Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
House Bill No. ____ 
Introduced by the Honorable Precious Hipolito Castelo 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Under Section 24 of Article II of the Constitution, it is provided that: “The State recognizes the 
vital role of communication and information in nation building”. The COVID-19 pandemic has 
heightened the relevance of this Constitutional provision. Now, more than ever, going digital 
is inevitable and necessary, especially in the education sector. 
Filipinos are proven to be heavy users of the internet. In a report called Digital 2019, Filipinos 
are found to spend an average of 10 hours a day on the internet.1 This data shows that 
Filipinos greatly spend a huge chunk of their time browsing on their computers or mobile 
phones. The quality of information absorbed by them on the internet is however, another 
question. 
It is high time for the country to establish vital cyberinfrastructures for the overall improvement 
of quality of education. Instead of having to spend their time in social media sites where 
misinformation is apparent, children should be encouraged to read and consume academic 
articles and books from the internet.  
Thus, it is the intent of this bill to establish the Philippine E-Library, which shall be an online 
central repository of books and other academic materials. This shall be accessible to all and 
shall be free of charge to the public. This E-Library will also resolve one major predicament of 
teachers and students when it comes to distance learning, which is the lack of available 
resources and printed academic materials. 
The immediate passage of this bill is most earnestly sought. 
PRECIOUS HIPOLITO CASTELO 
1 https://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2019/02/01/2019-digital-hootsuite-we-are-social-internet-philippines-
facebook.html 
July 29, 2021
1:03 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
House Bill No. ____ 
Introduced by the Honorable Precious Hipolito Castelo 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A PHILIPPINE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY 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 be known as the "Philippine E-Library Act of 
2021". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State hereby recognizes the vital role of 
information and communications technology in nation-building, and declares its policy to 
promote an environment for the development of infrastructures that would ensure the 
availability and accessibility to reliable and secure internet access suitable to the needs and 
aspirations of the nation. Towards this end, the State shall institutionalize the delivery of 
education digitally by establishing the Philippine E-Library. 
SEC 3. Establishment of the Philippine E-Library. –  The Department of Education 
(DepEd) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall jointly 
establish and manage the Philippine E-Library, a centralized electronic library which shall be 
free of charge to the public. The DICT and DepEd shall put up mechanisms that will ensure 
compliance with the Philippine intellectual property laws. 
SEC. 4. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within thirty (30) days from the 
effectivity of this Act, the DepEd and DICT, in consultation with other relevant agencies and 
stakeholders, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to effectively implement 
the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 5. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the effective implementation of 
this Act shall be charged against the current General Appropriations Act.  Thereafter, such 
amount as may be necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual 
General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 6. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SEC. 7. Repealing Clause.  – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, 
letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with, the 
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SEC. 8. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,