THE Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) welcomed Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela as new commissioner, per her appointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on April 18, 2024.
Valenzuela will serve the unexpired term of Jo Mark Libre, until July 21, 2025.
The new commissioner earned Doctor of Philosophy in Education major in Educational Management at the De La Salle University in Manila, Master of Arts in Education at Philippine Normal University in Manila, and Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education at the Divine Word College of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.
Valenzuela is an accomplished education and research professional with over 30 years of experience in education policy reform in the Philippines and in the international arena. She also has extensive experience in donor-funded education programming across Southeast Asia, bringing increased access to teacher training and standards to Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs).
She served as Deputy Chief of Party-Technical for the USAid Upskill Program in the Philippines, where she oversaw the higher education capacity, policy reform, and sector governance workstreams, partnering with CHEd and other government agencies.
Valenzuela also served as the Education Advisor of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Secretariat on the Future of Education and the first woman director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo) Secretariat, based in Bangkok.
She led various education, science, and culture projects across 11 member states.
She worked for over 10 years at CHEd, contributing to policies, standards and guidelines on international linkages, distance education and inclusive student support services.
Additionally, she has managed several international and local educational research and training projects with international donor organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Unicef, Asean, Unesco and USAid.
Valenzuela is also a professorial lecturer in the Department of Education (DepEd), Leadership and Professional Services within the College of Education at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
"With Dr. Valuenzuela's extensive professional experience in higher education, I am confident that she will be contributory in realizing the mandates and education objectives of the Commission particularly in transnational education and internationalization," CHEd Chairman J. Propero de Vera 3rd.
De Vera added that Valenzuela's work with Seameo and background in transnational education will be "instrumental in implementing the Transnational Education law, assist increasing the number of Philippine HEIs in global rankings, and facilitate the implementation of the vision of President Bongbong Marcos for the country to continue producing world class graduates."
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