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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
January 1, 2026 | 12:00am
Students walk across the gutter-deep flood along the corner of Taft and UN Avenues in Manila following a heavy downpour brought by the enhanced southwest monsoon on Monday, July 21, 2025. The city of Manila on Monday suspended classes at all levels in public and private schools starting at 12 noon.
The STAR / Edd Gumban
MANILA, Philippines — The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) yesterday released its top 10 findings for 2025, highlighting widespread functional illiteracy affecting 24 million Filipinos and the continued exclusion of millions of children with disabilities from basic services.
Ranking first among the findings was the release of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey on April 30, 2025.
The survey showed that more than 24 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 are functionally illiterate, while 5.8 million are basically illiterate.
The commission’s second key finding, based on an EDCOM 2 and IDinsight policy brief titled “Accelerating Support for Learners with Disabilities” released on Nov. 21, 2025, highlighted major gaps in inclusive education.
While the Inclusive Education Act aligns with international best practices, local resource and capacity constraints continue to hamper its effective implementation.
Data showed that only 391,089 learners with disabilities were enrolled in public schools, representing just eight percent of the estimated 5.1 million children with disabilities nationwide.
Ranked third was the finding that only 43 percent of malnourished children aged two to four are covered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s supplementary feeding program.
EDCOM 2 attributed this largely to structural issues and the program’s reliance on facility-based interventions.
To address persistent malnutrition and high stunting rates among children under five, legislators and agency heads are calling for a “system reset” to clarify governance roles and ensure nutrition programs reach the most vulnerable groups.
The commission also found that funding confusion has prevented national programs from reaching the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Ranked fifth, the finding noted that some national agencies have scaled back essential health and education programs, mistakenly assuming that the region’s block grant replaces national government support.
Agricom
Meanwhile, Congress is set to replicate the EDCOM 2 model in the agriculture sector.
The Senate has endorsed for plenary approval Senate Bill 1624, which seeks to establish the Congressional Commission on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Security.
Similar to EDCOM 2, AGRICOM will review policies, programs and institutional arrangements across key agencies. — Neil Jayson Servallos
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