MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has expanded its Kaagapay Program nationwide to equip more parents, guardians, and caregivers with practical tools to act as co-educators — preventing bullying, fostering positive discipline, and reinforcing values among students.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. stressed the program’s significance when he and Education Secretary Sonny Angara met with participating parents during a recent Kaagapay session at Patul Elementary School in Santiago City, Isabela.
According to a DepEd statement on Monday, the program was established in January this year, guided by DepEd Memorandum No. 002, s. 2026, and harmonized with the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program under Republic Act No. 11908.
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The Kaagapay Program reinforces the “crucial partnership” between home and school in safeguarding children and serves as DepEd’s proactive framework to trace the root causes of behavioral and emotional challenges among students before they escalate.
During his interaction with the parents, Marcos expressed deep concern over recent violent incidents in schools, emphasizing the urgent need for a unified approach involving schools, families, communities, and government agencies.
“It’s saddening to see [these] incidents in some schools… We have to monitor these closely,” Marcos said in Filipino.
“We need to work together — not only the police, not only the teachers, not only the parents, not only the government. We need to unite and work together. Let’s guard our youth closely,” he added.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara highlighted that empowering parents as co-educators at home would serve as the primary defense line against campus violence and bullying.
“We can’t solve violence in schools if we only act inside the classroom. The home is our first defense,” Angara said.
“Let’s talk to our children every day. Let’s listen to what they’re going through and interact with their teachers and schools. We have to learn to notice the red flags and the changes in behavior of children before it turns into harm or bullying,” he added.
According to Angara, stakeholders can ensure that students will remain safe, guided, and cared for by working together to make them feel supported.
Under the Kaagapay Program, parents and caregivers will participate in sessions dealing with the following concerns:
- socio-emotional support
- positive and nonviolent discipline
- open communication
- digital safety
- early identification of protection concerns
- appropriate reporting and referral mechanisms=
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In partnership with Stairway Foundation Inc. (SFI), DepEd developed a parenting session guide and toolkit, while its partnership with Meta Philippines supports the Training of Trainers Program.
The program is being progressively rolled out across all regions, with some areas already conducting sessions with parents and caregivers — namely, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol.
DepEd is also strengthening collaboration with parent-teacher associations and school governing councils to integrate parent education directly into broader school governance and student protection frameworks.
“These efforts reinforce a whole-of-nation approach to child protection, recognizing the shared responsibility of families, schools, communities, government, and other stakeholders in creating safe and protective environments for all learners,” the DepEd statement stressed. /atm