Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Tuesday said basic education in the country should remain under the control of Filipinos amid the ongoing push for delimitation of foreign ownerships in Congress.

Citing the “critical role” of local schools and institutions in instilling values and shaping the youth, Angara, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, said the control of basic education should be kept in the hands of Filipinos.

“The intention is to keep basic education in the hands of Filipinos," Angara said, echoing the sentiments expressed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senator Loren Legarda, and himself in the filing of Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 on education provisions.

Angara made the statement during Tuesday’s hearing on RBH 6, which centered on the proposed amendment to allow full foreign ownership of educational institutions.

Citing the perspectives of the late Commission on Human Rights Chair Chito Gascon, who served as the youngest member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, the senator further stressed his point.

“As [Gascon] says in the records, Filipino schools and Filipino-owned institutions play a very important part in the instilling of values and the molding of Filipino youth,” he said.

Acknowledging the possibility of amending the constitutional provision, Angara emphasized the need to uphold Filipino control over basic education.

He noted the existence of a transnational higher education law, which allows a 60-40 ownership arrangement in favor of Filipinos, as implementing legislation for this constitutional provision.

“So I think we want to maintain that societal or public goal, and we're looking at really, we're considering the possibility of amending the constitutional provision, which currently allows a 60-40 arrangement,” Angara said.

He also called for greater precision in the language of any proposed amendment to the constitutional provision on ownership or management of higher education institutions.

He emphasized the need to clarify the scope of the amendment amid concerns about its potential impact on basic education.

“Before we amend or seek to amend the constitutional provision on ownership or management and control of higher education institutions, perhaps we should aim at greater precision in the language of the amendment,” Angara said.

Private schools warn vs full foreign ownership in education

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations, or COCOPEA, the country’s largest organization of private educational institutions, warned lawmakers about the possible risk of full foreign ownership of education institutions.

“We respectfully urge lawmakers to proceed with caution regarding introducing amendments to the pertinent provisions because this will have long-standing complicated repercussions or implications to the Filipino generations to come,” COCOPEA president Fr. Albert Delvo told the Senate subpanel.

Delvo highlighted concerns among COCOPEA members regarding the potential risks of permitting full foreign ownership of educational institutions.

“We are cautious because if we allow foreigners to control, own, and administer the institutions, it may be prejudicial to our Filipino culture, values, morals, [and] spiritual matters. They might be put in danger,” he said.

He also pointed out that some institutions currently operating under a 60-40 arrangement with foreign ownership seem satisfied with the current setup.

COCOPEA serves as the collective voice of the private education sector in the Philippines. It spearheads public policy development on behalf of five educational associations, representing a total of 2,500 member-schools, colleges, universities, and tech-voc institutions.

Meanwhile, Dr. Karol Mark Yee, Executive Director of the Second Congressional Commission on Education of the Philippines (EDCOM 2) pointed out that the Philippines stands as one of the strictest countries in terms of foreign ownership within ASEAN, with regulations stipulated even in its Constitution.

“In our analysis, the Philippines is one of the strictest countries in terms of foreign ownership in ASEAN, where Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia actually permit full ownership. Only in the Philippines is foreign ownership also stipulated in the constitution,” Yee pointed out.

Despite the limitations, Yee emphasized the need to explore avenues for attracting foreign investment in the education sector.

He cited examples from Singapore and Malaysia, where generous government incentives and policy adjustments have successfully attracted top-notch institutions.

However, Yee stressed that allowing foreign ownership “is just the first step” and requires additional legislation to effectively implement.

Yee also stressed the importance of regulatory capacity-building within government agencies, particularly the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

“There's a need to strengthen the capacity of DedEd, CHED, and TESDA to regulate the possible entry of poor quality institutions," he said.