Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Sandro Marcos led the rollout of major education initiatives under the PBBM-GABAY ng Bayan Programs at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena in Laoag City on 23 January 2026.

The activity was held alongside the 2nd Joint Education Trifocal Management Committee Meeting, which brought together the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, as well as the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). The agencies discussed efforts to align programs aimed at improving access, relevance, and outcomes across the education system.

A key highlight of the event was the ceremonial signing of a joint memorandum circular on the Policies and Guidelines for the Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program (BPMSP) by CHED, DepEd, and TESDA. The circular establishes a unified framework for the coordinated implementation of the scholarship program across different education sectors.

Under the PBBM-GABAY ng Bayan Programs, BPMSP serves as the “Galing” component. The program offers competitive, merit-based scholarships to top-performing senior high school graduates from public and private schools nationwide, including the Philippine Science High School System, as well as qualified holders of TESDA National Certificates.

The “Akses” component is Project “Patuloy na Edukasyon, Patuloy na Pag-Ahon” (Project PEPA), a nationwide information caravan designed to provide Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries with timely and accurate information on government-funded education opportunities.

For the “Batid” component, CHED announced the launch of TANAW, a national higher education data visualization platform that consolidates information on institutions, enrollment, scholarships, and graduate outcomes. The platform aims to support transparency, informed student decision-making, and evidence-based planning.