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.
OFFICIAL
YEAR OFFICIAL NAME OF DECS LEGAL BASES
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
1916-1942 Department of Public Instruction Secretary
(Jones Law)
Renamed by the Japanese
Department of Education, Health
1942-1944 Commissioner Executive Commission, June
and Public Welfare
11, 1942
Department of Education, Health Renamed by Japanese
1944 Minister
and Public Welfare Sponsored Philippine Republic
Renamed by Japanese
1944 Department of Public Instruction Secretary
Sponsored Philippine Republic
Department of Public Instruction Renamed by the
1945-1946 Secretary
and Information Commonwealth Government
Renamed by the
1946-1947 Department of Instruction Secretary
Commonwealth Government
E.O. No. 94 October 1947
1947-1975 Department of Education Secretary
(Reorganization Act of 1947)
Department of Education and Proc. No. 1081, September 24,
1975-1978 Secretary
Culture 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 E.O. No. 117. January 30,
1987-1994 Secretary
and Sports 1987
RA 7722 and RA 7796, 1994
Department of Education, Culture
1994-2001 Secretary Trifocalization of Education
and Sports
Management
RA 9155, August 2001
2001 - present Department of Education Secretary (Governance 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.

DepEd MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

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 Undersecretaries and four Assistant Secretaries with at least one Undersecretary and one Assistant
Secretary who are career service officers chosen among the staff of the Department. (See DepEd Organizational Chart.)

At present, the Department operates with four Undersecretaries in the areas of: (1) Programs and Projects; (2) Regional
Operations; (3) Finance and Administration; and (4) Legal Affairs; four Assistant Secretaries in the areas of: (1) Programs and
Projects; (2) Planning and Development; (3) Budget and Financial Affairs; and (4) Legal Affairs.

Backstopping the Office of the Secretary at the Central Office are the different services, bureaus and centers. The five
services are the Administrative Service, Financial and Management Service, Human Resource Development Service, Planning
Service, and Technical Service. Three staff bureaus provide assistance in formulating policies, standards, and programs related to
curriculum and staff development. These are the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE), Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE),
and the Bureau of Nonformal Education (BNFE). By virtue of Executive Order No. 81 series of 1999, the functions of a fourth
bureau, the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (BPESS), were absorbed by the Philippine Sports Commission
(PSC) last August 25, 1999.

Six centers or units attached to the Department similarly provide technical and administrative support towards the
realization of the Department’s vision. These are the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Health and
Nutrition Center (HNC), National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), Educational Development Projects
Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), National Science Teaching Instrumentation Center (NSTIC), and Instructional Materials
Council Secretariat (IMCS). There are four special offices under OSEC: the Adopt-a-School Program Secretariat, Center for
Students and Co-curricular Affairs, Educational Technology Unit, and the Task Force Engineering Assessment and Monitoring.

Other attached and support agencies to the Department are the Teacher Education Council (TEC), Philippine High School
for the Arts, Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC), and the Instructional Materials Council (IMC).

At the sub-national level, the Field Offices consist of the following:

1. Sixteen (16) Regional Offices, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM*), each headed by a
Regional Director (a Regional Secretary in the case of ARMM);
2. One hundred fifty-seven (157) Provincial and City Schools Divisions, each headed by a Schools Division
Superintendent. Assisting the Schools Division Offices are 2,227 School Districts, each headed by a District
Supervisor;
3. Under the supervision of the Schools Division Offices are forty-eight thousand, four hundred forty-six (48, 446)
schools, broken down as follows:
o 40,763 elementary schools (36,234 public and 4,529 private)
o 7,683 secondary schools (4,422 public and 3,261 private)

Legend:
* ARMM is included in the budget of the Department on the following:
Creation of teaching and non-teaching positions;
 Funding for newly-legislated high schools;
 Regular School Building Program; and
 Certain foreign-assisted and locally-funded programs and projects.
During the early Spanish period, education in the Philippines was religion-oriented and was primarily for the elite, especially in
the first years of Spanish colonization. Access to education by 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 secularized and free and the teaching of Spanish was compulsory. It was also
through this decree that the Superior Commission of Primary Instruction was established, the seminal agency of the Department
of Education.
The defeat of Spain by United States 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 the 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. However, this first sovereign education system was interrupted with the Philippine–American War, and was finally
dismantled. A 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 was
enforced by the Taft Commission per instructions of President William McKinley. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers
were assigned to teach using English as the medium of instruction.
A highly centralized public school system was instituted in 1901 by the Philippine Commission by virtue of Act No. 74. Act No.
74 also established the Department of Public Instruction, which was headed by a General Superintendent. The implementation of
this Act created a heavy shortage of teachers so much so that the Philippine Commission authorized the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to bring 600 teachers from the United States to the Philippines. These would later be popularly known as the
Thomasites. The Organic Act of 1916 would reorganize the Department of Public Instruction, mandating that it be headed by a
Secretary. This act also mandated the Filpinization of all department secretaries, except that of the Secretary of Public
Instruction. During World War II, the department was reorganized once again through the Japanese's Military Order No. 2 in
1942, which established the Commission of Education, Health, and Public Welfare. With the establishment of the Japanese-
sponsored Republic, the Ministry of Education was created on October 14, 1943. Under the Japanese, the teaching of Tagalog,
Philippine History, and Character Education was given priority. Love for work and the dignity of labor were also 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 Presidential Decree No. 1 and subsequently became the
Ministry of Education and Culture in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 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 of President Corazon C. Aquino. The structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 has practically
remained unchanged until 1994, when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was established, and in 1995, when the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was established to supervise tertiary degree programs and non-
degree technical-vocational programs, 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 No. 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic Education Act, was passed renaming the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field
offices, which include regional offices, division offices, district offices, and schools.
[edit] Removal of Culture and Sports
The Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 removed the administration of cultural activities from the Department of
Education. It also abolished the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports. The law is also known as An Act Instituting A
Frame Work of Governance for Basic Education, Establishing Authority and Accountability, Renaming the Department of
Education, Culture, and Sports as the Department of Education, and for Other Purposes.[1]
National Historical Institute, Records Management and Archives Office, and the National Library are now administratively
attached to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Philippines) (NCCA). These are no longer with the Department of
Education. The program for school arts and culture, however, remains as part of the school curriculum.[1]
With the enactment of the law, all functions, programs, and activities of the Department of Education related to sports
competition were all transferred to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). The program for school sports and physical fitness,
however, remains part of the basic education curriculum. In addition, the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports was
abolished.[1]
It spans the Spanish-American War which resulted in the United States acquiring
sovereignty over the Philippines from Spain via the Treaty of Paris which ended that
war, the Philippines as a U.S. territory and later as a U.S. Commonwealth,
occupation of the Philippines by Japanese forces during the Second World War, to
eventual recognition of Philippine independence by the U.S. in 1946.
In Feb., 1899, Aguinaldo led a new revolt, this time against U.S. rule. Defeated on the battlefield, the
Filipinos turned to guerrilla warfare, and their defeat became a mammoth project for the United States—
Thus began the Philippine-American War, one that cost far more money and took far more lives than the
Spanish-American War. Fighting broke out on February 4, 1899, after two American privates on patrol
killed three Filipino soldiers in San Juan, Metro Manila. Some 126,000 American soldiers would be
committed to the conflict; 4,234 American and 16,000 Filipino soldiers, part of a nationwide guerrilla
movement of indeterminate numbers, died. Estimates on civilian deaths during the war range between
250,000 and 1,000,000, largely because of famine and disease. Atrocities were committed by both sides.

The poorly equipped Filipino troops were handily overpowered by American troops in open combat, but
they were frightening opponents in guerrilla warfare. Malolos, the revolutionary capital, was captured on
March 31, 1899. Aguinaldo and his government escaped, however, establishing a new capital at San
Isidro, Nueva Ecija. Antonio Luna, Aguinaldo's most capable military commander, was murdered in June.
With his best commander dead and his troops suffering continued defeats as American forces pushed
into northern Luzon, Aguinaldo dissolved the regular army in November 1899 and ordered the
establishment of decentralized guerrilla commands in each of several military zones. The general
population, caught between Americans and rebels, suffered significantly.
The revolution was effectively ended with the capture (1901) of Aguinaldo by Gen. Frederick Funston at
Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901 and was brought to Manila, but the question of Philippine
independence remained a burning issue in the politics of both the United States and the islands. The
matter was complex by the growing economic ties between the two countries. Although moderately little
American capital was invested in island industries, U.S. trade bulked larger and larger until the Philippines
became almost entirely dependent upon the American market. Free trade, established by an act of 1909,
was expanded in 1913. Influenced of the uselessness of further resistance, he swore allegiance to the
United States and issued a proclamation calling on his compatriots to lay down their arms, officially
bringing an end to the war. However, sporadic insurgent resistance continued in various parts of the
Philippines, especially in the Muslim south, until 1913.

U.S. colony
Civil government was established by the Americans in 1901, with William Howard Taft as the first
American Governor-General of the Philippines. English was declared the official language. Six hundred
American teachers were imported aboard the USS Thomas. Also, the Catholic Church was
disestablished, and a substantial amount of church land was purchased and redistributed. Some
measures of Filipino self-rule were allowed, however. An elected Filipino legislature was established in
1907.

When Woodrow Wilson became U.S. President in 1913, there was a major change in official American
policy concerning the Philippines. While the previous Republican administrations had predicted the
Philippines as a perpetual American colony, the Wilson administration decided to start a process that
would slowly lead to Philippine independence. U.S. administration of the Philippines was declared to be
temporary and aimed to develop institutions that would permit and encourage the eventual establishment
of a free and democratic government. Therefore, U.S. officials concentrated on the creation of such
practical supports for democratic government as public education and a sound legal system. The
Philippines were granted free trade status, with the U.S.

In 1916, the Philippine Autonomy Act, widely known as the Jones Law, was passed by the U.S.
Congress. The law which served as the new organic act (or constitution) for the Philippines, stated in its
preamble that the ultimate independence of the Philippines would be American policy, subject to the
establishment of a stable government. The law placed executive power in the Governor General of the
Philippines, appointed by the President of the United States, but established a bicameral Philippine
Legislature to replace the elected Philippine Assembly (lower house) and appointive Philippine
Commission (upper house) previously in place. The Filipino House of Representatives would be purely
elected, while the new Philippine Senate would have the majority of its members elected by senatorial
district with senators representing non-Christian areas appointed by the Governor-General.

The 1920s saw alternating periods of cooperation and confrontation with American governors-general,
depending on how intent the official who holds an office was on exercising his powers vis-à-vis the
Philippine legislature. Members to the elected legislature lost no time in lobbying for immediate and
complete independence from the United States. Several independence missions were sent to
Washington, D.C. A civil service was formed and was regularly taken over by Filipinos, who had
effectively gained control by the end of World War I.

When the Republicans regained power in 1921, the trend toward bringing Filipinos into the government
was inverted. Gen. Leonard Wood, who was appointed governor-general, largely replaced Filipino
activities with a semi military rule. However, the advent of the Great Depression in the United States in
the 1930s and the first aggressive moves by Japan in Asia (1931) shifted U.S. sentiment sharply toward
the granting of immediate independence to the Philippines.

In 1934, the United States Congress, having originally passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act as a
Philippine Independence Act over President Hoover's refusal, only to have the law rejected by the
Philippine legislature, finally passed a new Philippine Independence Act, popularly known as the Tydings-
McDuffie Act. The law provided for the granting of Philippine independence by 1946.
U.S. rule was accompanied by improvements in the education and health systems of the Philippines;
school enrollment rates multiplied fivefold. By the 1930s, literacy rates had reached 50%. Several
diseases were virtually eliminated. However, the Philippines remained economically backward. U.S. trade
policies encouraged the export of cash crops and the importation of manufactured goods; little industrial
development occurred. Meanwhile, landlessness became a serious problem in rural areas; peasants were
often reduced to the status of serfs.

Commonwealth
The period 1935–1946 would ideally be dedicated to the final adjustments required for a peaceful
transition to full independence, great latitude in autonomy being granted in the meantime.

The Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, passed by Congress in 1932, provided for complete independence of the
islands in 1945 after 10 years of self-government under U.S. supervision. The bill had been drawn up with
the aid of a commission from the Philippines, but Manuel L. Quezon, the leader of the leading Nationalist
party, opposed it, partially because of its threat of American tariffs against Philippine products but
principally because of the provisions leaving naval bases in U.S. hands. Under his influence, the
Philippine legislature rejected the bill. The Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act (1934) closely looks like
the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, but struck the provisions for American bases and carried a promise of
further study to correct “imperfections or inequalities.”

The Philippine legislature approved the bill; a constitution, approved by President Roosevelt (Mar., 1935)
was accepted by the Philippine people in a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a
question of national importance (May); and Quezon was elected the first president (Sept.). On May 14,
1935, an election to fill the newly created office of President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was
won by Manuel L. Quezon (Nacionalista Party) and a Filipino government was formed on the basis of
principles apparently similar to the US Constitution. (See: Philippine National Assembly). When Quezon
was inaugurated on Nov. 15, 1935, the Commonwealth was formally established in 1935, featured a very
strong executive, a unicameral National Assembly, and a Supreme Court composed entirely of Filipinos
for the first time since 1901. The new government embarked on an ambitious agenda of establishing the
basis for national defense, greater control over the economy, reforms in education, improvement of
transport, the colonization of the island of Mindanao, and the promotion of local capital and
industrialization. The Commonwealth however, was also faced with agrarian unrest, an uncertain
diplomatic and military situation in South East Asia, and uncertainty about the level of United States
commitment to the future Republic of the Philippines.

In 1939-40, the Philippine Constitution was revised to restore a bicameral Congress, and permit the
reelection of President Quezon, previously restricted to a single, six-year term. Quezon was reelected in
Nov., 1941. To develop defensive forces against possible aggression, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was
brought to the islands as military adviser in 1935, and the following year he became field marshal of the
Commonwealth army.

During the Commonwealth years, Philippines sent one elected Resident Commissioner to the United
States House of Representatives, as Puerto Rico currently does today.