Your school is talking about AI. Here is what DepEd actually requires, which national AI trainings you can join at no cost right now, and how any of it relates to INSET and your CPD units, with every claim linked to its official source.
If you teach in a Philippine public school, AI arrived in your workload before it arrived in your training. There is a DepEd order about it, your division has probably cascaded a memo, and somewhere in a group chat someone has shared a seminar link asking for a registration fee.
This guide sorts that out. Most of the AI training available to Filipino teachers right now is genuinely free and runs through DepEd itself, so the paid seminar in your group chat is usually not the thing you need first. Below: what DepEd's AI policy says, the national programs you can join at no cost, and an honest answer on the CPD question, which is messier than most posts admit.
DepEd issued DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026, "Foundational Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Basic Education," dated 20 February 2026. It is the department's first framework order on AI, and it is worth knowing it exists before you attend any seminar that claims to interpret it for you.
According to DepEd's own release on the order, the framework is built on three pillars: AI in Education, Education on AI, and AI for Education Systems. It sets a risk-based classification for AI use, prohibits specific high-risk applications including social scoring, manipulative chatbots aimed at minors, and biometric emotion recognition, and requires Privacy Impact Assessments alongside a DepEd AI Registry.
Read it yourself rather than relying on a seminar's summary: the order on deped.gov.ph, and DepEd's explanatory release.
These are DepEd-linked programs, not private seminars. If your goal is to get trained without spending anything, start here.
DepEd's flagship AI program, launched 9 January 2026 at Quezon City Science High School, covering teachers, learners, parents, and school leaders on a phased rollout through 2026. Divisions have been cascading it through regional memoranda, so your division office is the right place to ask about your slot. Source: PIA.
Free AI literacy training funded by the ASEAN Foundation and powered by Google.org, implemented with DepEd and local partners. DepEd reported a 2026 national target of 1.5 million participants, including 300,000 teachers. It is delivered nationwide and costs nothing. Source: BusinessWorld.
Announced 13 June 2026, this DepEd and Google partnership offers no-cost certifications at three levels: Fundamental, Advanced, and AI Mastery, the last covering Gemini and prompt engineering. DepEd reported providing Gemini access to over a million teachers and staff through official DepEd accounts. If you have a DepEd account, check what is already switched on for you before paying for a prompt-engineering seminar elsewhere. Source: Manila Bulletin.
Announced 26 August 2026, this extends Copilot access to a reported one million Filipino teachers, with NEAP running nationwide and asynchronous sessions on curriculum-aligned lesson development, responsible AI use, and student performance analysis. Source: Newsbytes.ph.
A NEAP series run in partnership with UP NISMED, officially launched 4 June 2026 via Facebook Live, covering foundational AI literacy through to systemic leadership. Session counts, schedules, and any CPD value are not published in a source we could verify, so confirm the current run with your division NEAP focal person rather than trusting a reposted infographic.
This is where most posts get it wrong, so here is the careful version.
INSET is In-Service Training for Teachers, DepEd's school and division level professional development, with guidelines issued through NEAP under the school calendar order, currently DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2025. Whether a given AI session counts toward your INSET is decided at school or division level, so your INSET coordinator is the only person who can answer it for your school. Dates move: recent runs have been three to five days, scheduled per school year and cascaded regionally, not fixed to one national month.
CPD is the separate PRC requirement under RA 10912, tied to renewing your Professional Identification Card every three years. NEAP is a PRC-accredited CPD provider, accreditation PTR-2020-046, valid until 22 December 2026, and its listed offerings are generally free.
The part worth knowing right now: PRC has extended acceptance of the CPD Undertaking until 31 December 2026 under Resolution No. 2200, s. 2026. In practice a licensed teacher can currently renew by signing the undertaking to complete units in the next compliance period. Read the announcement directly on prc.gov.ph.
Two cautions. An undertaking is a deferral, not an exemption, and we found no law or PRC resolution exempting public school teachers from CPD, so treat any post claiming otherwise as wrong. And PRC has expanded recognized CPD sources to include self-directed learning, professional work experience, and informal learning, with a revised CPD program reported to take full effect in January 2027. Check the current PRC matrix for the unit requirement that applies to your renewal date rather than relying on a figure from an older blog post.
| Program | Provider | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project AGAP.AI | DepEd | Free | Flagship national program, phased rollout through 2026; ask your division |
| AI Ready ASEAN Philippines | ASEAN Foundation with Google.org and DepEd | Free | AI literacy; DepEd reported a 300,000-teacher target for 2026 |
| Project S.I.N.A.G. | DepEd with Google for Education | Free | Three certification levels including Gemini and prompt engineering |
| Copilot access and NEAP sessions | DepEd with Microsoft | Free to DepEd teachers | Lesson development, responsible AI use, performance analysis |
| "Tsek ang Tech" series | NEAP with UP NISMED | Free registration listed | Launched June 2026; confirm current run and any CPD value with NEAP |
| PEAC INSET | Private Education Assistance Committee | ₱2,500 per participant | For private-school JHS/SHS teachers; 15 CPD units, PRC CPD Council-approved. Not an AI program |
We list PEAC INSET because private-school teachers ask about it constantly, but note the last column: as published on peac.org.ph it is not AI training. Do not book it expecting AI content.
We keep a filtered view of training relevant to teachers in the AI training for teachers hub, and every no-cost option across all professions in the free courses hub. We are a directory: when the best answer is a free DepEd program rather than anything we could earn a referral on, that is what we say, as above.
Yes, and it is the majority of what is available. DepEd runs Project AGAP.AI, participates in AI Ready ASEAN Philippines funded by the ASEAN Foundation with Google.org, offers no-cost certifications through Project S.I.N.A.G. with Google for Education, and has extended Microsoft Copilot access with NEAP-run sessions. All are free to DepEd teachers.
INSET is In-Service Training for Teachers, DepEd's school and division level professional development, with guidelines issued through NEAP under the school calendar order, currently DepEd Order No. 012, s. 2025. Recent runs have been three to five days, scheduled per school year and cascaded regionally rather than fixed to one national month.
They can, if the session is delivered by a PRC-accredited CPD provider and carries units for that specific session. NEAP is PRC-accredited under PTR-2020-046, valid until 22 December 2026. Always confirm the accreditation number and the unit count for the exact session before registering, since accreditation is per event.
CPD remains mandatory under RA 10912, but PRC has extended acceptance of the CPD Undertaking until 31 December 2026 under Resolution No. 2200, s. 2026, which lets a professional renew by undertaking to complete units in the next compliance period. That is a deferral rather than an exemption, and there is no rule exempting public school teachers from CPD. Check the current PRC matrix for the requirement that applies to your renewal date.
Yes. DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026, "Foundational Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Basic Education," dated 20 February 2026, sets the framework, including a risk-based classification, prohibitions on specific high-risk uses, and Privacy Impact Assessment requirements.