Instructional Materials Council

MINI CRITIQUE
By Isagani Cruz (The Philippine Star) |

Educational Articles

Updated February 19, 2015 - 12:00am

There is a body in the Department

Curriculum

of Education called the Instructional

Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS).
According to its website, it provides
technical assistance to the Instructional
Materials Council in the formulation and
adoption of policies and guidelines, in the
development,

evaluation,

and

procurement of textbooks and other

instructional materials.
BY: Danilo Jr. B. Patrolla
Its mission is to ensure that good
Professor Danilova Lorenzo

quality

and

reasonably

instructional

materials

available

provided

or

priced

are
to

all

made
public

elementary and secondary schools when

and where they are needed. Its vision is

that

there

materials

are
for

quality
students

instructional
in

public

elementary and secondary schools.

did not succeed in reforming the IMCS.

(For the short period that I was in charge
of IMCS, I take full responsibility.)

Since it was formed, the IMCS has

The problem lies not only in the

been the center of various controversies

persons that staff the IMCS. One can

about errors in textbooks and corruption

reasonably

in procurement. A quick search on the

understaffed, that it does not have a

Web should turn up articles by Yvonne

budget proportionate to its importance in

Chua, Luz Rimban, Vicente Chua Reyes

the countrys educational system, that it

Jr., Antonio Calipjo Go, and others on

sometimes does have persons whose

these controversies. In 1990, even the

integrity is not beyond question. But that

Congressional Commission on Education

is looking only at the trees and not at the

(EDCOM)

wood.

setting

up

that
the

was

responsible

trifocal

system

for

argue

that

IMCS

is

of

education that we have now (DepEd,

CHED, and TESDA) strongly criticized

The real problem with IMCS is that

IMCS for its failure to provide quality

it is a secretariat that has no council. It is

textbooks to public school students.

supposed to serve a council, but the

When I was Undersecretary for

Programs and Projects of the DepEd
(then called DECS) in 2001, I tried but

Instructional Materials Council (IMC),

except for a rare meeting or two, does
not exist.

The IMC was created as an

This EO listed the members of the

afterthought. The name first appeared in

IMC, namely, the Education Secretary,

1983 in the General Appropriations Act,

the Administrator of the Instructional

when the Textbook Council created by

Materials Development Center (now the

Executive Order (EO) No. 806 in 1982

National Book Development Board), the

was listed as an Instructional Materials

Director of Elementary Education, the

Council. That seems, to my non-lawyers

Director of Secondary Education, and

mind, a bit funny, since the IMC was not

two (2) other members to be appointed

created by a law nor an EO, but merely

by the President.

by a typist.

The

IMC

was

given

several

In 1985, the DepEd (then named

powers, the most curious of which is to

Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports

approve textbooks for use in private

or MECS) tried to justify the renaming of

elementary and secondary schools.

the Textbook Council through MECS

Order No. 64.

That power given to IMC will

surely raise not just the eyebrows but the

On 30 September 1993, then

blood

pressure

of

private

school

President Fidel Ramos finally issued EO

administrators. Private Higher Education

127, which revitalized the Instructional

Institutions

Materials

freedom, which are now thinking of

Council

by

redefining

functions and made it legal.

its

(HEIs)

with

academic

establishing Senior High Schools, have

yet another thing to worry about.

Of course, in our country, laws are

any other body, public or private, it is

made to be ignored. As far as I know, this

supposed merely to implement what the

particular provision of EO 127 has never

policy-makers decide.

been implemented, but as even nonlawyers know, dura lex, sed lex (the law
may be tough, but it is the law). Needless

The IMCS is usurping the authority of the

IMC.
In 2005, I was asked to be one of

to say, as a private school administrator, I

the

the two appointive members of the IMC.

implementation of this provision, but I will

We met once (or perhaps, I was invited

leave that battle for another day.

only once because I was much too

will

be

the

first

to

object

to

The most important function of

IMC is to select and prescribe textbook
and supplementary and reference books
for

use

in

public

elementary

and

secondary schools.

vocal). During that meeting, we made

decisions about some textbooks being
proposed for adoption in public schools.
At least during that meeting, the IMC
actually did what it was supposed to do.
That was a decade ago.

This means that the IMCS has

absolutely no authority to decide on

The DepEd recently issued a

whether a textbook can be purchased by

textbook call for learning resources for

the DepEd or not. That authority resides

the

only in the IMC. The IMCS is only a

publishers are now urging DepEd to lift a

secretariat. Like any other secretariat of

moratorium

to

12
on

curriculum.
the

Philippine

procurement

supplementary materials.

of

We are, once again, getting lost in

the trees.
We

Ateneo De Manila University and later on

in University of the Philippines Diliman as

should

not

forget

the

fundamental questions. Who or what

exactly is authorized by law to approve

an Assistant Professor before he retired.

He also serve in Far Easter University as
a publisher in FEU Press.

textbooks and other learning materials

for public schools? Who now constitute
the IMC? What is the IMCS a secretariat
of?

Dr.

Isagani

Cruz:

IMCS,

ineffectiveness
(Reflection #1)
March 10, 2015

DR. ISAGANI R. CRUZ

Manila- Dr. Isagani Cruz wrote an article

about the ineffectiveness of Instructional

Dr. Isagani Cruz is a graduate of BS

Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS), a

Physics in UP, and later on took M.A in

body

English Literature at Ateneo De Manila

(DepEd) whose major role is to evaluate

University. (1970). Laetr on he became

textbooks in private especially in public

known in the field of writing and awarded

elementary and secondary education.

the Don Carlos Palanca Award in 2004.

As an Educator, he taught in De La Salle
University, University of Santo Tomas,

of

Department

of

Education

He argued that IMCS is a dysfunctional

institution that is unable to perform its
job. He stated that there are two

problems 1) that it is understaffed and

student I actually experience to use

under budget and lastly 2) it does not

books with typographical errors, and

have a council to serve since it is a

books that does not seems to be useful

secretariat institution that implements

(or being used by) for our teacher. That is

what a council has decided, yet it does

why most of the time, our teachers does

not have any.

not use the book and instead relay on

it is really alarming and in the same time

alarming in the part of students, parent
and especially to educators/teachers.
Why? First, it is informative since as a
student (I) of education and future
teacher, instructional materials are very
important to me, especially the moment I
enter the world of teaching, it is essential
for me to know what body of Department
of Education (IMCS) that analyze and
evaluate

instructional

materials

(Textbooks) that are being used in

elementary and secondary educations.
Second, it is alarming since I learned that
this body (IMCS) does not really function
as how and what it should be. As a

their lesson plan and own examples to

teach a particular lesson. For me this
must be resolve since education is a
PRIORITY of the State and Government.
This will also cause corruption on the
institution (IMCS) that the students will
actually felt the effect, and second
education will be in the lowest quality
since

instructional

materials

important in facilitating learning.

are

terms of their proposed SHS Program?

Can a school propose new SHS tracks

Senior high school

and strands which are not found in the

MINI CRITIQUE By Isagani Cruz (The

SHS Curriculum released?

Philippine Star) | Updated February 26,

2015 - 12:00am

Here is the official answer from

In June 2016, Senior High School

DepEd: The guidelines on the SHS

(SHS) will be compulsory for all Filipino

Curriculum will detail the standards of the

students leaving Grade 10. Before we

said curriculum. Private schools may be

praise, condemn, welcome, or fear it, we

allowed to go over and beyond the

should be sure to understand what

standards for the specific SHS track or

exactly SHS is.

strand. In case applicants plan to offer

The first thing to do is to go to the

website of the Department of Education
(www.deped.gov.ph)

and

search

for

Senior High School, or go directly to

www.deped.gov.ph/k-to12/about/faq/private-senior-high-school.
Go to the last question on the FAQ
page, namely, How flexible will the
private SHSs be allowed to enhance in

other specialized programs to cater to

community and industry requirements,
the applicant may propose new strands
for a specific SHS track provided that
they

present

other

necessary

SHS

provisions to ensure readiness of their

intended SHS.
Why am I starting an explanation
of the rules about SHS by citing the

exceptions? Because we have to look at

employable), we added two years of free

SHS from the correct perspective. If we

public education. These two years should

think of it as yet another imposition by an

not have more of the same things they

impersonal government bureaucracy that

are supposed to learn in the first ten

treats everybody the same way, we will

years

miss the whole point of adding two years

Kindergarten). Rather, they are focused

to our basic education cycle.

primarily

The whole point of the entire K to

12 reform is to answer the needs of
about 30 million young people (those
below 24 years of age) who have not
finished Fourth Year High School. Of the
out-of-school youth (OSY) of employable
age,

more

million

on

with

compulsory

employable

or

entrepreneurial skills. (Students who can

afford private schools need not worry
about employable skills when they are 16
years old; unlike the poor, they can afford
to spend another four years learning a
profession.)
Now, employable skills are not the

unemployed, primarily because they do

same for all the regions in the country. It

not have the skills that employers want.

is not very useful for all the students in

these

six

now

are

Since

than

(11

employable

skills

cannot be acquired within only ten years

of education (not to mention that, after
Fourth Year or Grade 10, students will
only be 16 years old and not yet fully

Quezon City, for example, to spend

hours learning deep sea fishing. Clearly,
employable skills vary according to the
needs of a community. These needs may
be current (employers are looking for
employees) or future (the country should

eventually

become

the

center

of

that means being able to fulfill the

analytics, so studying analytics is a good

College Readiness Standards mandated

bet).

by the Commission on Higher Education

Poverty, however, should not be a

(CHED).

reason for a student not to pursue a

profession.

There

college

curriculum consists basically of two parts:

scholarships available, of course, but

one part that gives students skills for

definitely

immediate

not

for

all

are

We can now see that the SHS

poor

students

employment

or

(roughly half the population, according to

entrepreneurship, and another part that

the SWS). There must be a systemic way

gives students the academic preparation

to give poor students a chance to go to

for college.

college at some point in their lives. First,

we have to give them the skills they need
to make a living. Then, if they save
enough

money

and

are

motivated

enough, then they can go to college and

take board exams and the rest of it.
That is the reason the curriculum

Since those of us who are older

than 24 had only ten years of basic
education and did not fare so badly in
college, we could argue that SHS is not
necessary. But that was before the
College

Readiness

formulated.

The

Standards

College

Standards

students to be prepared for college

someone entering college today than

entrance examinations. In our country,

during

time.

Readiness

of SHS has to devote enough time for

our

demand

were

Just

lot
one

more

of

obvious

example:

the

College

Standards

demand

that

Readiness
a

student

entering first year engineering should

already know Calculus.

DR. ISAGANI R. CRUZ

Dr. Isagani Cruz is a graduate of
undergrad course of BS Physics in
University of the Philippines, and later on

The part of the SHS that gives all

took M.A in English Literature at Ateneo

students the basic academic preparation

De Manila University. (1970). Later on

demanded by the College Readiness

he became known in the field of writing

Standards is called the Core Subjects.

and awarded the Don Carlos Palanca

The part that gives students the skills

Award in 2004. As an Educator, he

needed by employers or needed if they

taught

set up their own businesses is called the

University of Santo Tomas.

in

De

La

Salle

University,

Track Subjects. The Track Subjects are

of two kinds: Applied Track Subjects
and Specialized Subjects.
These subjects are not the same
for everybody in every part of the
country. It all depends, as the DepEd
website explicitly puts it, on community
and industry requirements.

ISAGANI CRUZ: DO NOT FEAR SHS

(Reflection no. 2)
Manila- Dr. Isagani Cruz explained the
importance of Senior High School (SHS)
that first it offers employable skills and
must

not

be

feared

especially poor families.

by

parents,

Reading this kind of articles makes me

two years. Aside from this it will also

happy since there is someone that

base upon the needs of the community,

actually defends, if not at least explains

if it is provincial it will be about agrarian

the true essence and importance of

and

Senior High school and not just the

communitys need.

simple

common

knowledge

of

fishery,

based

upon

the

the

people especially the parents that it will

add two years (which is true) and will

Historical Perspective of the

add costing to the expenses on their

Philippine Educational System

childrens education (which is partially,

but not true). I believe that senior high
school will strengthen the education
foundation and will transform these
knowledge acquired by the students into

by Butch Dalisay
Date: 6/15/2006
Education in the Philippines has

skills, and this is very important since

undergone

several

professional world and companies now

development

from

a days requires experience and skills

times to the present. In meeting the

rather than just you have the diploma or

needs of the society, education serves

knowledge about the field that they are

as focus of emphases/priorities of the

entering or about to. That is why I

leadership at certain periods/epochs in

believe that parents should not be afraid

our national struggle as a race.

about the benefits of these additional

the

stages

of

pre-Spanish

As early as in pre-Magellanic times,

the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary

education was informal, unstructured,

instruction was free and the teaching of

and devoid of methods. Children were

Spanish was compulsory. Education

provided more vocational training and

during that period was inadequate,

less academics (3 Rs) by their parents

suppressed, and controlled.

and in the houses of tribal tutors.

The

pre-Spanish

system

The defeat of Spain by American

of

forces paved the way for Aguinaldo's

education underwent major changes

Republic

during the Spanish colonization. The

Government. The schools maintained by

tribal tutors were replaced by the

Spain for more than three centuries

Spanish Missionaries. Education was

were closed for the time being but were

religion-oriented. It was for the elite,

reopened on August 29, 1898 by the

especially in the early years of Spanish

Secretary

colonization. Access to education by the

Institute

Filipinos was later liberalized through

Academy of Malolos, and the Literary

the

University

enactment

of

the

Educational

under

of
in
of

Revolutionary

Interior.

The

Burgos

Malolos,

the

Military

the

Philippines

were

Decree of 1863, which provided for the

established. A system of free and

establishment of at least one primary

compulsory elementary education was

school for boys and girls in each town

established by the Malolos Constitution.

under the responsibility of the municipal

government; and the establishment of a
normal school for male teachers under

An adequate secularized and free public

The

high

school

system

school system during the first decade of

supported by provincial governments,

American rule was established upon the

special educational institutions, school

recommendation

Schurman

of arts and trades, an agricultural

Commission. Free primary instruction

school, and commerce and marine

that trained the people for the duties of

institutes were established in 1902 by

citizenship and avocation was enforced

the Philippine Commission. In 1908, the

by the Taft Commission per instructions

Philippine Legislature approved Act No.

of President McKinley. Chaplains and

1870, which created the University of

non-commissioned

the Philippines.

of

the

officers

were

assigned to teach using English as the

medium of instruction.

The Reorganization Act of 1916

provided

A highly centralized public school

system was installed in 1901 by the

department

created a heavy shortage of teachers so

the Philippine Commission authorized
the Secretary of Public Instruction to
bring to the Philippines 600 teachers
from

the

Thomasites.

U.S.A.

They

were

the

Filipinization

secretaries

of

all

except

the

Secretary of Public Instruction.

Philippine Commission by virtue of Act

No. 74. The implementation of this Act

the

Japanese

educational

policies

were embodied in Military Order No. 2 in

1942.

The

Commission

Philippine

Executive

established

the

Commission of Education, Health and

Public

Welfare

and

schools

were

reopened in June 1942. On October 14,

1943,

the

Republic

Japanese
created

the

sponsored
Ministry

of

of P.D. No. 1397. Thirteen regional

offices

were

created

and

Education. Under the Japanese regime,

organizational

the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine

implemented in the educational system.

History, and Character Education was

reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and
dignity of labor was emphasized. On
February 27, 1945, the Department of
Instruction

was

made

part

of

the

Department of Public Instruction.

No.

94,

the

Department

created

the

Education
Ministry

Act
of

were

of

1982

Education,

Culture and Sports, which later became

the Department of Education, Culture
and

Sports

in

1987

by

virtue

of

Executive Order No. 117. The structure

In 1947, by virtue of Executive

Order

The

changes

major

of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117

of

has practically remained unchanged

Instruction was changed to Department

until 1994 when the Commission on

of Education. During this period, the

Higher Education (CHED), and 1995

regulation and supervision of public and

when the Technical Education and Skills

private schools belonged to the Bureau

Development Authority (TESDA) were

of Public and Private Schools.

established to supervise tertiary degree

In 1972, it became the Department of

Education and Culture by virtue of

programs and non-degree technicalvocational programs, respectively.

Proclamation 1081 and the Ministry of

The Congressional Commission

Education and Culture in 1978 y virtue

on Education (EDCOM) report provided

the impetus for Congress to pass RA

Education (DepEd) and redefining the

7722 and RA 7796 in 1994 creating the

role of field offices (regional offices,

Commission

division

on

Higher

Education

offices,

district

offices

and

(CHED) and the Technical Education

schools). RA 9155 provides the overall

and

framework

Skills

Development

Authority

(TESDA), respectively.

refocused DECS mandate to basic

which

covers

elementary,

secondary and nonformal education,

including culture and sports. TESDA
now administers the post-secondary,
middle-level

(i)

school

head

empowerment by strengthening their

The trifocal education system

education

for

manpower

training

and

development while CHED is responsible

leadership roles and (ii) school-based

management

within

the

context

of

transparency and local accountability.

The goal of basic education is to provide
the school age population and young
adults with skills, knowledge, and values
to

become

caring,

self-reliant,

productive and patriotic citizens.

for higher education.

In August 2001, Republic Act
9155, otherwise called the Governance
of Basic Education Act, was passed
transforming

the

name

of

the

Department of Education, Culture and

Sports (DECS) to the Department of

BUTCH DALISAY
Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. (born January 15,
1954) is a Filipino writer. He has won
numerous awards and prizes for fiction,
poetry, drama, nonfiction and screenplay,
including 16 Palanca Awards. Dalisay

was born in Romblon in 1954. He

BUTCH

completed his primary education at La

Education System

Salle Green Hills, Philippines in 1966 and

his secondary education at the Philippine

DALISAY:

Philippine

March 10, 2015

He

Manila- Butch Dalisay explained and

dropped out of college to go underground

stated the history of the educational

after a period of imprisonment when

system

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos

fascinating and so informative reading

declared Martial Law in 1972. After his

this article of him. During our second

release as a political detainee, he also

year first semester, we were able to take

wrote scripts mostly for Lino Brocka, the

a course subject about the Philippines

National Artist of the Philippines for

Educational System, and it reminded me

Theater and Film. Dalisay returned to

of that time. How our educational system

school and earned his B.A. English

evolved

degree, cum laude from the University of

system/curriculum we have right now is a

the Philippines in 1984. He later received

result of the systems that we undergone

an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan

in the past and for me as a future teacher

in 1988 and a Ph.D. in English from the

believe that learning these will allow me

University of WisconsinMilwaukee in

to

1991 as a Fulbright scholar.

system right now has its flaws and cons.

Science

High

School

in

1970.

in

our

and

understand

country. It

turned

why

out

our

was

to

so

what

educational