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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._ D009 =e

Introduced by Representative RAMON V. A. “RAV” ROCAMORA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In 1994, Republic Act No. 7880, otherwise known as the Fair and Equitable
Access to Education Act, was enacted to provide for a formula for the use of the Capital
Outlay that is allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) in its annual budget.
This formula sought to focus the allocation on those legislative districts who are
experiencing high rates of classroom shortages. Specifically, it outlined the following
allocation:

A. 50% pro-rata according to each legislative district's student
population in relation to the total student population of the country;

B. 40% only among those legislative districts with classroom
shortages, pro-rata to the total classroom shortage of the country as
determined by the DepEd; and

€. 10% in accordance with the implementation of the policy of RA
7880 as determined by the DepEd.

However, after more than 20 years from the enactment of this law, the ideal
student-classroom ratio (now pegged at 40:1 from the previous 45:1) has not been met.
This has left many legislative districts, especially those with large student populations,
still struggling with congestion and severely drained resources. Adding to this concern
is the new challenge of providing for facilities to be used by the Senior High School
program.

Thus, it is vital that the Fair and Equitable Access to Education Act be revisited
and revised. Primarily, it must be amended to increase the allocation to those who are
still lacking in classrooms. Specifically, the formula stated above is sought to be
amended as follows:

A. 10% pro-rata according to the student population of each legislative
district in relation to the total student population of the country;

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B. 80% only among those legislative districts with classroom
shortages, pro-rata to the total classroom shortage of the country as

determined by the DepEd; and

C. 109% in accordance with the implementation of the policy of this Act
as determined by the DepEd.

The significantly greater allocation to the legislative districts with classroom

shortages should be able to boost the efforts in addressing the said ie. Likewise, a
Saniinuals inerbass OC 20%) lathe aanual allocation for ‘Capkal Outday. willbe

guaranteed until the problem of classroom shortage is finally eliminated.

@\the enactment of this bill is earnestly urged

V.A. "RAV" ROCAMORA.
resentative
Lone District, Siquijor


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._5009

Introduced by Rep. Ramon V.A. "Rav" Rocamora

AN ACT ADDRESSING THE CLASSROOM SHORTAGE BY RATIONALIZING THE
ALLOCATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUDGET FOR CAPITAL
OUTLAY, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7880, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE “FAIR AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO EDUCATION ACT”

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

SECTION 1. A new Section 3 is hereby inserted in Republic Act No. 7880 to read as
follows:

“SEC. 3. COVERAGE. - THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT SHALL COVER ALL
CAPITAL OUTLAY APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(DEPED), INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR
THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM AND LOCALLY-FUNDED PROJECTS OF THE
DEPED.”

SECTION 2. Section 3 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 4, [3]. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms are
hereby defined as follows:

(A) Capital Outlay - refers to the provisions of the General
Appropriations Act, particularly those pertaining to the budget of the
(DECS] DEPED for elementary, SECONDARY, and SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
[secondary] education for (i) the acquisition and improvement of sites;
(ii) the construction, replacement, rehabilitation, and repair of buildings,
classrooms, libraries, workshops, toilets AND SANITATION FACILITIES,
and other structures; and [furniture, fixtures, and equipment such
as, but not limited to, desks, chairs, laboratory and workshop
implements, computers, books,]| OTHER PROPERTY, PLANT, AND
EQUIPMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMISSION ON
AUDIT, SUCH AS FURNITURE, FIXTURES, EQUIPMENT, COMPUTERS, and



other basic and essential tools for learning whose beneficial use shall
exceed one (1) year; and

(B) CLASSROOM - REFERS TO A STRUCTURE OR BUILDING INTENDED
FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES, INCLUDING ITS CHAIRS, DESKS, AND
OTHER SIMILAR FIXTURES; AND

(C) Classroom Shortage ~ refers to the number of classrooms whose
construction, in considering the number of students divided by the
existing number of classrooms, shall result in a student-classroom ratio
of 40:1 [45:1]; classrooms, UNDER THIS DEFINITION, shall mean those
exclusively used for instructional purposes and shall exclude offices,
libraries, laboratories, workshops, and the like.”

SECTION 3. Section 4 of the same Act is hereby repealed and a new Section 5 is hereby
inserted to read as follows:

“SEC. 5 [4]. Allocation of Appropriation. - Notwithstanding any provision of the
law to the contrary, the annual (DECS] DEPED budget for capital outlay, as
defined in Section [3] 4(a), shall be allocated among the legislative districts in
the following manner:

(A) TEN PERCENT (10%) OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL OUTLAY TO BE
ALLOCATED PRO-RATA ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT POPULATION
OF EACH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL
STUDENT POPULATION OF THE COUNTRY;

(B) EIGHTY PERCENT (80%) OF THE TOTAL CAPITAL OUTLAY TO BE
ALLOCATED ONLY AMONG THOSE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS WITH
CLASSROOM SHORTAGES, PRO-RATA TO THE TOTAL CLASSROOM
SHORTAGE OF THE COUNTRY PURSUANT TO SECTION 4(C) AS
DETERMINED BY THE DEPED; AND

(C) TEN PERCENT (10%) TO BE ALLOCATED TO NATIONAL HIGH
SCHOOLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
POLICY OF THIS ACT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY DEPED.”

SECTION 4. Section 5 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 6 [5]. Use of Allocation. - The total amount allocated herein shall be used
exclusively for capital outlay pursuant to the educational priorities of the
legislative district, as determined by the [DECS] DEPED upon prior consultation
with the representative of each legislative district; Provided, That the primary
objective in the use of any allocation shall be to eliminate SCHOOL
BUILDING/classroom shortages, if any; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT FOR
EVERY SCHOOL BUILDING/CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTED, THE APPROPRIATE
NUMBER OF TOILETS AND/OR SANITATION FACILITIES SHALL ALSO BE
CONSTRUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCHOOL SANITATION AND
HEALTH SERVICES CHAPTER OF THE CODE ON SANITATION OF THE



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PHILIPPINES (CHAPTER VI, P.D. 856); Provided, further, That any amounts
allocated in accordance with [subparagraph (1) of paragraphs (a) and (b)]
PARAGRAPH (a) of the preceding section shall be used only for the acquisition or
improvement of school sites, construction of school buildings and classrooms,
and the purchase of material or equipment that directly aid in education;
Provided, furthermore, That the amount so appropriated in accordance with
[subparagraph (2) of paragraphs (a) and (b)] PARAGRAPH (b) of the same
section shall be used exclusively for the construction of new school buildings
AND/OR CLASSROOMS; Provided, finally, That if the amount so appropriated in
{subparagraph (2) of paragraphs (a) and (b)] PARAGRAPH (b) should exceed the
amount required to meet classroom shortage, the excess shall be integrated with
[subparagraph (1) of paragraphs (a) and (b)] PARAGRAPH (a) of the same
section excluding capital outlays of division [offices], regional, and central
offices.”

SECTION 5. Two new sections of the same Act are hereby inserted after Section 5 to
read as follows:

“SEC. 7. INCREASE IN THE ANNUAL BUDGET ALLOCATION. - THE BUDGET
ALLOCATION PROVIDED FOR THE CAPITAL OUTLAY OF THE DEPED UNDER
THIS ACT SHALL BE INCREASED ANNUALLY BY TWENTY PERCENT (20%)
UNTIL THE TARGETED STUDENT-CLASSROOM RATIO IS ACHIEVED AND THE
CLASSROOM SHORTAGE IN THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.

SEC. 8, REPORTORIAL REQUIREMENT. - THE DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND
MANAGEMENT (DBM), THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
(DPWH), AND THE DEPED ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TO THE SENATE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, ARTS, AND CULTURE AND THE CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEE ON BASIC EDUCATION AND CULTURE AN ANNUAL REPORT ON
THE RELEASE AND UTILIZATION OF THE CAPITAL OUTLAY UNDER THIS ACT;
PROVIDED, THAT SUCH SUBMISSION SHALL BE SEPARATE AND DISTINCT
FROM THE REPORTS THAT THE SAID DEPARTMENTS SUBMIT TO CONGRESS
IN RELATION TO THE DELIBERATIONS ON THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS
BILL.”

SECTION 6. Sections 6 and 7 of the same Act are hereby renumbered to Sections 9 and
10 respectively.

SECTION 7. Section 8 of the same Act is hereby repealed and a new Section 11 is hereby
inserted to read as follows:

“SEC. 11 [8]. Penal Clause. ANY VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT
SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS DERELICTION OF DUTY AS SET FORTH IN
PERTINENT ADMINISTRATIVE AND CIVIL SERVICE LAWS, AND SHALL BE
ADMINISTRATIVELY DEALT WITH IN ACCORDANCE TO APPROPRIATE
EXISTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND PENALTIES.”

SECTION 8. Miscellaneous Provisions. All references to the “Department of Education,
Culture, and Sports (DECS)” in Republic Act No. 7880 are accordingly amended to read

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as “Department of Education (DepEd).”

SECTION 9. The other sections of the same Act affected by the preceding sections are
hereby renumbered accordingly.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any section or part of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions shall remain in full force
and effect.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, issuances, or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act
are deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.