Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said the country must take “drastic and radical” steps to address gaps in the education system, stressing that the future of Filipino children depends on delivering the quality education they were promised.
“We’re talking about our children’s future, our country’s future. So we have to do something drastic and radical,” Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream on October 6, 2026.
Cayetano made the call as he marked International Teachers’ Day, saying honoring educators should go beyond appreciation and lead to concrete improvements in the country’s education system.
He said this means addressing the lack of classrooms and other resources that continue to affect the implementation of the K to 12 program, particularly in public schools.
“When we passed that law, pinangako na it will always be fully funded, but it was really never fully funded,” he said.
He also pointed to the gap between the K to 12 system as designed and the actual amount of schooling many Filipino students receive because of limited school facilities.
“To the rest of the world, K to 12 tayo. But in reality, double, triple shift po y’ung marami nating estudyante. In highly urbanized areas, ang dami ng kulang sa schools at pagkatapos, ang mangyayari pa, half day ka lang,” he said.
The senator said the government should work toward restoring full-day classes while keeping classroom sizes manageable. This would give teachers more time to focus on their students, prepare lessons and attend to their families.
Cayetano cited programs in the City of Taguig that provide financial assistance to students who choose to remain in private schools, along with initiatives supporting feeding and digital learning.
But he said if the government does not have enough resources to fully implement the current K to 12 program, it should be willing to reconsider its approach.
“Dapat iatras natin, K to 11 or K to 10 muna habang we don’t have the resources,” he said.
Cayetano said honoring Filipino teachers should ultimately mean giving them the support they need to do their jobs well.
“Ang daming napakagaling na tao na sobra ang contribution sa ating buong educational system. One day [of honoring them] is not enough. One week is not enough,” Cayetano said. NLMonitor
