NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
]
25 FEB -4 5 8 :27
SENATE
2384
KLCciV:.
S.B. No.
Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
DISCONTINUING THE USE OF THE SPIRAL PROGRESSION APPROACH IN 
THE BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM, DELETING FOR THE PURPOSE 
SECTION 5, PARAGRAPH G OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE “ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013”
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall protect and 
promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take 
appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.1 It is a declared 
policy of the State under Republic Act (RA) No. 10533, otherwise known as 
the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013” or the K tol2 Law2 to create a 
functional basic education system that will develop productive and 
responsible citizens equipped with the essential competencies, skills and 
values for both life-long learning and employment.3 In order to achieve this, 
the State shall give every student an opportunity to receive quality education 
that is globally competitive based on a pedagogically sound curriculum that 
is at par with international standards.4 As such, in developing the enhanced
1 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article XIV, Section 1.
2 Enacted on May 15, 2013.
3 Republic Act No. 10533, Sec. 2.
4 Ibid.
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basic education curriculum, the Department of Education (DepEd) is 
mandated to use the spiral progression approach to ensure mastery of 
knowledge and skills after each level.5
Prior to the enactment of RA No. 10533, the DepEd issued DepEd Order 
(DO) No. 31, s. 20126 prescribing the spiral progression approach for Grades 
1 to 10. In subsequent DOs implementing said law, the spiral progression 
approach was described as follows:
1. DO No. 42, s. 2016: The K to 12 curriculum follows a spiral 
progression of content. This means that students learn concepts 
while young and learn the same concepts repeatedly at a higher 
degree of complexity as they move from one grade level to another. 
According to Bruner (1960), this helps learners organize their 
knowledge, connect what they know, and master it. Teachers should 
make sure that in preparing lessons, learners are able to revisit 
previously encountered topics with an increasing level of complexity 
and that lessons build on previous learning.7
2. DO No. 21, s. 2019: The curriculum shall use the spiral progression 
approach to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each level. 
This pedagogical feature follows the idea that concepts are 
introduced at an early age and deepened in succeeding years.8
a. The Junior High School curriculum also utilizes the spiral 
progression approach as clearly demonstrated in the teaching 
of Mathematics and Science. The fundamentals of all 
branches of Mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, 
statistics, and probability) and Science (biology, chemistry, 
physics, and earth science) are taught and revisited from 
Grades 7 to 10 and become more sophisticated from one grade
5 Id. at Sec. 5 (g).
6 Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of Grades 1 to 10 of the K to 12 Basic Education 
Curriculum (BEC) Effective School Year 2012-2013, dated April 17, 2012.
7 Policy Guidelines on Daily Lesson Preparation for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, 
June 7, 2016.
8 Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program, August 22, 2019.


level to the next.
b. The other subjects are also taught using the spiral progression 
approach in the sense that the content and performance 
standards that are unpacked further into competencies are 
vertically articulated. What is taught in Grade 7 connects to 
what is taught in Grades 8, 9, and 10.
3. DO No. 24, s. 2022: The spiral progression approach means that 
learners should gain proficiency at each stage of learning because 
concepts are built upon and deepened in succeeding grade levels. 
Decisions are taken at school level to promote learners to a higher 
grade level based on their school assessments, and it is likely that 
early detection and provision of support to struggling learners 
through interventions such as the provision of remedial programs 
and additional learning time for these learners, rather than grade 
level repetition, may be more cost-effective policies for schools.9
However, in a 2020 study by the Assessment Curriculum and 
Technology Research Center (ACTRC),10 it was observed that teachers in 
Grades 3, 6, 10 and Senior High School did not have adequate time to teach 
all the competencies under the intended K to 12 curriculum. The results of 
the study showed that less than 1/3 of the teachers assessed reported having 
adequate time to cover all learning competencies required in the curriculum. 
Given the spiral nature of the curriculum, this finding is significant as 
learners would hence not have the pre-requisite skills and knowledge needed 
to learn the next set of competencies as they progressed to higher grade levels.
Furthermore, there is a notable lack of studies employing robust 
empirical methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of utilizing the spiral 
curriculum, particularly within the Philippine context.
9 Adoption of the Basic Education Development Plan 2030, May 30, 2022.
10 Review of the Implemented Curriculum: ACTRC (2020). Retrieved from
https: / / actrc.org / wp-content / uploads 72022/05/ implemented-curriculum-review-report-
20201215.pdf


The Senate Committee on Basic Education, for its part, has conducted 
five (5) consultations on this subject matter: separate focus group discussions 
with the Synergeia Foundation and DepEd Valenzuela; an online briefing with 
the Philippine Normal University; a virtual meeting with Dr. Christopher C. 
Bernido who is a researcher in mathematical and theoretical physics and an 
advocate of curriculum flexibility instead of a mandated single approach; and, 
a consultative meeting with subject matter experts in Mathematics and 
Science11. Based on the last consultative meeting, there was consensus that 
teachers, in delivering lessons using the spiral progression approach, are no 
longer teaching as content experts or subject specialists, but are required by 
the approach to teach as generalists.12 They also lack training, experience, 
preparation, and resources.13 In sum, there is no mastery for both the 
teachers and the learners.14
In support of these findings and to achieve the country’s national 
objectives in education, the bill proposes to delete Section 5, paragraph g of 
RA No. 10533 which states that “[t]he curriculum shall use the spiral 
progression approach to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each 
level”. By deleting Section 5 (g), the DepEd will be given flexibility on which 
approach or pedagogy to employ.
I earnestly seek the support of this Congress-dor the inimediate passage 
of this amendatory legislation. 
( 
/
11 Consultative Meeting held by the Senate Committee on Basic Education on October 16, 
2024.
12 Transcript of Stenographic Notes on the Consultative Meeting on Spiral Progression 
Approach conducted by the Senate Committee on Basic Education on October 16, 2024, p. 
13.
13 Id. at pp. 17-18.
14 Id. at p. 40.


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
1
S.B. No
SENATE
2984
25 FEB -4 03 :27
Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
DISCONTINUING THE USE OF THE SPIRAL PROGRESSION APPROACH IN 
THE BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM, DELETING FOR THE PURPOSE 
SECTION 5, PARAGRAPH G OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE “ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF 2013”
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
Section 1. Section 5 of R.A. No. 10533, otherwise known as the 
“Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013”, is hereby amended to read as 
follows:
“SEC. 5. Curriculum Development. - x x x
XXX
The DepED shall adhere to the following standards and principles 
in developing the enhanced basic education curriculum:
(a) X X X
(b) X X X
(c) X X X


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(d) X X X
(e) X X X
(f) X X x; AND
(g) The curriculum shall use the spiral progression approach
to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each level;
and
(fe G) The curriculum shall be flexible enough to enable and 
allow schools to localize, indigenize and enhance the same 
based on their respective educational and social contexts. 
The production and development of locally produced 
teaching materials shall be encouraged and approval of these 
materials shall devolve to the regional and division education 
units.”
Sec. 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - Within ninety (90) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the DepED and other education 
stakeholders shall issue the rules and regulations implementing its 
provisions. The IRR issued pursuant to this section shall take effect thirty (30) 
days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
Sec. 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential 
decrees, administrative orders, rules and regulations, issuances, or parts 
thereof contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed or amended accordingly.
Sec. 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,