The Department of Education (DepEd) Region 3 will implement reforms in the conduct of the Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC), including the creation of an integrity committee that will oversee complaints, grievances, and the vetting of judges.
This was learned from DepEd Assistant Director Jessie L. Amin, who said that the reforms are being introduced in response to concerns raised following the recently concluded 2026 RSPC in Baler, Aurora.
He added that the regional office is set to issue a memorandum formalizing the reforms, pending the review and approval of the regional director.
Amin also said DepEd Region 3 will release the results of its deliberations on a plagiarism complaint raised by a teacher following the competition.
DepEd Region 3 earlier committed to look into concerns surrounding the conduct of the 2026 RSPC amid complaints circulating on social media and through private messages among participants.
Among the unverified allegations raised were claims that some judges previously served as trainers of competing participants, raising concerns over possible conflicts of interest.
Other complaints involved the alleged use of mobile phones during the competition, questions on the handling of subjects in the photojournalism contest, reports that some online publishing entries may have been prepared in advance, and concerns regarding the vetting process for judges.
The DepEd regional office earlier confirmed that it had launched a probe into a plagiarism complaint linked to the event.
The complaint stemmed from a social media post by a teacher alleging that an entry in the Collaborative Desktop Publishing category bore similarities to a previous entry that placed second in the English category during the 2025 RSPC.
As of writing, no official findings have confirmed the allegations.
The RSPC is an annual competition that gathers campus journalists in Central Luzon to compete in various journalism categories.
