TARLAKENYO (January 23, 2026) — The Student First Coalition (SFC) has formally endorsed Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s The Learner’s Choice (TLC) in the Private Basic Education Act of 2025, which aims to reform education subsidies by expanding private school choice for students and providing critical support to low-income families.
In a letter of support sent to the Senate Committee on Basic Education, the coalition called for its urgent passage to address the school congestion problem as soon as possible.
“We appreciate the provision… by Sen. Alan Cayetano, which prioritizes learners who are enrolled in or transferring from public basic education schools officially identified by the DepEd as congested as the first and second priority for voucher allocations,” SFC Convenor Assistant Professor Luigie Almojano said in the letter to the committee dated January 19, 2026.
The senator’s measure (Senate Bill No. 422) replaces the current education support system, including the existing Educational Service Contracting (ESC) under Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE).
Cayetano now proposes a single, portable voucher for K-12 students, which gives families direct funding to choose any DepEd-recognized private school. His model is inspired by the City of Taguig’s successful voucher program, praised by the national Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) study.
Priority for the most vulnerable
Cayetano’s TLC voucher employs a tiered priority system. It targets low-income families in congested public schools and learners from low-income households who are not from congested schools but require financial assistance. Alternative Learning System completers are also included in the system.
The senator emphasized that this is to “ensure equity and social justice, this assistance shall be targeted, prioritizing the underprivileged.” For transparency and accountability, DepEd will publish a database of participating schools’ fees and performance.
The bill also boosts support for private school teachers through better salary subsidies and training funds.
Oversight of the new system will fall to a Bureau of Private Education within DepEd, with Commission on Audit safeguards. It also encourages LGUs to align local scholarships with the portable national voucher.
Ahead of the January 24 celebration of the International Day of Education, Cayetano framed the bill as a tool to drive a systemic shift in the basic education sector.
“The collective, balanced, and sustained use of public and private education… will lead to better learning outcomes for Filipinos,” he said.
