Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Constitution provides under Article II, Section 17 that the
State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture,
and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress,
and promote total human liberation and development. Furthermore, the
Constitution provides under Article XIV, Section 1 that the State shall
protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels
and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.
During the pandemic, the country has witnessed how the education
system was forced to transform and adopt digital means of doing things.
With this transformation comes the need to likewise transform academic
materials into digitized formats.
There are several benefits to the digitization of academic materials.
Digitized formats of academic materials allow several learners to access the
same material at the same time. Digitization also promotes space efficiency
and savings on handling costs since repositories no longer have to maintain
and transport physical copies of books. Lastly, digitization safeguards the
contents
of
academic
materials
from
loss
and
destruction
since
the
academic resource materials are stored in online cloud storage.
This bill seeks to establish the Philippine Online Library, where the
digitized format of academic resource materials necessary for the public
education of Philippine primary and secondary schools shall be compiled.
The Philippine Online Library shall be made accessible to learners through
the internet and also by providing computers, laptops, or appropriate
equipment to all primary and secondary public schools nationwide.
Based on the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
September 23, 2022
2:17 pm
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ALFRED C. DELOS SANTOS
Representative, Ang Probinsyano Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
AN ACT
DIGITIZING ALL BOOKS NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ONLINE LIBRARY, PROVIDING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Philippine
Online Library Act of 2022.”
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of
the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education
at all levels and to take appropriate steps to make such education accessible
to all. Thus, the State shall endeavor to introduce measures that will allow
its citizens to catch up with the increasingly digitized approach to education
and remove barriers to access to necessary online educational materials.
SECTION 3. Philippine Online Library. – The Department of Education
(DepEd) shall create digitized copies of all textbooks and reference books as
it deems necessary for the public education of Philippine primary and
secondary school students. These digitized copies shall be compiled in the
Philippine Online Library which shall be jointly managed by the DepEd, the
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
SECTION 4. Provision for Access to the Digitized Copies of Textbooks. –
The Department of Education (DepEd) shall ensure access to the digitized
copies
of
textbooks
by
providing
computers,
laptops,
or
appropriate
wherewithal to all primary and secondary public schools nationwide.
SECTION
5.
Additional
Online
Educational
Materials.
–
The
Department of Education (DepEd) is recommended to tap the National
Library of the Philippines to supplement the Philippine Online Library’s
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digital
repository
of
textbooks
with
additional
materials
that
are
representative of Filipino culture and literature. DepEd shall also be allowed
to add other online materials that it deems necessary for expanding the
learning opportunities of students.
SECTION
6.
Custody Over Digitized Copies of Textbooks. – The
Department
of
Education
(DepEd)
and
the
National
Library
of
the
Philippines shall have joint custody over digitized copies of the textbooks.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in
consultation
with
the
IPOPHL
shall
likewise
ensure
the technological
management of the digital repository to ensure the integrity of the system
and its compliance with intellectual property laws.
SECTION 7. Appropriations. – Such amount as may be necessary for
the immediate implementation of this Act shall be drawn from and managed
by the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Information
and Communications Technology (DICT). Thereafter, such amount as may
be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included
in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The Department of
Education (DepEd), the Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT), and the National Library of the Philippines shall have
joint
responsibility
for
the
formulation
and
promulgation
of
the
Implementing Rules and Regulations necessary for the effective execution
and enforcement of this Act. They shall do so in close coordination and
consultation with the Department of Science and Technology, IPOPHL, and
other stakeholders. The Implementing Rules and Regulations shall be
released within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.
SECTION 9. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act shall be
declared unconstitutional or invalid, such declaration shall not invalidate
other parts thereof which shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION
10.
Repealing
Clause.
–
All
laws,
executive
orders,
presidential decrees or issuances, letters of instruction, administrative
orders, rules, and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
SECTION 11. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.
Approved,