Legarda calls for prioritization of foundational learning
MANILA, Philippines – Senator Loren Legarda, Commissioner of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), urged immediate attention to strengthening learners’ foundational competencies following data showing that 18.9 million Filipinos who graduated from the country’s basic education system between 2019 and 2024 are “functionally illiterate.”
This finding was revealed during a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, chaired by EDCOM II Co-Chairperson Sen. herwin Gatchalian, based on the presentation of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) regarding the preliminary results of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS).
“This is a painful indictment of our education system,” Legarda said.
“It reveals a systemic failure that tells us school attendance and graduation no longer guarantee genuine learning. When millions of learners complete their basic education without the ability to comprehend what they read, they are being sent into the world unprepared with nothing but a diploma that bears no real weight.”
The PSA’s FLEMMS is a nationwide, household-based survey conducted every five years.
It recently adopted an updated methodology for estimating basic and functional literacy in the Philippines.
Under its revised definition, “functional literacy” includes not only the ability to read, write, and compute, but also possessing higher-level comprehension skills, such as integrating two or more pieces of information and making inferences based on the given information.
“Foundational learning, as EDCOM II has consistently advanced, must be our top priority. If a child cannot read or lacks foundational competencies by Grade 3, they begin to fall behind in every subject, because all learning builds on the ability to understand and process text,” Legarda said.
“Reading with comprehension is the cognitive engine that drives independent thinking, curiosity, and lifelong learning. It empowers children not only to answer questions, but to ask the right ones, and to navigate the world with insight and agency.”
Legarda warned that widespread functional illiteracy undermines inclusive growth, weakens workforce competitiveness in a rapidly evolving labor market, and deepens social inequality.
“An education system that produces graduates without comprehension skills cannot be expected to produce a workforce capable of competing, innovating, or engaging meaningfully in democratic life,” Legarda said.
“This failure not only robs individuals of opportunities but also dampens economic potential and erodes the foundations of participatory governance.”
Legarda called for urgent and targeted interventions in provinces with the highest levels of functional illiteracy to prevent further learning loss.
Beyond these immediate responses, she emphasized the need to strengthen foundational learning, particularly in the early years where reading and comprehension skills begin to develop, and addressing the structural pillars of the education system such as ensuring adequate and safe classrooms, deploying qualified principals, teaching, and non-teaching personnel in schools, and equipping them with the tools, training, and resources necessary to deliver quality education.
Legarda is co-author of Republic Act No. 12028, or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, which establishes a free national learning intervention to help struggling students, particularly in reading, mathematics, and science, meet the competency standards set by the Department of Education in their respective levels.
