CITEM’s Likhang Filipino taps PHLPost as its official service delivery provider

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

Manila, Philippines – The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) has partnered with the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) to serve as an Acceptance Post Office (PO) for Express Mail Service (EMS) shipments to consumers participating in Likhang Filipino, showcasing the best of Filipino design, creativity, and craftsmanship to the world which will open on January 15, 2026.

Through this initiative, PHLPost will bring the best of the Philippines abroad by facilitating the efficient acceptance and processing of EMS parcels from local artisans and producers. This collaboration aims to support local consumers to ship their items by providing them with reliable, secure, and globally connected courier services for their products.

As the designated Acceptance Post Office, PHLPost Mega Manila Area will ensure streamlined processing, proper documentation, and timely dispatch of EMS shipments, enabling participants to reach both local and international markets more effectively.

“This initiative strengthens our commitment to empower Filipinos to promote and ship homegrown products on the global stage,” Acting Postmaster General and CEO Maximo C. Sta. Maria III said. “By providing accessible and dependable logistics services, we help bridge local craftsmanship to international opportunities.”

CITEM’s Likhang Filipino program continues to champion Philippine creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation. With PHLPost’s EMS services, participating consumers and producers are assured of fast, trackable, and secure delivery of their goods worldwide.

This PHLPost partnership reflects the government’s continued efforts to boost trade, support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and promote Filipino-made products across borders.

DepEd posts major procurement gains under Angara’s watch, speeds up resources support for teachers, learners

 

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MAKATI CITY, 14 January 2026 — In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s push to make government spending faster, more transparent, and more responsive to public needs, the Department of Education (DepEd) recorded major procurement gains in 2025, the first full year under Education Secretary Sonny Angara. 

For 2025 implementation, DepEd awarded 99.3 percent of its planned procurement chargeable against 2024 funds. The near-total awarding ensured that appropriations were translated into actual programs, goods, and services that directly support classroom learning, rather than remaining unused.

Angara, who served as the principal author of the New Government Procurement Act during his time in the Senate, framed the milestone as a matter of public accountability.

“Nung pumasok kami sa DepEd, ang marching order mula sa Pangulo ay bawat pisong inaprubahan para sa edukasyon ay dapat maramdaman sa silid-aralan. Hindi puwedeng manatili lang sa papel ang budget, kailangan itong maging aklat, kagamitan, at suporta na aktuwal na napapakinabangan ng mga mag-aaral at guro,” Angara said.

DepEd also accelerated implementation through the strategic use of Early Procurement Activities (EPA). The department awarded 91 contracts for 2025 as early as January, with all EPA contracts awarded by March. This allowed deliveries to schools between March and August of the same year, significantly improving access to learning resources earlier in the school cycle.

Among the major procurement outputs for 2025 were digital and classroom support items under the DepEd Computerization Program, including 33,540 laptops for teaching personnel, 5,302 laptops for non-teaching staff, and 30,440 smart televisions distributed nationwide. The agency also awarded 1,374,231 Science and Mathematics Equipment (SME) packages for public schools.

By end of 2025, DepEd directly entered into contracts for 47 classrooms under the Last Mile Schools (LMS) program, shifting from conventional construction to a design-and-build approach to address recurring abandonment issues caused by site-specific conditions in remote areas.

Angara also led a major shift in textbook procurement, moving DepEd away from developing manuscripts toward the procurement of available titles in the market. The change significantly shortened the procurement timeline up to delivery, from 245 to 451 days to as short as 180 days.

The streamlined process resulted in time savings of up to 246 days, equivalent to a 26 to 45 percent efficiency gain. More importantly, the reform enabled DepEd to complete the procurement of all planned textbook requirements for 2024 and 2025, ensuring the timely availability of learning materials in schools.

DepEd also awarded several projects aimed at strengthening teacher development and inclusion. These include projects on upskilling and reskilling of 1,000 professional teachers and graduating pre-service teachers for career progression, and the policy mapping and strengthened referral mechanisms for learners with disabilities enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS).  

DepEd likewise advanced the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP), a five-year, World Bank-funded initiative aimed at improving education quality and access for Kindergarten to Grade 6 learners in Regions IX, XII, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). As part of the project, 16,600 tablets were awarded to support teaching, learning, and instructional leadership in priority areas.

To support uninterrupted learning during disasters and emergencies, the department also rolled out the prototype units of the Disaster Response System for the Learning Continuity Package and upgraded Learning Continuity Spaces (LCS). This includes the deployment of 141 LCS, composed of two prototype units, six units already constructed in Masbate, and 133 units for nationwide deployment.

DepEd likewise successfully managed the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) for fiscal year 2025, covering 3,398,541 beneficiaries for nutritionally fortified food or hot meals for 120 days, and 2,685,054 beneficiaries for milk feeding for 15 days.

For early childhood education, the department awarded 228,740 sets of kindergarten educational toys and 2,216,383 million kinder activity sheets, strengthening play-based learning and school readiness for young learners.

 

With DepEd also receiving its largest budget in history at P1.015 trillion for 2026, the department said it is moving to further strengthen procurement reforms to make systems more agile and responsive. These include expanded early procurement, tighter alignment between planning and actual school needs, and faster delivery timelines to ensure that increased funding results in visible improvements on the ground.

“Kapag maayos at maagap ang procurement, mas maaga ring nakakarating sa mga paaralan ang mga kailangang resources. Doon nasusukat kung epektibo ang serbisyo ng gobyerno at kung may tunay na balik ang pondo ng bayan,” Angara said.

These developments form part of a broader reform agenda to modernize procurement, shorten delivery cycles, and ensure that every peso spent on education produces timely and tangible benefits for learners, teachers, and schools.

ASEAN Science Diplomacy at 10: Where the Scientist Meets the Policymaker

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The ASEAN Science Diplomats Assembly (ASDA) proudly celebrates its 10th Founding Anniversary under the theme “A Decade of Science Diplomacy: Bridging Divides, Inspiring Lives.” This milestone is marked by a landmark partnership between two visionary leaders: globally eminent science diplomat Glenn Banaguas (The Scientist), widely recognized as the Father of Asian Science Diplomacy, and Hon. Brian Poe Llamanzares (The Policymaker), a dynamic legislator celebrated for his compassion, steadfast support for the youth, and advocacy for science, technology, and innovation.

The ASEAN Science Diplomats Assembly traces its roots to the Philippines, where it was founded in 2010 by Science Diplomat Glenn Banaguas as a pioneering initiative to harness science not for prestige but for service, protecting lives, strengthening communities, and building resilience in the face of uncertainty. Born in vulnerable communities and guided by the conviction that knowledge must serve, this genesis of science diplomacy became a covenant between science and society. In 2016, the vision was replicated and expanded to the ASEAN region through the US‑ASEAN Science and Technology Fellowship, a program of the US State Department in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat, establishing ASDA as a regional platform for dialogue, collaboration, and capacity‑building. Since its inception, the Assembly has advanced the practice of science diplomacy across Southeast Asia, empowering emerging leaders to bridge scientific knowledge with policy action and fostering resilience.

This partnership underscores ASDA’s enduring mission to unite science, policy, and diplomacy in addressing urgent issues such as climate change, sustainability, and resilience. At the same time, it expands its reach into critical domains that shape everyday life, including food security, energy, water, human health, infrastructure, and transport, while embracing the challenges and opportunities brought by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Glenn Banaguas remarked, “Science diplomacy is the art of transforming dialogue into trust, and trust into purposeful action that safeguards peace, fortifies security, nurtures resilience, and upholds sustainability as the enduring measure of progress. It is more than negotiation; it is a covenant of nations, disciplines, and communities to consecrate knowledge in the service of humanity. As we commemorate a decade of the ASEAN Science Diplomats Assembly, we renew our solemn commitment to ensure that science, guided by empathy and elevated by diplomacy, continues to inspire lives, unite peoples, and shape a future worthy of humanity’s highest aspirations.”

Brian Poe Llamanzares emphasized the legislative dimension, saying, “Science must never remain confined within the walls of laboratories; it must be translated into policies that uplift lives and secure the future of our people. As lawmakers, we bear the solemn duty to transform knowledge into institutions that safeguard peace, strengthen security, and nurture resilience. This responsibility is not only legislative but moral, for it calls us to ensure that discoveries and innovations are woven into governance so they serve both present and future generations. In this way, sustainability becomes not merely an aspiration but a living promise, a legacy measured not by statistics alone, but by the dignity it protects, the hope it sustains, and the futures it illuminates.”

The 10th Anniversary celebration will convene diplomats, scientists, policymakers, and advocates from across ASEAN, highlighting the Assembly’s legacy of fostering dialogue and cooperation. The partnership between Banaguas and Poe Llamanzares signals a new chapter in advancing science diplomacy as a cornerstone of authentic development.