By Brian Campued
In line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that every Filipino child has access to quality education, the Department of Education (DepEd) successfully obtained all 105 titles of books intended for public elementary and secondary schools.
In a news release Wednesday DepEd Sec. Sonny Angara said the milestone addresses unnecessary bottlenecks in the procurement of textbooks as noted by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).
The EDCOM II previously flagged significant delays resulting in the procurement of only 27 out of 88 required titles between 2014 and 2023.
According to DepEd, from 31% completion from 2014-2023, the rate rose to 57% in 2024 and 2025 before reaching 100% this year.
This covers learning resources required for the successive phases of curriculum implementation, beginning with Grades 1, 4, 7, and Senior High School in 2024.
Textbook titles for Grades 3, 2, 5, and 8 in 2025 followed, as well as Grades 6, 9, and 10 in 2026, with all phases completed this year.
“For ten years, our public school system was trapped in a cycle where procuring a single textbook title took up to three years, leaving millions of learners and teachers without the fundamental tools they needed,” Sec. Angara said.
He attributed the achievement to the implementation of DepEd Order No. 008, s. of 2025, directing strict limitations on processes, mandatory blind content evaluation, and removal of repetitive review stages.
Under the new guidelines, initial technical checks are completed within five days, while content evaluation is limited to 90 days. Additionally, once a title passes quality assurance, it proceeds to procurement without further text modifications.
“We dismantled unnecessary bottlenecks, strictly enforced timeline discipline, and proved that transparency, speed, and quality control can go hand-in-hand to ensure our schools receive complete, high-quality learning resources without delay,” the DepEd chief added.
With the full completion in place this year, all 105 approved printed and electronic textbook titles will transition to nationwide distribution for classroom implementation.
-jpv
