Philippines: Peace Education K-12 & Higher Education

I had the opportunity to interview a fellow GPPAC member and educator, Dr. Gail Galang of the Center for Peace Education, Miriam College, Philippines. My interest was to learn more about the longstanding work happening in peace education at the primary, secondary and higher education levels in the country, as well as more about any related policies or recommendations at the governmental and/or through educational institutions. While most countries have some form of legislation related to peace or conflict management related education (though the name/title varies by country and political changes), few have related legislation at the higher education level.

In addition to the interview, I wrote a brief summarizing some of the policies and related supports in place. Dr. Gail Galang & Dr. Loreta Castro, longtime GPPAC Member and lifelong peace educator and founder of the Peace Center at Miriam College, shared related documents, policies and their insights on what has been helpful in the country over their collective decades of work. Both also shared important contextual considerations.

The brief focuses on peace education legislation in the Philippines, built on the Presidential Executive Order (EO) 570: Institutionalizing Peace Education in Basic and Teacher Education and the more recent focus on peace education in higher education institutions (HEI) in general (Office of the President of the Philippines, 2006).  These latter policies include the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 1, series of 2019 on the integration of Peace Studies/Education into the Relevant Higher Education Curriculum and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 42, series of 2021 – Suggested Guiding Principles and Practices on Peace Education/Studies for Higher Education Institutions (CHED, 2019; CHED, 2021).

Throughout 2026, I will be highlighting the work of a different country and the peace educators supporting this work at scale in their countries and regions. This series of peace education briefs focus on country-wide regulations or recommendations supporting the implementation of peace education for students in primary, secondary, and/or higher education both in formal and informal settings, highlighting work of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Peace Education Working Group members. We hope you will be inspired and will consider connecting with us, sharing related work happening in your region! Simply scroll down on the “About Us” page to listen to the interview or access the brief.