SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 1588 
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INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
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This measure is intended to meet the urgent and reasonable need to 
protect the health, safety and overall well-being of school children and students 
by adopting a school calendar most suited to Philippine climatic conditions. It 
would be negated by inability to go to school due to monsoon rains, typhoons 
respiratory illness of children aggravated by being wet and chilled by rain, or lack 
of classrooms destroyed by typhoons. This change is consonant with Philippine 
climatic conditions and the health and safety needs of the children and youth. 
The months of June to August are the heaviest rainy months and the 
occurrence of the grater numQer of. typhoons and monsoon rains. During these 
months, school children are subjected to the irregularity of school days due to the 
rains and floods, horrendous difficulties of commuting to and from school, danger 
to life from open drains resistance and aggravated by intermittent cough, colds 
and chills. Many of our public schools are unfit for appropriate classroom 
instruction and the health of the school children when the rains come. Those 
conducting classes outside of the school itself will be unable to do so. 
Studies have shown that adoption of the trimester for tertiary levels is 
better for accelerated completion of courses and continuity of lessons within the 
post secondary and college curriculum. Trimesters enable tertiary level students 
to choose the months best suited to their available time for study and to climate 
conditions. Trimesters also enable students to complete courses faster, thereby 
saving on limited resources of the family. For the third semester, students may 
opt for the distant study plan to avoid the hazards during June to August. 
The school calendar proposed for pre-elementary, and secondary levels of 
education is as follows: 
First Semester: 
September to mid-January piUS Saturdays if needed 
to meet the 110 days required excluding official 
holidays and to comply with required days plus 
enrolment or between semester periods to make up 
for 
non-seasonal 
typhoons, 
calamities 
and 
earthquakes. 
Second Semester: Mid-January to May plus Saturdays if needed to 
comply with the 110 days required and to make up for 
the 
days 
lost 
due 
to 
non-seasonal, 
climatic 
aberrations, calamities and necessary use of school 
facilities for refugees. 


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Third Semester: 
June to August cover the heaviest rainy months when 
the children and youth are safer at home. This also 
meets the agricultural traditions of the country when 
members of the family all help "bayanihan" style for 
the family livelihood and community service. 
The school calendar. proposed for post-secondary and tertiary level is as 
follows: 
First Semester: 
September to December in order to avoid the months 
of heaviest rain and greater number of typhoons 
Second Semester: January to April with provisions for the holidays and 
tradition graduation ceremonies. 
Third Semester: 
May to August cover hot summer and heaviest rainy 
months and student and youth may opt for distant 
study plan in view of climatic hazards. 
Students affected by the disadvantage of heavy rain and monsoon 
weather may use the third trimester for other useful activities, livelihood projects, 
agri-industrial pursuits, or tree planting. For those who require additional studies 
for the third semester, the distant study plan may be used for the heaviest rain 
and very hot months. 
This proposal seeks to ,begin, the revised school calendar with the school 
year 2014-2015 in conjunction with the lengthening of the school calendar from 
200-220 class days. For the pre-elementary, elementary and secondary levels 
this means the increase of ten (10) more days per semester starting September 
of each calendar year. For tertiary and post-secondary levels who adopt the 
trimester system this means adding seven (7) days or about a week more per 
trimester. 
A study and analysis of the rainfall every five years since 1963 shows that 
the average annual rainfall based on key stations every five years since 1965 up 
to 1990 is 466.7 millimeters. The heaviest rainfall is for the months of June to 
August, constituting over the period covered of thirty years (1965 to 1990) at 42.6 
percent of the annual rainfall. Thus, the children and youth can avoid being 
caught in the heaviest rainfall and worst· typhoons which are seasonal and 
periodic during the months of June to August by stating the school calendar in 
September. 
The nation can no longer ignore the reality that our school children and 
student youth suffer needlessly from having to go to school during the monsoon 
and typhoon/cyclone months of June to August and it is the time we also 
consider along with the weather the results of urbanization in school centers such 
as horrendous traffic difficulty of commuting and the rise of respiratory diseases 
as the major illness of children and youth below 18 and of school age. 
Who will be benefited'bytliis measure? 
Each school year about 15.5 million pre-elementary, elementary and 
secondary school children are affected by the adverse climatic conditions under 
which they are forced to study, with an additional enrolment of about 300,000 
each year. 


· 
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For the post-secondary and tertiary levels, the school youth affected are 
about 1.44 million with an additional 78,000 to 122,000 more enrolled each year 
or about 1.5 million school youth affected of going to school during rainy season 
and monsoon or typhoon conditions. 
For the sake of our children and youth, some 16.94 million more of the 
from the pre-elementary level to the tertiary level, approval of this measure is 
urgent, reasonable and necessary for the protection of the future human 
resources of this nation-Filipino children and youth. 
OY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 158 B 
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'13 
SEP 10 /\10 :40 
RECEIVED gy; -f-
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
REVISING THE SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND 
WELFARE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AND STUDENT YOUTH, AND FOR THE 
OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the "School Calendar Act 
of2013". 
SEC. 2. 
School Calendar. The annual school calendar for pre-
elementary, elementary and secondary levels shall comprise two semesters for 
every calendar year. There shall be two hundred twenty (220) school days for 
every calendar year or one hundred ten (110) school days per semester. The first 
semester shall start the first week of September and shall continue the second 
week of January and the second semester shall start the third week of January 
and continue until the last week of May. 
. 
The school calendar for post-calendar and tertiary levels shall comprise 
three (3) trimesters. There shall be two hundred twenty (220) school days for 
every calendar year or one hundred ten (110) school days per semester. The first 
semester shall start the first week of September and shall continue until the 
second week of January and the second semester shall start the third week of 
January and continue until the last week of May. 
The school calendar for post-secondary and tertiary levels shall comprise 
three (3) trimesters. There shall be two hundred twenty (220) school days for 
every calendar year or seventy-three (73) days per trimester. The first trimester 
shall start the first week of September until the last week of December. The 
second trimester shall start the first week of January until the last week of April. 
The third trimester shall start the first week of May until the last week of August; 
Provide, that, for valid reasons with the written permission of the commission on 
Higher Education, public or-private post-secondary and tertiary level school may 
adopt a particular school calendar on a semestral and modified trimester basis 
geared to the needs of its students and the specific climatic conditions of the 
area where the school is located: Provided, further, that the semestral calendar 
shall conform to this Act. 


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Subject to the provIsion of this Act, the school calendar for the pre-
elementary, elementary and secondary levels shall be determined by the 
Department of Education, taking into consideration days required for enrolment. 
Official holidays and between semester days off from school for the health of 
school children. When necessary to complete the required number of school 
days and to make up for the days lost due to force majeure, the Department may 
include Saturdays in the school calendar. 
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the actual school calendar and 
required hours for study according to credits for every trimester of the post-
secondary and tertiary level shall be determined by the Commission on Higher 
Education, taking into conSideration the enrolment period, official" holidays, and 
between trimester days off from school for the well-being of school youth. The 
Commission may require school days on Saturdays to complete required hours 
for courses or to make up for days lost due to force majeure. 
The revised school calendar pursuant to this Act shall be implemented 
starting school year 2014-2015. 
SEC. 3. 
Rules and Regulations. The rules and regulation for the 
implementation of this Act shall be promulgated by the Department of 
Education, for the public and private pre-elementary, elementary and secondary 
levels and by the Commission on Higher Education and the public and private 
post-secondary and tertiary level of education. 
SEC. 
4. 
Resources.· Resources 
required 
for the appropriate 
implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual general appropriations 
of the Department of Education, for the pre-elementary, elementary and 
secondary levels and of the Commission on Higher Education for the post-
secondary and tertiary level. Funds required for the initial year of implementation 
of the School Calendar from the present system to that proposed under this Act 
shall be derived from any savings or unused funds of the Department of 
Education for the pre-elementary, elementary and secondary levels and from the 
resources under the Act creating the Commission on Higher Education for the 
post-secondary and tertiary level. 
SEC. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after publication in at least 
two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,