Nearly three decades after the Localization Law (Republic Act 8190) took effect, public schools across the Philippines continue to struggle with a shortage of teachers, leaving many classrooms overcrowded and teachers overburdened.
A recent study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) titled, “Review of the Localization Law and Its Effect on the Hiring of Teachers”, found that the law, enacted to prioritize hiring of teachers from the same community, has produced both benefits and setbacks.
While it has strengthened school–community ties and improved teacher retention, the study revealed that it has not fully addressed long-standing recruitment gaps. The mismatches between teacher qualifications and school needs, inefficient recruitment processes, and weak support systems for educators continue to hinder the overall effectiveness of the law.
A well-intentioned law with uneven results
Enacted in 1996, the Localization Law aimed to expedite the hiring process and make it more inclusive by prioritizing teachers who reside in the same city or municipality as the school. The premise was straightforward: teachers familiar with the local culture, language, and community would be more effective in the classroom and less likely to leave.
Indeed, the study confirmed that localization has strengthened community involvement.
Hiring local teachers fosters a more diverse teaching workforce, encourages community participation, and helps ensure that remote schools are adequately staffed.
“The Localization Law has cultivated a stronger sense of community among teachers, students, and families, which serves as an essential component of a supportive educational environment. This community bond boosts teacher performance and encourages local involvement in education, promoting a more holistic approach to teaching and learning,” the study notes.
However, despite these positive intentions, researchers found that many schools still experience significant hiring delays and vacant teaching positions.
“Implementation continues to face significant obstacles,” the authors wrote, citing “bureaucratic hold-ups that hinder teacher deployment, political meddling in hiring decisions, and the restricted pool of eligible candidates in some regions.”
Residency rules limit opportunities
The study also acknowledges that a rigid interpretation of residency rules has unintentionally narrowed the hiring pool and slowed the recruitment process. While prioritizing local applicants promotes cultural fit, it can also exclude qualified teachers from nearby areas willing to serve where they are most needed.
“The law has evolved over time to mandate a clear geographic hiring hierarchy while balancing local preference with subject specialization needs,” the authors explained. Yet, they noted that mismatches in teacher specialization, prolonged recruitment procedures, and a lack of effective monitoring and assessment mechanisms have made implementation inconsistent.
In some cases, teachers hired under the law were assigned to teach subjects outside their expertise simply because no local applicants met the required specialization. This mismatch, according to the study, risks undermining the quality of instruction, particularly in science and mathematics.
Issues in decentralization
The study recognizes that the decentralization of education management, particularly under the Governance of Basic Education Act (RA 9155), improved local decision-making in many areas. This 2001 law restructured the education system by giving schools and local offices greater authority over personnel and programs, promoting school-based management. However, it also revealed gaps in capacity and consistency.
“Decentralization has helped enhance the speed and relevance of hiring in many cases,” the authors observed, “but it also highlights the need for clear guidelines to protect the integrity of the process.”
Compounding the problem are changes from later reforms, such as the K–12 program, which shifted hiring priorities and blurred the original intent of localization. Confusion over what qualifies as “bona fide residency,” combined with a shortage of qualified local applicants, has weakened compliance and created inconsistencies across school divisions.
Review needed to match today’s realities
The authors stress that the benefits of localization can only be sustained if the law’s implementing rules and regulations are updated to match with current education policies. They urged the Department of Education (DepED) to clarify who qualifies as a local resident and to strengthen the rules on how teachers are prioritized for hiring.
A key recommendation is establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to track teacher qualifications, residency status, and recruitment outcomes at the school level. This would promote transparency and accountability while ensuring efficient law implementation.
The authors likewise encourage localized incentive programs, such as scholarships and hardship pay, to attract teachers to underserved schools, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and “Last Mile Schools”.
“Provide hardship pay, housing, support, and service credits to retain teachers in remote areas,” the authors suggested.
They further urged the modernization of recruitment systems through digital platforms and an integrated database to shorten hiring times and improve the matching of teacher specializations to school needs.
A call for stronger coordination
The study underscores that ensuring responsive, transparent and strategic teacher hiring and deployment requires collective action, emphasizing that the challenges in teacher hiring cannot be solved by DepEd alone.
Authors call for stronger coordination among DepEd, the Department of Budget and Management, the Commission on Higher Education, and professional teacher organizations and engagement with local stakeholders.
“Ultimately, strengthening recruitment systems, improving teacher well-being, and ensuring equitable access to quality education are critical to building a more inclusive, responsive, and resilient education sector,” the authors said.
Strengthening the implementation of the the Localization Law through clear hiring guidelines, robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and merit-based recruitment systems will be crucial to building an education system that is both equitable and responsive to the diverse needs of Filipino learners.
Read the full study at https://bit.ly/pidsdp2025-23. ###—RTG
