“ARAL act set for June passage, NEDA pushes priorities

The Philippine government is hastening the passage of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act as part of its broader commitment to address learning losses due to the pandemic and enhance the overall quality of education.

The bill is highlighted among 20 legislative measures that the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) has marked for enactment by June 2024.

In a meeting on March 19, 2024, LEDAC, which functions as a consultative group to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., identified the ARAL Act as crucial to the country’s socioeconomic targets.

According to the Philippine Development Report 2023, addressing learning poverty through improved access to quality education is essential, as demonstrated by the Philippines’ lag in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan emphasized the urgent need for “no less than fundamental transformation” in the education sector to correct issues like low productivity and job mismatches.

The ARAL Program Bill, proposed by Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, aims to establish a national learning intervention program. This initiative seeks not only to help learners meet current educational standards but also to fast-track the recovery of the educational ground lost during the pandemic.

Secretary Balisacan underlined the importance of rapid action, stating, “Considering the dizzying pace of technological developments, we have no time to waste if we want to ensure that Filipinos can realize their full potential.”

He points to the need for students to have comprehensive support systems to keep up with technological advancements and new tools.

The ARAL Program Act joins a roster of other pressing bills that encompass agriculture, environment, defense, digitalization, and other key sectors, all slated for priority processing.

The other priority bills on LEDAC’s priority list focus on agriculture, environment, defense, and digitalization, among other areas. The streamlined list of priority bills targeted for passage by June 2024 are the following:

Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act;

Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act;

Philippine Maritime Zones Act;

Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act;

Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS);

Negros Island Region;

Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act (AFASA);

VAT on Digital Services;

Amendments to the Government Procurement Reform Act;

Blue Economy Act;

Waste-to-Energy Bill;

Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC);

Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel;

E-Government Act / E-Governance Act;

Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act;

Department of Water Resources;

Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) bill;

Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Program Act;

Open Access in Data Transmission Act; and

Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act.