THE CATHOLIC Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) upheld Christian Living Education (CLE) as the core in Catholic education during the first day of its 2026 General Assembly on Wednesday, July 29, at the UST Buenaventura G. Paredes, O.P. Building.
Speaking on the theme “Transforming Catholic Schools into News Maps of Hope,” CEAP National Executive Director Narcy Dionisio stressed that Catholic schools must safeguard religious education amid government-initiated curriculum reforms.
“The inclusion of CLE or Religious Education as the truest core of a Catholic school curriculum—you need to defend that,” Dionisio said.
CEAP has developed a curriculum to bridge scientific and spiritual formation using integrated reproductive health education for Grades 4 to 12, alongside nationwide teacher orientations to support its implementation, he said.
Dionisio also said the association had participated in consultations on major education reforms and advocated for a phased transition to the revised school calendar.
CEAP also opposed proposals to shorten tertiary education to three or three-and-a-half years, while emphasizing the retention of ethics, history and the arts in the proposed general education curriculum.
CEAP NCR Regional Trustee Rev. Fr. Glenn William Relucio echoed the call.
“We maintain that religion is not simply an additional subject that can be removed when schedules become crowded,” Relucio said.
Preserving Christian Living was not merely about retaining a subject but safeguarding “the heart and soul” of the association’s mission, he said.
Relucio also urged Catholic schools to strengthen collaboration by encouraging institutions to rely on one another as they confront challenges brought by artificial intelligence, educational reforms, financial pressures, and threats to Catholic identity.
“No school is too big to need help, and no school is too small to offer something valuable,” he said.
CEAP has a program called “Institutional Mission Partnership for Advancement, Capacity-building and Transformation” (Impact), which allows larger member schools to provide mentoring, leadership formation, and technical support to smaller schools.
Looking ahead, CEAP said it would continue expanding partnerships, strengthening quality assurance, supporting mission schools and implementing reforms grounded in what Dionisio described as “the dignity of the human person.”
The general assembly opened with a Mass presided over by Bishop Dennis Villarojo of Malolos. Bruce L. Buenaventura
