EDCOM II urges lawmakers to adopt age‑based restrictions on students’ personal electronic devices in schools, citing studies that link excessive and unsupervised screen time to poorer learning outcomes, developmental delays and online safety risks among Filipino children. The commission made the call during a joint hearing of the House Basic Education and Health Committees.
EDCOM II Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said policymakers must distinguish between unrestricted personal devices and school‑managed instructional technology that teachers can monitor and control. He argued that clear categories are needed to craft effective regulations.
Yee proposed prohibiting kindergarten to Grade 6 learners from bringing personal devices to school, except for assistive technologies required by students with special needs. For Grades 7 to 12, he recommended allowing managed access only for instructional purposes.
He cited research showing that children aged two to three who spend more than two hours daily on screens are more likely to experience language and developmental delays. The same body of evidence also points to heightened risks of attention problems and reduced academic performance.
Yee noted that Filipino children are 8.5 times more likely to engage in harmful excessive gadget use when left unsupervised, and that Filipinos aged sixteen and above spend about fifty‑four hours online each week—the second‑highest globally. These figures suggest widespread, largely unsupervised screen consumption across age
