The Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), a government entity in the Philippines, is the focus of this paper. A historical overview of DECS, its structure, and the general goals for basic education for the year 2000 and beyond are offered. The issues that faced public education in the Philippines in 1997 are identified. Current projects in the Bureau of Elementary Education, Staff Development Division are delineated. The projects include: (1) Project BEST (Better English for Students and Teachers); (2) the Multigrade Program in Philippine Education; (3) the BEE Monitoring Project; and (4) the Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP). The paper concludes with a regional map of the Philippines, characteristics of a quality education, the structure of the system of education, and the daily schedule and the best training needs assessment. Contains two tables of data. (BT)