In 2018, Rex Wallen Tan of the Government-Academe Industry (GAIN) network declared that ‘while the consensus is that the Philippines is superior to its neighboring countries in terms of English proficiency, the advantage is greatly at risk with the improvement of English literacy in other countries such as Singapore and Thailand.’
This distressing news prompted Sen. Pia Cayetano to say that ‘just by looking at the data, the English proficiency of our college students is the same as Malaysian Grade 6 students and Japanese taxi drivers. Nakakahiya, nakakaawa tayo.’
For decades, English proficiency has been our primary advantage, fueling economic pillars that provide essential middle-income jobs and opening opportunities worldwide for our professionals. However, this advantage now faces a two-front challenge: aggressive educational reforms in neighboring countries and a persistent foundational skills gap at home.
The Billion-Dollar English Imperative
Our national economy’s growth engines are critically dependent on English-driven industries.
IT-BPM sector: The information technology and business process management industry is a powerhouse, closing 2024 with $38 billion in revenue and employing 1.82 million Filipinos.
OFW remittances: Remittances from overseas Filipino workers, a lifeline for millions, reached a record $38.34 billion in 2024, secured by Filipinos whose English skills make them globally sought after.
Digital economy: Up to 1.5 million Filipino online freelancers leverage their English abilities on international platforms, making the country a top global destination for digital work.
These sectors require a consistent supply of talent with high-level communication skills to continue thriving.
A new competitive landscape: The Asean race
While historically a leader in English, our ASEAN neighbors are rapidly closing the gap through deliberate national initiatives, which threaten our competitive edge and ability to attract high-value jobs.
It seems that we have grown complacent with our perceived advantage in English proficiency and cannot accept that other nationalities are catching up or have already surpassed us.
Malaysia’s National English Language Roadmap (CEFR B2 for College), Vietnam’s National English as a second language project (2025 to 2035) and Thailand’s mandatory adoption of the CEFR English language tests are prime examples of this strategic push. Beyond ASEAN, nations like Taiwan and Japan are also prioritizing English, intensifying the global competition for talent where English proficiency is the key battleground.
The foundational skills gap at home
This external pressure from our neighbors is compounded by a severe educational crisis at home. International assessments such as Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed in 2022 that over 75 percent of Filipino students are low performers in mathematics, science, reading and creative thinking. In 2022, compared to 81 countries, the Philippines ranks sixth lowest in both mathematics and reading, while it now ranks third lowest in science.
This foundational weakness persists throughout the educational system, leading to a shocking outcome that millions of Filipinos have finished high school despite being functionally illiterate.
A national response to a global threat
Recognizing this urgent threat in 2018, I met with the GAIN Network led by Lyceum University president Peter Laurel and Rex Wallen Tan to discuss this distressing issue.
We started laying the foundational groundwork to enhance the nation’s global competitiveness. The first crucial step was forming the Technical Working Group for the National Roadmap for Global Competitiveness in Communication Skills (TWG-NRGCCS) and providing a grant to fund the meetings with educational stakeholders.
While some sectors and universities wanted CHED to require the inclusion of mandatory English in the curriculum, I argued that this was not a language issue. Instead, we should view English proficiency as a strategic advantage for Filipino graduates, especially in fields such as engineering and technology, medicine and allied health, tourism management and teacher education. These are degree programs where our graduates are highly recognized and tend to practise their professions worldwide.
This TWG-NRGCCS was instrumental in rolling out a multi-pronged national strategy that includes:
Democratizing education: CHED provided a grant to develop free Open Educational Resources (OERs) covering CEFR proficiency levels A2 to B2, which are now publicly accessible on the IAS CHED YouTube channel. In parallel, TWG-NRGCCS members led by Rex Wallen Tan volunteered their expertise to help create the Duolingo ‘English for Tagalog Speakers’ course, which now provides free learning to more than one million users.
Standardizing proficiency: The TWG successfully oriented 94 percent of all state universities and colleges (SUCs) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), establishing a unified, international benchmark for language skills across the country.
Driving national adoption: The influence of this framework has expanded beyond higher education. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has now adopted the CEFR for all language programs under its National Language Skills Center (NLSC), ensuring a consistent standard for both academic and technical-vocational tracks.
A strategy for economic survival
This CHED-industry-academe collaboration is not merely educational upgrades; these are critical to our national economic survival. By elevating English proficiency, the Philippines can directly address the skills gap, reinforcing the very foundation upon which our most vital industries are built and sustained.
This initiative must now be rolled out to cover more universities nationwide and expand across academic disciplines.
Securing our economic future depends on winning this global competition.