Focus on fundamentals, values to stop over-reliance on AI —DepEd official

The Department of Education (DepEd) pushed for a focus on fundamentals and values in Filipino students amid moves to integrate AI systems into the basic education.

During a press conference at the National AI Center for Research and Innovation (NAICRI) at the Manila Hotel on Thursday, DepEd Education Center for AI Research (E-CAIR) Managing Director Dr. Erika Fille Legara said that the youth’s severe reliance on AI systems is a recurring global problem, and not limited to the Philippines.

Following the issuance of DepEd Order 03, s. 2026, which calls for the integration of AI in basic education curriculums, Legara said there must be a focus on instilling fundamentals and values in students to avoid abuse of the technology.

“This is not about policing. It's really about teaching them the values of integrity, the values of learning. So balik talaga lagi sa basic style and to teach students why it is not good, why it is not bad kasi ang hirap mag-police,” she said.

(We always go back to the basic style and to teach students why it is not good, why it is not bad, because policing is hard.)                                                     

“Balik talaga tayo sa fundamental. What are the values that we need to impart sa students natin, sa ating mga children para ma-realize silang importance of learning and not outsourcing it or over-relying sa technology?” she added.

(We go back to the fundamental. What are the values that we need to impart to our students so they can realize the importance of learning and not outsourcing it or over-relying on technology?)

Legara added that the DepEd is also working with lawmakers and industry partners to study the policies closely.

“This is going to be an all-AI ecosystem. As we all know, AI is a tool across sectors. Every agency, there is a relevance for artificial intelligence. Collaboration po talaga yung magiging outcome nito [Collaboration will be the outcome] and we are very excited to work closely with other government agencies to represent one AI for the Philippines. Within the Department of Education, there’s also offices there that will look into not just building AI systems to improve education service delivery, meron din po tayong efforts talaga [there are also efforts] to look into the curriculum,” she said.

“Ang maganda dito is yung DepEd meron silang treatment of the whole AI ecosystem,” she added.

(The good thing here is that DepEd has a treatment of the whole AI ecosystem.)

Promoting inclusivity amid adaptation

Legara acknowledged that adapting AI in education needs massive digitization efforts, especially in rural communities.

She said that the government was taking a “whole-of-government” approach in ensuring no one gets left behind in terms of innovation and technology.

“When you talk about AI, medyo kailangan na ng digitization, kailangan ng internet, kailangan ng kuryente, kailangan ng laptop [When you talk about AI, you kind of need to have digitization, you need internet, you need electricity, you need a laptop]. And the government, not just DepEd, but the whole of government has a lot of efforts, [even] focusing infrastructure, not just the AI,” she said.

With the establishment of the NAICRI, Legara said that the department remains hopeful that collaborations will lead to stronger policies that regulate and innovate the learning process in the country.

“We cannot stop people, not just the young students… The beauty of this center is what [Science Secretary Renato] Solidum said, it's to really foster collaboration. We're moving from an abstract idea of collaborating on paper, suddenly now we have an actual environment to really discuss these things as well,” she said.

"We have a lot of partners, including the DOST and all the other agencies. With this launch today, we are excited na mayroon tayong one vision, one direction for all of our AI efforts [we are excited that we now have one vision, one direction for all of our AI efforts]," she added. — BM, GMA Integrated News