Senator Sherwin Gatchalian receives a Plaque of Recognition during the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA). Joining him (from left) are Danda Crimelda Buhain and Atty. Dominador Buhain of Rex Education; Jose Paolo Sibal of Phoenix Publishing House; and John Emyl Eugenio of C&E Publishing Inc.
The Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA) recognized its achievements and honored its partners during its 75th anniversary held last December 5, 2025 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas. Highlights of the event entitled HONORING THE PAST, CELEBRATING THE PRESENT AND PUBLISHING IN THE FUTURE, were presentation of plaques to HONORABLE SENATOR SHERWIN GATCHALIAN, SENATOR RODANTE MARCOLETA, HONORABLE CONGRESSMEN ANTONIO CERILLES and RUFUS RODRIGUEZ, and ATTY RODELIO T. DASCIL who were instrumental in the legislation of the Book Industry Development Act (RA 8047). Plaques were likewise presented to government and private agencies like the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, the NATIONAL BOOK DEVELOPMENT BOARD, the PRIVATE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE and the CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES.
Past PEPA presidents Dr. Ernesto Sibal, Jesus Ernesto Sibal, Jose Agaton Sibal, Atty. Dominador Buhain, Jose Maria “Toots” Policarpio and current president Jose Paolo Sibal were likewise given awards for their service and dedication to the Association.
SENATOR SHERWIN GATCHALIAN, was recognized for his diligence in pushing for educational reforms as the then Chairman of the Senate Education Committee in the 19th Congress. In his acceptance speech, Senator Gatchalian reiterated his position that the public schools be permitted to select the textbooks best suited for their students and their conditions, citing the practice of private schools whose textbooks are chosen by the subject coordinators and teachers.
Speaking for PEPA, President Emeritus Dominador Buhain stated that the good senator’s proposed solution for providing each public school student with a set of textbooks through liberalized procurement is being adopted by advanced countries with high ratings in international assessments like China, Japan, Finland and Singapore, whose students score high in international assessments like PISA. Senator Gatchalian lamented the delays in textbook allocation for public schools which are caused by a centralized procurement process.
Senator Gatchalian, a product of the private school system , even sees no opposition on the adoption of procurement program in the private schools due to their perceived accessibility and presumptive quality of textbooks to be adopted (brought out by competitive market forces where quality prevails) within a shorter time frame.
He believes that with the enhanced DEPED budget, his earlier estimated P28 billion peso allocation mentioned in 2024 would be sufficient to provide one textbook per subject per student. Possessing a textbook instead of having none due to bureaucratic delay could serve as a better proposition to improve our standing in the PISA.
Unfortunately, the procurement for textbooks for SY 2025-2026 in some grade levels has been delayed by new procurement guidelines under RA 12009.
As PEPA looks forward to another seven decades of service to the Filipino learner, it is resolved to meet the rigorous demands of knowledge production for the diverse learning needs of Philippine schools.
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