25/09/2026
PRESS BRIEFER
2nd HEI Summit on Stewardship Justice
Day 2: From Stewardship to Action
25 September 2026 | Davao City
HEI SUMMIT MOVES FROM STEWARDSHIP TO ACTION, ADOPTS DAVAO DECLARATION
The 2nd Higher Education Institutions (HEI) Summit on Stewardship Justice concluded its second day with participating institutions and partners moving from principles and dialogue toward concrete institutional action for safer, healthier, more inclusive, resilient and just learning communities.
Convened by the Davao City Justice Zone (DCJZ) in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office XI (CHED XI) and participating Higher Education Institutions, Day 2 carried forward the Summitโs central theme: โStewardship Justice: Building Safe, Healthy, and Just Learning Communities.โ
While Day 1 established the philosophical, legal and institutional foundations of Stewardship Justice, Day 2 focused on translating these principles into working campus systems, measurable institutional commitments, stronger partnerships, research priorities and concrete action plans.
PREPARING CAMPUSES BEFORE CRISES HAPPEN
The morning opened with a plenary on โProtecting Every Student: Building Responsive Campus Systems,โ which examined emergency preparedness, reporting systems, referral networks and coordination with government.
The discussion emphasized that campus resilience requires more than emergency equipment. HEIs need functioning systemsโstructural assessments, clear evacuation plans, practiced alarm protocols, regular drills, trained emergency teams, Incident Command Systems, first aid and triage capacity, and Business Continuity Plans.
The session likewise highlighted opportunities for stronger partnerships between HEIs and city emergency services, including training and capacity-building for campus emergency response teams and student volunteers.
The discussion reinforced a core principle of Stewardship Justice: institutions need not be insurers against every possible harm, but they must exercise reasonable, proactive and collaborative vigilance over the communities entrusted to them.
STUDENTS AS PARTNERS IN STEWARDSHIP
The Summit then turned to Student Leadership as Stewardship, emphasizing that students are not merely recipients of institutional protection but important partners in building healthy and just learning communities.
Student governments, organizations, athletes, peer mentors, campus journalists and youth volunteers can help create trusted reporting channels, support mental health and well-being, promote inclusion, strengthen emergency preparedness, and foster accountability and responsible citizenship.
The discussion emphasized that meaningful student participation must be supported by institutional structures that provide guidance, accountability, dialogue, appropriate referral systems and continuity.
FROM SELF-ASSESSMENT TO INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENT
A major feature of Day 2 was the Campus Stewardship Self-Assessment, which enabled participating HEIs to examine their existing policies, systems, strengths and gaps using the Healthy Learning Institutions framework under CHED Memorandum Order No. 5, series of 2026.
The assessment covered six areas: Healthy School Policies; Healthy Physical School Environment; Healthy Social School Environment; Health Skills and Education; Links with the Community; and Access to Healthcare.
Rather than treating assessment merely as a compliance exercise, participating institutions were encouraged to use their results as a baseline for strategic planningโidentifying areas needing improvement and translating these into concrete action plans, timelines and institutional investments.
SHARING PRACTICES THAT WORK
Selected HEIs also presented institutional practices demonstrating how student welfare and holistic formation can be translated into actual campus programs.
The presentations highlighted different approaches to student development, including mental health and wellness programs, student leadership and life-skills formation, community engagement, technology-enabled student services, and the creation of campus environments designed to foster belonging and holistic well-being.
The exchange reflected another principle of the Summit: institutions need not solve common challenges independently. Effective practices can be shared, adapted and strengthened through collaboration among HEIs.
BUILDING AN EVIDENCE-BASED JUSTICE ZONE
The afternoon sessions expanded the conversation beyond individual campuses toward the broader Davao City Justice Zone research and policy agenda.
A research inventory covering institutional submissions from 2016โ2026 identified an important gap: while substantial research already exists on awareness and attitudes, considerably more evidence is needed on whether laws, programs, interventions and referral systems actually produce measurable improvements in access to justice, behavior, protection, rehabilitation, reintegration and public trust.
Participants therefore worked around five strategic research pillars: Human Development; Justice and Public Safety; Governance and Digital Transformation; Gender, Culture and Inclusion; and Sustainable and Resilient Communities.
The exercise sought to move research beyond simply identifying problems toward producing evidence that can guide policy, institutional programs, resource allocation and future Justice Zone interventions.
DAVAO DECLARATION ON STEWARDSHIP JUSTICE
The two-day Summit culminated in the adoption of the Davao Declaration on Stewardship Justice.
The Declaration recognizes HEIs not simply as places of instruction, but as stewards of safe, healthy, inclusive, resilient and just learning communities, sharing responsibility for the welfare, dignity, rights, inclusion and holistic development of students and members of the academic community.
Among its commitments are the institutionalization of Stewardship Justice in campus governance and policies; stronger systems for student safety, mental health and well-being; trusted reporting, referral and emergency-response mechanisms; strengthened multi-sectoral coordination; responsible digital transformation; inclusive and culturally responsive approaches to justice; periodic campus self-assessments and institutional action plans; and the establishment of a Stewardship Justice Community of Practice among participating institutions and partners.
The Declaration also commits the Summit partners to sustaining a research, policy and innovation pipeline that connects identified problems and evidence gaps with collaborative research, program and policy development, implementation, monitoring and continuing improvement.
FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE
The second HEI Summit marks a progression in the partnership between the justice sector, CHED and the higher education community.
If the first Summit brought institutions together, the second asked a more demanding question: What will institutions do with the responsibility entrusted to them?
The answer emerging from the two-day gathering is that Stewardship Justice must ultimately be visible not only in statements and policies, but in the everyday systems through which institutions see, listen, prevent, protect, intervene, refer, respond, recover and care.
As expressed in the Davao Declaration, no single institution or sector can create just learning communities alone. Through communication, cooperation, coordination, evidence-based action and shared responsibility, participating institutions committed themselves to building learning communities where every student is safe, healthy, respected, included, supported and able to access justice.
