PATAPE: Reinventing Education for Relevance and Quality

THE Senate Committee Chairman for Basic Education, Honorable Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was the Keynote Speaker for this year’s Philippine Academy of Teachers, Administrators and Practitioners in Education (PATAPE) event as it organizes a privileged meeting with the theme, “PATAPE: Reinventing Education for Relevance and Quality” held last Saturday, August 27, 2022 at Novotel Manila Araneta City, Quezon City.

The event provides an invaluable opportunity for the Honorable Senator to present the Senate initiatives and proposed reforms on K-12 Law as we begin a new school year, 2022-2023 where students will experience face to face classes for the first time in two years since the pandemic.

Further, with the education sector in a pivotal stage due to the push to review the K-12 curriculum after a recent Pulse Asia survey commissioned by Sen. Gatchalian himself revealed a growing dissatisfaction on the program, this is an opportune time to address these compelling issues and challenges in the Education Sector.

The event also hopes to look into the strategic objectives of the K-12 Program within the purview of the digital age of learning.

The event targets participants from various government educational institutions (DepEd, CHED and TESDA), the academe from both public and private institutions, and other relevant sectors.

The event is a regular gathering of the Academy and serves as one of its continuing educational activities to support its mandate in the promotion of excellence among key education stakeholders in the teaching profession in the country today.

It coincides as well with the 5th Induction of the PATAPE Board and National Officers for the year 2022-2023. The Academy has more than 3,000 members across the country.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, more known by his constituents as “Win,” is no neophyte to public service with his almost two decades of experience marked by honesty, integrity, and a relentless drive to serve his countrymen.

The call for public service began in 2001—Win was elected initially as Valenzuela City’s first district representative, then later as mayor of Valenzuela City in 2004. In his nine years as chief executive, he has made his life’s mission to champion good governance, fight corruption and focus on improving the accessibility and quality of education in the city. He helped transform Valenzuela City’s education system into one of the nation’s best.

Upon his return to Congress in 2013, Win set out to nationalize some of Valenzuela City’s most effective education reforms. In 2015, he filed the original version of the bill that would radically expand access to college education for millions of Filipinos—the House Bill No. 5905, more commonly known as the Free Higher Education Act. He also authored other notable and relevant bills including the measure on increasing salaries for teachers and non-teaching personnel, the nationwide school-based feeding program for kinder and elementary public school students, the Nanay-Teacher parenting program, and the Anti-Hazing Act, among others.

He made the move from the local political arena to the national stage before the May 2016 elections, Win won a successful dark horse bid for a Senate seat by galvanizing the youth vote with a single promise—to pass legislation establishing a tuition-free scheme in state universities and colleges. Only a year into his term, the Senate approved Senate Bill No. 1304, Affordable Higher Education for All Act, a consolidated version of Win’s Free Higher Education Act, a landmark legislation that would make education within reach of deserving but underprivileged students. The measure was eventually enacted into law as Republic Act No. 10931, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in August 2017—setting the stage for millions of young Filipinos to attain a free college education in the coming years.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Committee on Economic Affairs during the 17th Congress, Win steered both committees with one goal in mind—to protect and empower the Filipino consumers. He strove toward the passage of several key measures aimed at fostering a competitive, investor-friendly, and red tape-free environment in the energy sector, and in the Philippine economy in general. His goal was to spark an economic renaissance in the entire country by crafting measures that would promote robust competition, encourage investments, and make doing business in the Philippines easier.

Working at a considerable pace over the past four years, he has successfully steered the passage of pro-consumer legislations that have been signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. Among the laws he has authored are the Murang Kuryente Act, Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund Act, the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop Act, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, the Philippine Innovation Act, and the Mobile Number Portability Act.

Now in the 18th Congress, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, Win continues to introduce further reforms to bring the Philippine education system to world-class levels.

Indeed, Win’s commitment to genuine public service continues to drive him in pursuing his promising vision of a better Philippines.