The Higher Education Research and Policy Reform Program (HERPRP) of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) hosted a roundtable discussion entitled “Higher Education in EDCOM: Going Global?” on 8 November 2021, 10:00AM to 12:00NN via Zoom. The recording of the webinar is archived in the UP CIDS Facebook page.

The virtual roundtable discussed the implications of reconvening the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) given the current milieu of Philippine Higher Education. Dr. Cynthia Rose Bautista, UP System Vice President for Academic Affairs, gave the Welcome Remarks. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, delivered the Keynote Remarks. The event was an initiative of UP CIDS HERPRP and the Office of Senator Gatchalian.

In the panel were Dr. Alyssa M. Peleo-Alampay, UP Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs (Quality Assurance), Dr. Ester Albano-Garcia, President of the University of the East (UE), Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, President of the Batangas State University (BSU) and President of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), and Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada, Managing Director of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA).

Senator Gatchalian and the panelists discussed five key points: 1) How has EDCOM impacted Philippine higher education in the last 30 years? 2) What specific issues in Philippine higher education must EDCOM 2 address? 3) How must we consider internationalization and globalization as regards the future of Philippine higher education? 4) How can the proposed EDCOM 2 strengthen the public-private complementarity in higher ed? 5) What are your policy recommendations for EDCOM 2 to improve the state of higher education in the Philippines?

HERPRP Fellow Karol Mark Yee and HERPRP Consultant Dr. Allen Espinosa of the Philippine Normal University (PNU) served as moderator and master of ceremonies, respectively.