Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 1368

Introduced by Representative ED CHRISTOPHER S. GO

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE MANDATORY DRIVER’S EDUCATION PROGRAM
IN IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM, AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8794 AS AMENDED, THE LAW
IMPOSING THE MOTOR VEHICLE USER’S CHARGE, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The first year that anybody has his or her driver's license could often
be one of the most dangerous years of his or her life. In the Philippines, a new
driver normally learns to drive from friends, acquaintances, or relatives who
already know how. The driving lessons one gets are informal and rudimentary
The vehicle used for practice driving is always a borrowed one, or one secured
without the owner's consent, resulting to hasty and ineffective practice drives.

For those with the means and resources, a private driving school is the
way to his or her first legitimate driving experience. While there is a huge
number of private driving schools throughout the country, they can only serve
those with money to pay. For those who cannot pay, they are entirely
dependent on the generosity of friends who are willing to let them handle the
wheel and drive through traffic despite the student's ineptitude.

The demand for a mandatory nationwide driver's education is never
this emphatic. 79% of road crash fatalities are caused by driver error. There
are 13 million driver's licenses issued, almost all of which were issued to those
who learned to drive from friends, relatives and acquaintances. The fatal risk
along the 270,000-kilometer road networks throughout the country is
multiplied by millions of informally trained and uneducated drivers.

Driving trucks and public utility vehicles is a livelihood for at least 2.5
million Filipino drivers. Almost certainly, none of them have learned to drive
through a formal driving school. A Filipino PUV driver learns to drive because
a jeepney, a bus or a tricycle was lent to him by its driver for him to practice
driving. The grim statistics is instructive in this regard. 16% of road crashes
are caused by trucks. There is now a pressing need for us to guarantee that
the next generation of drivers should be more informed, educated and
proficient.


Driver's education for new drivers can be institutionalized by including
it into the curriculum of the Department of Education. Driver’s education can
be best integrated as mandatory courses at the senior high school, the level
when one can already apply for a student and non-professional driver's
license. All Senior High School students will be required to take the subjects
as a prerequisite to graduation at no extra cost.

A part of the Motor Vehicle User's Charge (MVUC) collected should be
allocated for this aim. By its nature and purpose, it is just right that part of the
MVUC should also be earmarked to anchor a nationwide driver's education
program. As intended by Republic Act No. 8794, a responsible driving public
serves the objectives of the MVUC for an efficacious use of roads and a safe
riding public.

In view of the above, the immediate passage of this Bill is earnestly
sought.

District, Isabela


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.__ 1369

Introduced by Representative ED CHRISTOPHER S. GO

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE MANDATORY DRIVER’S EDUCATION PROGRAM.
IN IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM, AMENDING FOR THE
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8794 AS AMENDED, THE LAW
IMPOSING THE MOTOR VEHICLE USER’S CHARGE, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title - This Act shall also be known as the
“Mandatory Driver's Education Program Act of 2019”.

SECTION 2. Mandatory Driver’s Education Program - The
Department of Education shall establish a Mandatory Driver's Education
Program (MDEP) as a core requirement in Grade 12 of the Senior High School
curriculum.

SECTION 3. Program Overview ~ The MDEP shall consist of at least
five (5) hours of the classroom component of standard driver's education
courses as offered by private driving schools. Enrollees in the MDEP shall be
taught the fundamentals of traffic laws, road safety, driving discipline and road
etiquette, and other pertinent topics as provided by the implementing agencies
of this Act.

SECTION 4. Prerequisite for Graduation — No student enrolled in a
public and private senior high school in the Philippines shall qualify for

graduation from Grade 12 unless he or she has completed the MDEP;


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PROVIDED, that students who have enrolled in and completed a private
driver's education course may present a certification from said driving school
to exempt themselves from enrollment in the MDEP.

SECTION 5. No Additional Cost to Students - The MDEP shall be
provided to all students without any additional cost or increase in tuition or
other school fees. No school, teacher, educational support staff, or other
personal shall solicit donations, voluntary contributions, or any other similar
cost from students, their parents and guardians in connection to the MDEP.

SECTION 6. Amendment of RA 8794 — To fund the provisions of this
Act, Section 7 of Republic Act No. 8794, as amended by Republic Act No.

11239, is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 7. Disposition of Monies Collected. All
monies collected under this Act shall be remitted to the
National Treasury under a special account in the General
Fund to be earmarked solely for the construction,
upgrading, repair, and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and
road drainage, AND FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE DRIVER'S EDUCATION PROGRAM IN SENIOR
HIGH SCHOOL to be included in the annual General

Appropriations Act.

SECTION 7. Appropriations - The funding requirement necessary to
implement the establishment, maintenance, and operations of the MDEP shall
be included in the budget of the implementing agencies/departments in the
General Appropriations Act in the year following its enactment, to be sourced
from the special account of the Motor Vehicle User's Charge provided by

Republic Act No. 8794, as amended.


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SECTION 8. Implementation and IRR — This Act shall be
implemented by the Department of Education in coordination with the
Department of Transportation. The DepEd and the DoTr shall promulgate any
necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations no later than 120 days from
the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause - All laws, decrees, executive orders,
letters of instructions, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause — If any provision of this act is
judicially declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this
Act not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 11. Effectivity Clause — This act shall take effect fifteen (15)

days following its publication in two (2) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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