The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is a Philippine Congressional entity created by the 18th Congress of the Philippines.
The body was created by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 11899, which lapsed into law on July 23, 2022.
The commission is tasked to conduct a national review of the country's education sector after the COVID-19 pandemic exacted a heavy toll on learning. Its primary goal is to recommend legislation and policies to address the "learning crisis" and improve the quality of education in the Philippines.
The first Education Commission was established in 1991. It was tasked with assessing the state of Philippine education and recommending reforms. The commission's findings highlighted issues like low investment, disparities in access, low achievement, and high dropout rates. These findings led to significant changes, including the "trifocalization" of basic education and the creation of CHED and TESDA.
The Philippines participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment for the first time in 2018. The country scored the lowest in reading comprehension and the second-lowest in mathematics and science, among 79 participating countries. A report by the World Bank also found that the Philippinesâ learning poverty ranks among the highest in the Asian region, at 90.9%. The country fared the worst among the ASEAN countries, with the exception of Lao PDR (97.7%) and Brunei (no assessment). This means that nine in every 10 Filipinos aged 10 years old need to be taught how to read and to develop their reading comprehension.
The commission was formed as a result of these international assessments, spurred by widespread calls to reform the country's education system.
Under Section 3 of RA 11899, the objectives of EDCOM II are to:
The Commission's principal mandate is identified in Section 4: <blockquote>"To undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector for the purpose of recommending transformative, concrete and targeted reforms in the sector with the end in view of making the Philippines globally competitive in both education and labor markets."</blockquote>
The Education Commission is headed by four co-chairpersons who lead the commission jointly â two from the Senate of the Philippines, and two from the House of Representatives.
In total, the commission has ten members, with five members from the Senate and five members from the House of Representatives.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) is composed of the following legislators from the 20th Congress of the Philippines:
The commission is guided by an Education, Legislation and Policy Advisory Council, selected by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a pool of recognized experts from the following sectors: the academe, the business sector, government education agencies, heads of LGUs, and from civil society organizations and development partners engaged in education. The members of the council are:
The Commission has shepherded several laws through the legislative process, namely:
Aside from legislation, the Commission has also successfully advocated for policy changes and implementation in the executive branch:
On January 23, 2024, the commission published its Year One Report, entitled Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education. The report highlighted the commission's findings in twelve out of its twenty-eight Priority Areas, following its first year of work.
The report also contained 40 recommendations that target specific objectives by the commission.
The Commission followed up its first report with its Year Two Report, entitled Fixing the Foundations: A Matter of National Survival, on January 27, 2025. In the report, the Commission advocated for addressing "foundational learning deficits in early childhood and primary education".
Among the findings that EDCOM II highlighted are the shortage of principals in more than half of public schools in the country, that most Grade 3 students were one to two years behind curriculum expectations during the foundational years of learning, government support to only 1.03% of the best and brightest students in the country, the dismal attrition rate in higher education institutions, that 62% of high school teachers teach subjects outside their college major, and that Philippine government spending on education still fails to keep pace with global standards, with basic education receiving the lowest share in the budget, despite its foundational role.
On January 26, 2026, the commission released its third and final report, entitled Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reforms This is in line with RA 11899's mandate to "report to Congress its accomplishments on a periodic basis, its findings and recommendations on actions to be taken by Congress, the departments, and other government agencies concerned with education, and provide a final report at the end of the existence of the Commission."
The report contains the National Education and Workforce Development Plan (NatPlan) 2026âÂÂ2035, a strategic roadmap designed to reverse the countryâÂÂs systemic "proficiency collapse" marked by a 91% learning poverty rate and only 0.40% proficiency among Grade 12 students. Anchored on three years of empirical findings, the plan outlines 20 Priority Recommendations across six Key Priority Areas (KPAs)âÂÂranging from early childhood nutrition and functional literacy to integrated governanceâÂÂaiming to achieve ambitious targets such as 95% reading proficiency for Grade 3 and an education budget reaching 5.5% of GDP by 2035. Central to this "turning point" is the shift from diagnosis to synchronized execution, mandating critical reforms such as ending the culture of "mass promotion" through the full implementation of the ARAL Program, resolving teacher specialization mismatches, and institutionalizing the Education and Workforce Development Group (EWDG) to ensure inter-agency coherence.
EDCOM 2 has partnered extensively with academic institutions, civil society organizations, diplomatic missions, and government organizations to fulfill its mandate. Select partners include:
The Commission's partnerships have produced several studies devoted to education.
The commission's work has been impactful in the Philippines' education reform landscape. The British Council commended the Commission's Year Two Report, "We commend the EDCOM II Year 2 report for its comprehensive analysis and recommendations, which affirm the momentum of our work in higher education and science. The report highlights the increasing collaborations between foreign institutions and the Philippines, aligning with our shared goal of strengthening the countryâÂÂs higher education and research ecosystem".
The University of the Philippines Los Baños has also expressed appreciation, saying "We, at UPLB, extend our deepest appreciation to the Second Congressional Commission on Education II (EDCOM 2) for its comprehensive assessment and actionable recommendations as outlined in the Year Two Report, Fixing the Foundations: A Matter of National Survival. This report underscores the fundamental role of early childhood education and nutrition interventions in strengthening the foundational stages of learning. Drawing upon the growing body of evidence, the report sets out a roadmap on what needs to be done in terms of capacitating and empowering our teaching and non-teaching personnel, improving access to higher education, increasing industry participation in technical and vocational education and training and lifelong learning, among others, and how to do it."
The Ateneo de Manila University also lent its commendation to the Commission, saying, "Ateneo remains committed to collaborating with policymakers, educators, and stakeholders in implementing these much-needed reforms. We look forward to further engagements with EDCOM 2 in research, policy advocacy, and capacity-building initiatives that align with our shared vision for a stronger Philippine education system"