The bicameral conference committee has approved the proposal to create a second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) to improve the country’s education system following the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) said on Saturday, March 26.
The bicameral committee reconciled Senate Bill No. 2485 and House Bill No. 10308, of which Benitez is an author, which proposed the creation of the EDCOM II.
The EDCOM II will address the deficiencies people are expecting from the two-year lack of face-to-face classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, Benitez, who is a member of the House Education Committee, said.
“If nothing gets done the effects of no face-to-face classes in the last two years will be felt in the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.
EDCOM II will ensure that some kind of review and interventions can be designed, said Benitez, who stressed the need to resume face-to-face classes soon.
The Philippines is one of the few countries that has not had face-to-face classes for so long, he said.
“Two years is too long of a gap of time, I think there will be learning deficiencies that need to be assessed and interventions need to be done,” Benitez sad.
Benitez said passage of the EDCOM II will have to wait until the Senate can meet after the elections to ratify the bicameral committee version, after which it will go back to the House of Representatives to also be ratified so it can become a law, he said.
It will include a review of the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, he said.
The Commission will be composed of 10 members, five from the Senate and five from the House of Representatives, who will come from the 19th Congress already, Benitez added.*