Summary
On April 22, 2026, the ECAIR team turned over the TAHANAN Blueprint during the inaugural convening of the Education and Workforce Development Group (EWDG). Project TAHANAN addresses a core constraint across the education sector: data exists, but remains fragmented across agencies, which shapes how decisions are made at scale. The blueprint lays out a practical path to harmonizing data across the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The EWDG Convening
The turnover took place during the first meeting of the EWDG, which brought together the leaders of the education and workforce agencies to align priorities and strengthen collaboration across the sector. In attendance were TESDA Secretary Kiko Benitez, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis, and DepDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Project TAHANAN
TAHANAN focuses on the systems that serve more than 30 million Filipino learners across basic education, higher education, and technical-vocational education and training. Rather than proposing a distant end state, the blueprint is built for immediate action. It is the product of data practitioners working directly with agency systems and is grounded in how those systems actually operate.
The blueprint sets out actions that can be implemented within existing institutional structures. It follows a multi-speed strategy: move now where systems are ready, while building toward deeper integration over time. Its success feeds directly into the broader goals of the EWDG.
While the blueprint has been turned over to the EWDG to serve as its guide, ECAIR will continue to support the effort in a technical advisory capacity through the implementation phase.
The ECAIR Team
The ECAIR team behind TAHANAN was present for the turnover, led by Dr. Erika Fille Legara with Derrick Tan, Paula Martinez, Elmo Jose, and Eli Bundoc.