The overlapping mandates of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) create significant structural barriers that hinder the professional growth of Filipino learners and workers, according to a study conducted by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).
The commission noted that while the CHED, PRC, and TESDA were established to regulate distinct segments of the education-to-employment pipeline, their enabling laws grant parallel, and in some cases, competing regulatory powers.
Republic Act 7722, or the Higher Education Act of 1994, vests CHED with authority over higher education programs, curricula, and quality assurance.
RA 776, or the TESDA Act of 1994, mandates TESDA to set competency standards, regulate technical-vocational education and training, and issue national certifications.
RA 8981, or the PRC Modernization Act of 2000, expanded the PRC’s role beyond licensure to include oversight of professional standards, continuing professional development, and coordination with educational institutions.
EDCOM 2 cited the absence of a clear hierarchy and regular coordination in implementing these laws, resulting in blurred delineations of authority, particularly where academic programs, skills standards, and licensure requirements intersect.
This statutory ambiguity, it pointed out, has translated into duplicative regulation, inconsistent enforcement, and conflicting policy guidance for institutions and students.
“Our graduates are paying the price for regulatory overlap. EDCOM 2’s review shows that unclear and competing mandates among the CHED, TESDA, and PRC delay student progression, restrict credit recognition, and prevent programs from adapting quickly to labor market demands,” said EDCOM 2 executive director Karol Mark Yee.
The EDCOM has simply pointed out what students and professionals have been experiencing for years, if not decades. This regime of regulatory overlap and statutory ambiguity has to be ended by the government that has allowed it to exist in the first place. Our legislators have their work cut out for them. Let us hope that they get to work on finding solutions, rather than just pretending that everything is fine.*
