WHEREAS, in the early 1990 ™s the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) submitted its findings to the Philippine Congress on the education system and made several policy recommendations. Most of those policy recommendations have been translated into educational laws but other important recommendations remain to be acted upon;

WHEREAS, it has been more than five years since the EDCOM ™s report and recommendation, and many important changes have taken place since then in education, culture and science;

WHEREAS, a country ™s investment in human capital is crucial to its economic and social development;

WHEREAS, under the 10-point action plan of the Estrada Presidency, it is mandated to create a Presidential Commission on Educational Reform (PCER), to define a budget-feasible program of reform, and identify executive priority policy recommendations and item for a legislative agenda on education;

WHEREAS, the PCER is a multi-sectoral body comprised of representatives from government line agencies public and private schools at all levels, teachers, private industry, NGOs, and other concerned sectors;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1 Presidential Commission on Educational Reform (PCER)

There is hereby established the Presidential Commission on Educational Reform (PCER), under the Office of the President, which shall be a multi-sectoral body comprised of representatives from government line agencies, the University of the Philippines, the Open University - University of the Philippines; public and private schools at all levels; teachers; the agriculture and industry sectors; the information technology sector; state colleges and universities; other concerned sectors.

SEC. 2. Structure.

a. The Commission will be chaired by a person with outstanding record in education and of proven integrity appointed by the President for the duration of the life of the Commission.

Members of the Commission will include the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports; the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education; the Director-General of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority; the Director-General of the National Economic Development Authority; a representative of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a representative from private agriculture; representatives each from the Department of Interior and Local Government; Department of Science and Technology, the University of the Philippines, Department of Finance, the state colleges and universities; superintendents; public and private school teachers; private and public school associations.

The Education Committee Chairmen of the Upper and Lower Houses will be invited to attend meetings ex-officio either personally or through their representatives.

b. There will be a Secretariat, headed by a full time Executive Director contracted for the purpose, housed within DECS, and staffed by individuals seconded by DECS, CHED and TESDA.

c. There will be a working committee to assist the Executive Director in the design and conduct of the education sector analysis, composed of a senior representative of concerned Departments, Agencies and private sector constituencies.

SEC. 3. Coverage.

The Commission shall be given one year to define a comprehensive and a budget-feasible program of reform in the following areas:

1. Curricula, teaching methods, instructional media, educational technologies, textbooks, language policy and school calendar in use at the elementary and secondary levels, using international benchmarks.

2. Modernization of science laboratories, improvement of science and mathematics education and the feasibility of establishing regional centers of excellence in science education.

3. Upgrading of computer classrooms, computing facilities and internet access in all schools that meet eligibility standards for administering such programs.

4. Expansion, modernization and standardization of our vocational and technical institutions, specially polytechnic colleges and universities.

5. Distance learning and continuing education programs, specially for adults and out-of-school youth, with a view towards possible eventual accreditation.

6. Tuition financing schemes intended to bring the effective purchasing power of students in line with the real costs of tertiary education.

7. Programs, resources and facilities of state universities and colleges, other than UP, with the intention of rationalizing their academic offering and aligning them with employer requirements in their respective areas.

8. Governance, organization, programs, resources, and facilities of the University of the Philippines, with a view towards developing its flagships campus in Diliman into one of the top ten universities in Asia in time for the UP Centennial in 2008.

9. Other priority areas of concern in education that arise from the research and consultations conducted by the Commission.

SEC. 4. Process.

The report and the recommendation for both executive policy and legislative action will be drawn from an analysis by the Commission of the Philippine educational system, based on research of existing studies and other secondary sources of data, on extensive consultations with different sectors, and on interviews with key person in the system.

SEC. 5. Time Frame.

The Commission will start its work upon signing of this Executive Order, and submit its final report and recommendations to the Office of the President of the Philippines one year thereafter. The Commission will automatically be dissolved upon the submission of its report.

SEC. 6. Operating Requirements.

The Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) shall provide the sum of P4M annually to be sourced from its existing budget. For the operating requirement of Presidential Commission on Educational Reform (PCER) including the payment of compensation of its Chairman/Members in the form of honoraria or per diem on a monthly basis as follows:

One (1) Chairman at P10,000.00

Two (2) Vice-Chairmen at P5,000.00 each

Eighteen (18) Members at P3,000.00 each

One (1) Executive Director (For secondment basis) at P30,000.00

SEC. 7. Effectivity.

This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 7th day of December in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Eight.

(SGD.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary