Miki Berlin M.

Valenzuela
MPA

Department of Education

Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Mandate

The DepEd Vision
We dream of Filipinos
who passionately love their country
and whose values and competencies
enable them to realize their full potential
and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.
As a learner-centered public institution,
the Department of Education
continuously improves itself
to better serve its stakeholders.
The DepEd Mission
To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based, and
complete basic education where:
Students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment.
Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner.
Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and supportive
environment for effective learning to happen.
Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged and share responsibility for
developing life-long learners.
Our Core Values
Maka-Diyos
Maka-tao
Makakalikasan
Makabansa

Our Mandate
The Department of Education was established through the Education Decree of 1863 as
the Superior Commission of Primary Instruction under a Chairman. The Education agency
underwent many reorganization efforts in the 20th century in order to better define its purpose
vis a vis the changing administrations and charters. The present day Department of Education
was eventually mandated through Republic Act 9155, otherwise known as the Governance of
Basic Education act of 2001 which establishes the mandate of this agency.
The Department of Education (DepEd) formulates, implements, and coordinates policies,
plans, programs and projects in the areas of formal and non-formal basic education. It supervises
all elementary and secondary education institutions, including alternative learning systems, both
public and private; and provides for the establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate,
and integrated system of basic education relevant to the goals of national development.
To carry out its mandate and objectives, the department of education is organized into
two major structural components

Central office maintains the overall administration of basic education at the national
level

Field offices responsible for the regional and local coordination and administration of
the departments mandate

Organization

Office of the Secretary

Administrative Services - Responsible for providing the Department with economical,
efficient, and effective services relating to legal assistance, information records, supplies,
equipment, security and custodial work.

Office of the Director

Legal Division

General Services Division

Dental Clinic

Medical Clinic

Radio Communication Network Unit

Security Service Unit

Records Division

Property Division

Teachers Camp

Financial and Management Service

Budget Division

Accounting Division

Management Division

Payroll Services Division

Systems Division

Cash Division.

Human Resource Development Service - Develops and administers personnel programs

which include selection and placement, classification and pay, career and employment
development performance appraisal, employee relations and welfare services.
Personnel Division

Projects

Monitoring and evaluation of Personnel Records and Current

Personnel Actions in the different Regional and Division Offices.

Establishment of the DECS Personnel Information System (PIS)

National Search Committee

Revision of the DECS Performance Appraisal System (PAS)

DECS-PLM Off-Campus Masteral and Doctoral Programs

Review of Position Description to update position titles in DECS

Personnel Audit of Schools and Personnel of the Central Office

Employees Welfare and Benefits Division

DECS Provident Fund

DECS Expanded Shelter Program

DECS Cooperative Program

DECS Employees Suggestion and Incentive Awards System (ESIAS)

Pre-Retirement Innovation and Option for Results (PRIOR)

DECS-PVB Financial Assistance

DECS Hospitalization Fund Program

Staff Development Division

Special Programs

Values Orientation Workshop

Human Rights Education

Peace Educations

Gender and Development

Graft and Corruption Prevention Education

Programs

Local and Foreign Scholarships

Skills Enhancement Programs of DECS Non-Teaching Personnel

Computer Literacy Programs

Career Planning and Development

Automatic Progression Scheme

Alternative Training Delivery Systems

The Distance Training Program (DTP)

Expanded Shelter Program

DECS Provident Fund

DECS Hospitalization Guarantee Fund Program

DECS Grievance machinery

DECS Employees Suggestions and Incentives Awards System

DECS Teachers and Employees Cooperatives

Pre-Retirement Innovations and Options for Results

Planning Service - Responsible for providing the department with effective and efficient
services like generating and processing of education- related data, developing educational
programs/projects, program monitoring, assessment and evaluation, planning and
programming of educational facilities and providing technical assistance to requesting
offices from the national to the sub-national levels related to the planning and related
activities.

Planning and Programming Division

Project Development and Evaluation Division

Research and Statistics Division

Physical Facilities Division

Technical Service

Materials Production and Publication Division

Educational Information Division

Audio-Visual Division

Educational Technology Unit

Issues and Problems

Quality and accessibility of education to its takers - To provide quality education to all
students is the most important mission of every educational institution. However, with the
multifarious problems facing the public schools, its delivery is hindered. Reality tells us
that even if the public school teachers are qualified to teach, the lack of instructional
materials, inadequate facilities and lack of training for professional growth hindered
them to perform at their best. It is sad to note that with students reaching up to sixty
pupils and students in a classroom, the learning environment is distorted.

Constant implementation of programs in education which are not properly monitored

Globalization of Education

K-12 Program

Miki Berlin M. Valenzuela

MPA

Problem :

Corruption

Red Tape (is an idiom that refers to excessive regulation or rigid conformity to
formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or

decision-making. It is usually applied to governments, corporations, and other large

organizations.

Solution : Republic Act No. 9485, or the Anti-Red Tape Act, was enacted to improve efficiency
in the delivery of government service to the public by reducing bureaucratic red tape and
preventing graft and corruption. Thus, the policy of the Anti Red Tape Act is to promote
integrity, accountability, proper management of public affairs and public property as well as to
establish effective practices aimed at the prevention of graft and corruption in government. The
law aims to promote transparency in each agency with regard to the manner of transacting with
the public, which shall encompass a program for the adoption of simplified procedures that will
reduce red tape and expedite transactions in government..
Recommendation :
Im sharing the following 10 solutions to fight corruption in our native soil.
1. Punish the vote sellers and vote brokers
Corrupt voters give birth to corrupt politicians. In order to stop corruption, we have to start
eliminating it at its birth, that is, during elections.
Most of us are aware that vote buying is illegal. But actually, vote selling is also prohibited by
the law. According to Section 261 (a), Article 22 of the Omnibus Election Code, both vote
buying and vote selling are prohibited and punishable. In other words, its not only the
candidates, their supporters, or the vote buyers who can be found guilty of an election offense,
but the voters or vote sellers can also be punished according to the code.
I know it seems impossible to arrest all vote sellers and put them in jail for committing an
election offense. Theres no prison that can accommodate all the Filipinos who sell their votes
during elections. Just imagine how many are they? It could be a large percentage of the
Philippine population!
But I believe many of those who sell their votes are not aware of the law. So to decrease the
number of vote sellers in the Philippines, the COMELEC and other concerned agencies should
do their best to educate and warn all voters across the country. Informing people through the
Internet and social media isnt enough since 2/3 of our population dont have a good access to
the Internet yet. Our government have to increase efforts to reach, educate and warn voters in the
rural areas.
Vote selling may be difficult to prove and vote sellers may not be punished in jail, but if theyll
become aware that their acts are against the law, they might just be punished by their own
conscience.
Moreover, vote selling and vote buying in the Philippines become a great problem because they
are usually organized from the national to the barangay level. Hence, it would be a better
solution if the government can obliterate these organizations or vote brokers (whether they are
inside or outside the government), who manage the wide corruption of votes in the Philippines.
2. Annual assessment of all public officials by the BIR
Majority of politicians in the Philippines are rich and generating income from businesses. Even
the poorest mayor in Metro Manila has a net worth of P3.31 million. Therefore, the BIR should
not only focus on examining small business owners and professionals, but should also

concentrate on investigating the politicians and the companies that are fully or partially owned
by them.
The government should not only require public officials to submit their financial statements or
statements of assets and liabilities, but they should also assess or audit these public officials
annually and make their statements available to the public. This way, the public will know how
they are earning income and increasing their net worth, whether its coming from their salary or
from their business.
Public officials should be a role model of public trust. They desire to be in a public office.
Hence, they should not complain if they will be required to undergo annual tax examination.
3. A more effective and efficient tax system. Solution #2 wont be effective if our tax system
will not be improved. To effectively and efficiently collect taxes from taxpayers, especially from
politicians, we have to upgrade our tax system, make registrations/tax declarations/payments
online, and eliminate unnecessary regulations that only make our system more complicated. The
BIR should not only invest in human resources, but also on technology like what Singapore and
other countries that have a more efficient tax system are doing.
Creating a better tax system is a job that must be initiated by our congressmen and senators the
lawmakers. Thus, they have to consult not only with the BIR, Department of Finance and DTI,
but also with various independent tax experts, the business sector, and other taxpayers who are
affected by our tax system.
4. Regular surprise examination of all government offices
The Civil Service Commission is the agency mandated to promote and administer efficient and
effective personnel in the government. They should see to it that the Anti-Red Tape Law or RA
9485 is well enforced in all government offices.
Government employees can also commit corruption. If they dont do their job to serve the public
well or if they dont work for the hours the government is paying them, thats already a form of
corruption. Thus, the CSC should ensure that all government personnel are doing their job well
and complying with the Anti-red tape law and other applicable laws in our country. They should
obey the no noon breaks policy, should work beyond 5pm when necessary, and should not
commit fixing or connive with fixers.
But when is the last time that the CSC conducted surprise examination to check if the Anti-Red
tape law is obeyed by government agencies? They should do it more frequently. Installing
CCTVs on all government and public offices can also be a better solution.
5. Timely governmental audit by COA or by an Independent auditing firm
The Commission on Audit is the government agency responsible for examining, preventing and
reporting frauds happening in the government. But are they doing their job efficiently? Scams are
already uncovered and reported to the public after 3 years or more. Just consider the current Pork
Barrel scam.
As an accountant, I know that timeliness is key to relevance. If frauds are reported late, its
already difficult to recover the funds misappropriated by the culprits. Corruption in the
government should be detected earlier, not after 3 years or 5 years. If COA cannot be efficient,
then why not we consider hiring independent auditing firms to examine the financial statements
and transactions of our government bodies?

6. Strict regulation of all corporations in the Philippines

The Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC is the commission that is responsible for
regulating all corporations and partnerships, including foundations in the Philippines. But look at
what happened to the foundations involved in the Pork Barrel scam? Think of how Janet Napoles
use those foundations to hide all her illegal transactions. To avoid this kind of scam from
happening again, the SEC should set stricter rules for regulating all corporations, especially
foundations in the country. They should ensure that all the members and board of trustees of any
foundation are real and in good faith.
7. Strict implementation of the FOI bill
The Senate, under Senate Bill No. 1733, has already passed the Freedom of Information Bill.
Once enacted, the FOI bill will require government officials to act or comply with the request for
information within 15 working days. It will grant citizens the right to access records or
information under the control of the government, with some exceptions.
The FOI Bill is a good solution to fight corruption in the Philippines. So lets hope that it will be
enacted as a law soonest. But though it will be a good solution, its success will still depend on its
implementation. Thus, the government should do its best to make sure that the law will have a
clear implementing rules and regulations, and that it will be enforced effectively as intended.
8. Improved integrity in our justice system
We have existing good laws in the Philippines. The problem is the low integrity of our justice
system. Our laws, themselves, suffer from injustice because they arent respected and protected
by the authorities that should be protecting them in the first place. Corrupt politicians and
government officials are not usually sent to jail.
To improve the integrity of our justice system, there should be a collaboration among the DOJ,
Office of the Ombudsman, PNP, NBI, courts, and the civil society to uphold justice in our
country. There should also be a more effective witness protection program to make sure that all
witnesses or whistle blowers, including their families will be safe and protected. Moreover, they
should be rewarded and well-compensated to support their family while they are under a witness
protection.
9. Continuing professional education requirements for politicians
Being a politician or a public official is one of the greatest profession in the world. It requires a
lot of leadership skills and knowledge in law, economy, ethics, humanity and others. To make
sure our government officials, senators, congressmen, mayors, governors, et cetera are currently
capable in doing their respective job, they should be required to have a minimum credit units of
continuing professional education every year. If they cant comply, then they should be fired out
from their positions.
Another solution is to implement a quota requirement for all legislators in our country. Senators
and congressmen, as their main job is to create laws, should maintain a certain number of laws
proposed or passed every year as a quota. Pork barrel should definitely be abolished so that they
can only concentrate in enacting useful laws that can make our country progress and make the
lives of the Filipinos better.
10. Reduce the number of government officials
If all else fails then the last solution to reduce corruption in the Philippines is simply to reduce
the number of government officials in our country. We have so many lawmakers. We have
around 292 congressmen, including party-list representatives. If our house of congress cannot

produce a good number of useful laws, then why not consider decreasing the congressional seats
to limit only to capable representatives?
We also have a lot of barangay officials across the nation, whom can only be used as brokers of
vote selling and buying during national elections. Although barangay officials can be helpful, as
there are actually honest officials in this level, we have to consider whether barangay elections
can be beneficial in the national level.
11. All government agencies should regularly improve their system
Regularly undertake time and motion studies, undergo evaluation and improvement of their
transaction systems and procedures and re-engineer the same if deemed necessary to reduce
bureaucratic red tape and processing time.