FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
7 JUL -4 Li8:.?5 
First Regular Session 
) 
S E N A T E  
S.B.NO. 923 
Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to make the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) 
more responsive to the needs of poor but deserving by removing the threshold amount 
for the maximum family income requirement to allow more students to avail of the 
program. 
Republic Act No. 7323 otherwise known as the Special Program for the 
Employment of Students was enacted in 1993 to help poor but deserving students to 
pursue their education thru wages earned by working during summer and Christmas 
breaks. In a preliminary report from Department of Labor, SPES has benefited almost 
400,000 students from poor families nationwide from 2001 to 2005. The total 397,637 
beneficiaries during the period comprised some 40.4% of around 984,840 students 
benefited under SPES since 1995. 
More than ten (10) years into the implementation of the law, areas for 
improvement have been identified, among which include the delimiting requirement of 
the present law in fixing the annual family income requirement to P36,OOO in order 
qualify as poor and deserving student and the restricting condition oi existing 
employee number of fifty (50) to participate in the program. 
This bill aims to address such concern by lowering the number of existing 
employee requirement to twenty (20) for private sector participants and the deletion of 
the fixed amount of P36,OOO as income threshold to qualify as poor but deserving 
student. The bill instead specified that the annual applicable regional poverty threshold 
line for a family of six for the preceding year shall be used in determining who poor but 
deserving students are. 
Moreover, this bill penalizes any person or entity who refuses or dishonors an 
education voucher. 
Finally, this proposed measure provides for an automatic appropriation to 
insulate the program f r o r ~  
partisan interests and ensure the steady flow of funds to 
finance this worthy program. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LOREN LEGARDA 
Senator 


FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
S E N A T E  
s.B.N~. 923 
Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda 
AN ACT 
MAKING R.A 7323 MORE EFFECTIVE AND RELEVANT TO PRESENT AND 
FUTURE CONDITIONS BY EXPANDING ITS COVERAGE IN TERMS OF 
EMPLOYER PARTICIPATION, ADJUSTING THE INCOME CLASSIFICATION 
REQUIREMENT THEREIN PROVIDING AUTOMATIC AND NON-DIMINUTION 
CLAUSES ON ITS BUDGETARY ALLOCATION AND PROVIDING PENALTIES 
FOR THOSE WHO DISHONOR THE EDUCATION VOUCHERS, AMENDING 
DESERVING STUDENTS PURSUE THEIR EDUCATION BY ENCOURAGING 
THEIR EMPLOYMENT DURING SUMMER AND/OR CHRISTMAS VACATIONS, 
THROUGH INCENTIVES GRANTED TO EMPLOYERS, ALLOWING THEM TO 
PAY ONLY SIXTY PER CENTUM OF THEIR SALARIES OR WAGES AND THE 
FORTY PER CENTUM THROUGH EDUCATION VOUCHERS TO BE PAID BY 
THE 
GOVERNMENT .PROHIBITING 
AND 
PENALIZING 
THE 
FILING 
FRAUDULENT OR FICTITIOUS CLAIMS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” 
FOR THBgE PURPOSES R.A. 7323 ENTITLED “A# ACT TO HELP POOR BUT 
6p 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 1 of R.A 7323 otherwise known as “Special Program for 
SECTION 1. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person 
or entity EXCEPT NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS 
employing at least [fifty (50)] TWENTY (20) persons may during the summer 
and/or Christmas vacation employ poor but deserving students fifteen (15) years 
of age but not more than twenty-five years old, paying them a salary or wage not 
lower than the minimum wage provided by law and other applicable labor rules 
and regulations. 
For purposes of this Act, poor but deserving students refer to those whose 
parents’ combined incomes, together with their incomes, if any, do not exceed 
[thirty-six thousand .pesos (P36,OOO) per annum] THE ANNUAL APPLICABLE 
REGIONAL POVERTY THRESHOLD LINE FOR A FAMILY SIX FOR THE 
PRECEDING YEAR AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY THE NATIONAL 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (NEDA). Employment should be 
at the Labor Exchange Center of the Department of Labor and Employment 
(DOLE)”. 
Employment of Students (SPES)” is hereby amended to read as follows: 


SECTION 2. Section 2 of the same law is hereby amended to read as follows: 
Sixty per centum (60%) of said salary wage shall be paid by the 
employer in cash and forty per centum (40%) by the Government in the form of a 
voucher which shall be applicable in the payment for his tuition fees and books 
in any education institution for secondary, tertiary, vocational or technological 
education. The amount of the education voucher shall be paid by the 
Government to the Educational institution concerned within (30) days from its 
presentation to the officer or agency designated by the secretary of Finance. The 
voucher shall not be transferable except when the payee thereof dies or for a 
justifiable cause stop in his duties in which case it can be transferred to his 
brother and sisters. If there be none, the amount thereof shall be paid his heirs or 
to the payee himself, as the case may be. 
ANY 
PERSON 
OR ENTITY WHO REFUSES OR DISHONOR AN 
EDUCATIONVOUCHER, SHALL UPON CONVICTION BE PUNISHED 
UNDER SECTION 4 OF THIS ACT”. 
”SEC. 2. 
SECTION 3. Section 5 of’the same law is hereby amended to read as follows: 
“SEC. 5. The amount necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act is hereby 
authorized to be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act for 1992 and 
subsequent annual general appropriations acts; PROVIDED THAT, THE 
APPROPRIATION, FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ACT, SHALL NOT BE 
REDUCED BY CONGRESS BELOW THE AMOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR 
THE 
PREVIOUS 
YEAR 
AND, 
AFTER 
APPROVAL, 
SHALL 
BE 
AUTOMATICALLY AND REGULARLY RELEASED; PROVIDED FURTHER, 
THAT THE APPROPRIATION HEREIN SHALL BE INCREASED BY AT 
LEAST TWENTY (2?%) PER CENTUM ANNUALLY”. 
SECTION 4. All laws, rules and regulations, decrees, issuance or any parts 
thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed, modified or ‘amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 5. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, 
the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain in,force and 
effect. 
SECTION 6. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders 
and their implementing rules, inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby 
repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 7. Efjcecfivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,