right environment for students to thrive.
“All around the world, tinitingala ang Pilipino. So ang trabaho ng education – DepEd, CHED, and TESDA – is to provide the good soil or the environment so that the seed can prosper,” the veteran legislator said.
In the hearing, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said that while college participation has gone up since the passage of the free college education law, several challenges remain, such as the lack of infrastructure funding in state universities and colleges (SUCs).
The seasoned lawmaker vowed to support better funding and said he has mobilized his team to gather data from each SUC about their infrastructure requirements and five-year development plans.
“From December to January (next year), I gave them a mission to ask every SUC kung magkano talaga [ang kailangan nila], may five-year plan ba sila, may infrastructure plan ba sila – basics lang,” the senator said.
“As you said, the new CHED will be guided by science and be data-driven… So let’s get the data… I think that’s something we can do together,” he told Agrupis.
“CHED’s 7-point ACHIEVE agenda for 2025 to 2030, is anchored on the values of integrity, agility, modesty, service, modesty, accountability, results, and transparency.”
Agrupis presented the commission’s 7-point ACHIEVE agenda for 2025 to 2030, which is anchored on the values of “integrity, agility, modesty, service, modesty, accountability, results, and transparency”.
Cayetano welcomed the values-oriented direction, saying lasting reform in education must be grounded on values instilled by families, schools, and churches.
He recently filed the proposed Filipino Identity in Values Act, which seeks to institutionalize the teaching of shared Filipino values in schools and government offices.
Cayetano also stressed the need for tighter coordination among CHED, DepEd, and TESDA, pointing out that misalignment has complicated the K-12 program and technical-vocational certification.
CHED responded that it has begun holding monthly meetings with the two other agencies to address the issue.
Looking ahead, Cayetano said one of the priorities of the committee is the passage of the EDCOM 3 bill, which he co-authored, to strengthen coordination and integrate reforms across education agencies.
“One of the changes is we’re going to ask the heads of DepEd, CHED, TESDA to sit together, so parang parliamentary na.”
“One of the changes is we’re going to ask the heads of DepEd, CHED, TESDA to sit together, so parang parliamentary na. So instead of purely legislative naming ibibigay sa inyo [ang recommendations], we’ll be integrated already,” he said.
As part of the organizational meeting, the committee also formed technical working groups to jumpstart discussions on key measures, including Cayetano-authored Makakapagtapos Ako Act of 2025 and the EDCOM III bill, as well as proposed amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA 10931) and bills on the governance framework for local universities and colleges.
