THE NEED FOR

EDUCATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
FILWYN P. VILLANUEVA
 1987 Constitutional Provision on Education
ARTICLE XIV
Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports

Education
SECTION 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all
citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take
appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.
 SECTION 2. The State shall:
(1) Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate,
and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of
the people and society;
(2) Establish and maintain a system of free public education in
the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the
natural right of parents to rear their children, elementary
education is compulsory for all children of school age;
(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants,
student loan programs, subsidies, and other incentives which
shall be available to deserving students in both public and
private schools, especially to the underprivileged;
(4) Encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning
systems, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-
school study programs particularly those that respond to
community needs; and
(5) Provide adult citizens, the disabled, and out-of-school
youth with training in civics, vocational efficiency, and other
skills.
SECTION 3. (1) All educational institutions shall include the
study of the Constitution as part of the curricula.
(2) They shall inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love
of humanity, respect for human rights, appreciation of the role
of national heroes in the historical development of the
country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen
ethical and spiritual values, develop moral character and
personal discipline, encourage critical and creative thinking,
broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote
vocational efficiency.
(3) At the option expressed in writing by the parents or
guardians, religion shall be allowed to be taught to their
children or wards in public elementary and high schools within
the regular class hours by instructors designated or approved
by the religious authorities of the religion to which the
children or wards belong, without additional cost to the
Government.
SECTION 4. (1) The State recognizes the complementary roles
of public and private institutions in the educational system
and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all
educational institutions.
(2) Educational institutions, other than those established by
religious groups and mission boards, shall be owned solely by
citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at
least sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by
such citizens. The Congress may, however, require increased
Filipino equity participation in all educational institutions.
 The control and administration of educational
institutions shall be vested in citizens of the Philippines.
No educational institution shall be established
exclusively for aliens and no group of aliens shall comprise
more than one-third of the enrollment in any school. The
provisions of this subsection shall not apply to schools
established for foreign diplomatic personnel and their
dependents and, unless otherwise provided by law, for other
foreign temporary residents.
(3) All revenues and assets of non-stock, non-profit educational
institutions used actually, directly, and exclusively for educational
purposes shall be exempt from taxes and duties. Upon the dissolution
or cessation of the corporate existence of such institutions, their assets
shall be disposed of in the manner provided by law.
Proprietary educational institutions, including those
cooperatively owned, may likewise be entitled to such exemptions
subject to the limitations provided by law including restrictions on
dividends and provisions for reinvestment.
(4) Subject to conditions prescribed by law, all grants, endowments,
donations, or contributions used actually, directly, and exclusively for
educational purposes shall be exempt from tax.
SECTION 5. (1) The State shall take into account regional and
sectoral needs and conditions and shall encourage local
planning in the development of educational policies and
programs.
(2) Academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all institutions of
higher learning.
(3) Every citizen has a right to select a profession or course of
study, subject to fair, reasonable, and equitable admission and
academic requirements.
(4) The State shall enhance the right of teachers to
professional advancement. Non-teaching academic and non-
academic personnel shall enjoy the protection of the State.
(5) The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to
education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its
rightful share of the best available talents through adequate
remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and
fulfillment.
 Language
SECTION 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino.
As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on
the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.
Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may
deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate
and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official
communication and as language of instruction in the
educational system.
SECTION 7. For purposes of communication and instruction,
the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until
otherwise provided by law, English.
The regional languages are the auxiliary official
languages in the regions and shall serve as auxiliary media of
instruction therein.
Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary
and optional basis.
SECTION 8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in Filipino
and English and shall be translated into major regional
languages, Arabic, and Spanish.
SECTION 9. The Congress shall establish a national language
commission composed of representatives of various regions
and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and
promote researches for the development, propagation, and
preservation of Filipino and other languages.
 Science and Technology
SECTION 10. Science and technology are essential for national
development and progress. The State shall give priority to
research and development, invention, innovation, and their
utilization; and to science and technology education, training,
and services. It shall support indigenous, appropriate, and
self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their
application to the country’s productive systems and national
life.
SECTION 11. The Congress may provide for incentives,
including tax deductions, to encourage private participation in
programs of basic and applied scientific research.
Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other forms of incentives shall
be provided to deserving science students, researchers,
scientists, inventors, technologists, and specially gifted
citizens.
SECTION 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and promote
the adaptation of technology from all sources for the national
benefit. It shall encourage the widest participation of private
groups, local governments, and community-based
organizations in the generation and utilization of science and
technology.
SECTION 13. The State shall protect and secure the exclusive
rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other gifted citizens
to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when
beneficial to the people, for such period as may be provided
by law.
 Arts and Culture
SECTION 14. The State shall foster the preservation,
enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national
culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate
of free artistic and intellectual expression.
SECTION 15. Arts and letters shall enjoy the patronage of the
State. The State shall conserve, promote, and popularize the
nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well
as artistic creations.
SECTION 16. All the country’s artistic and historic wealth
constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation and shall be
under the protection of the State which may regulate its
disposition.
SECTION 17. The State shall recognize, respect, and protect
the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and
develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall
consider these rights in the formulation of national plans and
policies.
SECTION 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to cultural
opportunities through the educational system, public or
private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other
incentives, and community cultural centers, and other public
venues.
(2) The State shall encourage and support researches and
studies on the arts and culture.
 Sports
SECTION 19. (1) The State shall promote physical education
and encourage sports programs, league competitions, and
amateur sports, including training for international
competitions, to foster self-discipline, teamwork, and
excellence for the development of a healthy and alert
citizenry.
(2) All educational institutions shall undertake regular sports
activities throughout the country in cooperation with athletic
clubs and other sectors.
Historical Perspective of the Philippine
Educational System
Education in the Philippines has undergone several stages of
development from the pre-Spanish times to the present. In meeting
the needs of the society, education serves as focus of
emphases/priorities of the leadership at certain periods/epochs in our
national struggle as a race.
As early as in pre-Magellanic times, education was informal,
unstructured, and devoid of methods. Children were provided more
vocational training and less academics (3 Rs) by their parents and in the
houses of tribal tutors.
 The pre-Spanish system of education underwent major changes
during the Spanish colonization. The tribal tutors were replaced by the
Spanish Missionaries. Education was religion-oriented. It was for the
elite, especially in the early years of Spanish colonization. Access to
education by the Filipinos was later liberalized through the enactment
of the Educational Decree of 1863 which provided for the
establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each
town under the responsibility of the municipal government; and the
establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the
supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction was free and the
teaching of Spanish was compulsory. Education during that period was
inadequate, suppressed, and controlled.
 The defeat of Spain by American forces paved the way for
Aguinaldo’s Republic under a Revolutionary Government. The schools
maintained by Spain for more than three centuries were closed for the
time being but were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of
Interior. The Burgos Institute in Malolos, the Military Academy of
Malolos, and the Literary University of the Philippines were
established. A system of free and compulsory elementary education
was established by the Malolos Constitution.
 An adequate secularized and free public school system
during the first decade of American rule was established upon
the recommendation of the Schurman Commission. Free
primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of
citizenship and avocation was enforced by the Taft
Commission per instructions of President McKinley. Chaplains
and non-commissioned officers were assigned to teach using
English as the medium of instruction.
A highly centralized public school system was installed in
1901 by the Philippine Commission by virtue of Act No. 74.
The implementation of this Act created a heavy shortage of
teachers so the Philippine Commission authorized the
Secretary of Public Instruction to bring to the Philippines 600
teachers from the U.S.A. They were the Thomasites.
 A highly centralized public school system was installed in 1901 by
the Philippine Commission by virtue of Act No. 74. The implementation
of this Act created a heavy shortage of teachers so the Philippine
Commission authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring to
the Philippines 600 teachers from the U.S.A. They were the
Thomasites.
 OFFICIAL NAME OF OFFICIAL
YEAR LEGAL BASES
DEPARTMENT TITULAR HEAD
Superior Commission of Primary
1863 Chairman Educational Decree of 1863
Instruction
General Act. No. 74 of the Philippine
1901-1916 Department of Public Instruction
Superintendent Commission, Jan. 21, 1901
Organic Act Law of 1916 (Jones
1916-1942 Department of Public Instruction Secretary
Law)
Renamed by the Japanese
Department of Education, Health and
1942-1944 Commissioner Executive Commission, June 11,
Public Welfare
1942
Department of Education, Health and Renamed by Japanese Sponsored
1944 Minister
Public Welfare Philippine Republic
Renamed by Japanese Sponsored
1944 Department of Public Instruction Secretary
Philippine Republic
Department of Public Instruction and Renamed by the Commonwealth
1945-1946 Secretary
Information Government
Renamed by the Commonwealth
1946-1947 Department of Instruction Secretary
Government
 OFFICIAL NAME OF OFFICIAL
YEAR LEGAL BASES
DEPARTMENT TITULAR HEAD

E.O. No. 94 October 1947

1947-1975 Department of Education Secretary
(Reorganization Act of 1947)

1975-1978 Department of Education and Culture Secretary Proc. No. 1081, September 24, 1972

1978-1984 Ministry of Education and Culture Minister P.D. No. 1397, June 2, 1978

Ministry of Education, Culture and

1984-1986 Minister Education Act of 1982
Sports

Department of Education, Culture and

1987-1994 Secretary E.O. No. 117. January 30, 1987
Sports

RA 7722 and RA 7796, 1994

Department of Education, Culture and
1994-2001 Secretary Trifocalization of Education
Sports
Management

2001 – RA 9155, August 2001 (Governance

Department of Education Secretary
present of Basic Education Act)
 The high school system supported by provincial governments,
special educational institutions, school of arts and trades, an
agricultural school, and commerce and marine institutes were
established in 1902 by the Philippine Commission. In 1908, the
Philippine Legislature approved Act No. 1870 which created the
University of the Philippines.
The Reorganization Act of 1916 provided the Filipinization of all
department secretaries except the Secretary of Public Instruction.
 Japanese educational policies were embodied in Military Order
No. 2 in 1942. The Philippine Executive Commission established the
Commission of Education, Health and Public Welfare and schools were
reopened in June 1942. On October 14, 1943, the Japanese –
sponsored Republic created the Ministry of Education. Under the
Japanese regime, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History, and
Character Education was reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and
dignity of labor was emphasized. On February 27, 1945, the
Department of Instruction was made part of the Department of Public
Instruction.
 In 1947, by virtue of Executive Order No. 94, the Department of
Instruction was changed to Department of Education. During this
period, the regulation and supervision of public and private schools
belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.
In 1972, it became the Department of Education and Culture by
virtue of Proclamation 1081 and the Ministry of Education and Culture
in 1978 y virtue of P.D. No. 1397. Thirteen regional offices were created
and major organizational changes were implemented in the
educational system.
 The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sports which later became the Department of Education,
Culture and Sports in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117. The
structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 has practically remained
unchanged until 1994 when the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED), and 1995 when the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) were established to supervise tertiary
degree programs and non-degree technical-vocational programs,
respectively.
 The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) report
provided the impetus for Congress to pass RA 7722 and RA 7796 in
1994 creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),
respectively.
The trifocal education system refocused DECS’ mandate to basic
education which covers elementary, secondary and nonformal
education, including culture and sports. TESDA now administers the
post-secondary, middle-level manpower training and development
while CHED is responsible for higher education.
 In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the
Governance of Basic Education Act, was passed transforming the name
of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the
Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field
offices (regional offices, division offices, district offices and schools). RA
9155 provides the overall framework for (i) school head empowerment
by strengthening their leadership roles and (ii) school-based
management within the context of transparency and local
accountability. The goal of basic education is to provide the school age
population and young adults with skills, knowledge, and values to
become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens.
New Educational Structure, Descriptive, and
Development of Basic Education
To carry out its mandates and objectives, the Department is
organized into two major structural components. The Central Office
maintains the overall administration of basic education at the national
level. The Field Offices are responsible for the regional and local
coordination and administration of the Department’s mandate. RA
9155 provides that the Department should have no more than
four (4) Undersecretaries and four (4) Assistant Secretaries with at least
one Undersecretary and one Assistant Secretary who are career service
officers chosen among the staff of the Department.
 In 2015, the Department underwent a restructuring of its office
functions and staffing. The result of which was the Rationalization Plan
for the new organizational structure. Details of the new structure are
further explained in DO Series 2015 No. 52, also known as the New
Organizational Structures of the Central, Regional, and Schools Division
Offices of the Department of Education.
• Professor Emeritus, University of the Philippines-National College of Public
Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) (March 2013 to present)
• Regent, Universidad de Manila
• Chair, Silliman University Board of Trustees (2001–2016)
• Director, Center for Policy and Executive Development,
National College of Public Administration and Governance (July 2002 to
May 2005)
• Vice President for Administration and Finance, University of the Philippines
(1996–1998)
• Treasurer of the Philippines, Bureau of the Treasury (August 1998 to February 2001)
• Presidential Adviser for Social Development with Cabinet Rank (in concurrent capacity),
Office of the President of the Philippines (August 1998 to January 2001)
• Secretary to the Commission, Commission on Audit (1978–1987)
In Civil Society
• Former Lead Convenor, Social Watch Philippines, Co-coordinator of Social Watch Asia and
member of the International Committee of Social Watch (1996 – 2016)
• Former Chair, People’s Public Finance Institute (2013–2016)
• President, Freedom from Debt Coalition (1988– 1996)
UNDERSECRETARIES
UNDERSECRETARIES
Assistant Secretaries
 At present, the Department operates with four (4)
Undersecretaries in the following areas:
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Finance and Administration
• Governance and Operations
• Legal and Legislative Affairs
Four (4) Assistant Secretaries are assigned in the following areas:
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Finance and Administration
• Governance and Operations
• Legal and Legislative Affairs
 Supporting the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) at the Central
Office are the different strands, services, bureaus, and divisions.
There are five (5) strands under OSEC:
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Finance and Administration
• Governance and Operations
• Legal and Legislative Affairs
• Strategic Management
 Five (5) attached agencies:
• Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council
• National Book Development Board (NBDB)
• National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT)
• National Museum
• Philippine High School for the Arts
 Three (3) coordinating councils:
• Adopt-a-School Program (ASP) Coordinating Council
• Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC)
• Teacher Education Council (TEC)
 At the sub-national level, the Field Offices consist of the
following:
• Seventeen (17) Regional Offices, and the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM*), each headed by a Regional Director (a
Regional Secretary in the case of ARMM).
• Two hundred twenty-one (221) Provincial and City Schools Divisions,
each headed by a Schools Division Superintendent. Assisting the
Schools Division Offices are 2,602 School Districts, each headed by a
District Supervisor.
 Under the supervision of the Schools Division Offices are 62,605
schools, broken down as follows:
• 49,209 elementary schools (38,648 public and 10,561 private)
• 13,396 secondary schools (7,976 public and 5,420 private)
World Educational Crisis
• Angle of Vision
In the early 1950's, e d u c ational systems the wo rld over began a pro
c e s s of expansion without precedent in human history. Student enro l
l m e n t s m o re than doubled in many places, ex p e n d i t u res on
education rose at an even faster rat e, and education emerged as the
largest local industry. Th i s graphic process held out the promise of
continued educational progress.
World Educational Crisis
• Angle of Vision
• Inputs and outputs of Educational System
• Inside the Educational System
Angle of Vision
• In early 1950’s, educational systems began a process of expansion .
•