Metro Manila, Philippines – The Education and Workforce Development Group (EWDG) convened for its inaugural meeting today, April 23, 2026, bringing together key government agencies to strengthen coordination across the country’s education and workforce systems.
The meeting brought together Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Carmela Torres, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Felicitas Bay, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley Agrupis, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Kiko Benitez. The gathering marks a key step toward strengthening whole-of-government coordination in line with EDCOM II’s recommendations.
The creation of the EWDG is anchored on Administrative Order No. 36 and Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8, which adopt and support the implementation of EDCOM 2’s recommended reforms and serves as the primary inter-agency platform to ensure alignment across education and workforce development efforts.
During the meeting, key agencies discussed initiatives under the 10-year National Education and Workforce Development Plan (NEWDP), a long-term roadmap aimed at addressing the country’s learning crisis and strengthening pathways from education to employment. The NEWDP, anchored on EDCOM 2’s final report Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform (2026–2035), calls for stronger integration across education subsectors and workforce development efforts.
A key highlight of the meeting was the launch of Project TAHANAN, a harmonized data system for the Philippine education cluster that seeks to link agency databases to enable seamless data sharing, improve planning, and support evidence-based policymaking across institutions.
In the EDCOM Year One report, fragmented governance and siloed implementation across agencies were identified as major barriers to reform, underscoring the need for system-level coordination.
As the government moves forward with the implementation of the NEWDP, the EWDG is expected to serve as the central coordinating body to align policies, programs, and investments, and to strengthen pathways from education to employment for Filipino learners and workers.
This is a news release from EDCOM 2
