What launched

DepEd’s 9 January 2026 release says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Secretary Sonny Angara launched Project AGAP.AI in Quezon City that Friday. DepEd said the program will roll out gradually from 2026.

The aim is frameworks, training and safeguards so AI supports teaching, school management and learning. Marcos said “agapay” means to support or to bridge.

The training piece is AI Ready ASEAN Philippines, for teachers, learners and parents through 2026. DepEd’s target is up to 1.5 million participants: 1.05 million learners, 300,000 teachers and 150,000 parents. PNA repeated those three figures on 25 February as the reach of the funded skills program.

Who is backing the training

DepEd said the ASEAN Foundation funded the initiative, with support from Google.org. Named partners include Limitless Lab Organization, SmartCitiesPH, Inc., Break the Fake Movement, CGPH Incorporated and the ASEAN Youth Organization.

DepEd and the ASEAN Foundation signed a memorandum at the launch. The training introduces AI basics, classroom use, ethics, data privacy and risks such as misinformation.

What was still a plan in January

At the launch, DepEd said it would still issue foundational guidelines on AI in basic education. Those guidelines later became DepEd Order No. 003, series of 2026, issued on 20 February. January is the training program. February is the rule sheet.

The same release said DepEd plans to add AI concepts to the curriculum, launch teacher modules in the second quarter of 2026, and pilot AI tools in 2026 through the Education Center for AI Research. It named MIT RAISE and the Day of AI Initiative for curriculum work. Those are plans in the January release, not proof that every school already has the module.

What to do next

  • Read DepEd Order 003 before you treat a school AI activity as required.
  • Ask your school whether it is part of AI Ready ASEAN Philippines, and how parents are included.
  • Do not pay for a DepEd AGAP slot offered in a private message. The January release has no public enrolment link.
  • Treat 1.5 million as a training target, not a count of people already trained.
  • If a school pilots an AI tool, ask who reviews the result and how student data is protected.

Try itCheck an AI claim against its original source

Put this into practice

While schools decide how to use AI, parents and learners can practise with their own notes and check claims against the original source.

Sources & further reading

Source note. The linked sources support the news in this article. The explanations and suggested next steps are from Pinoy AI Works.