THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
S. No. 
INTRODUCED BY HON. 
MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14, Section 1, provides that the State shall protect and promote 
the riglit of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make 
such education accessible to all. 
In order to prepare our nation's youth for the challenges of the future, as well as to keep 
our iiation competitive in a global economy, every elementary, secondary, and tertiary school in 
the Philippines should be equipped with the best and most up-to-date library resources, certified 
library media specialists, access to advanced technology, and instruction on the use of library 
and information resources; 
To comply with the constitutional mandate and to meet the challenges in education, this 
bill proposes to: (1) establish, within each of the Bureaus of Elementary Education, Secondary 
Education and Higher Education, a Division of School Library Media Services, that will provide 
infonilation and leadership to school library media programs and personnel nationwide; (2) 
provide continued ftmding for public elementary, secondary, and tertiary school library media 
program improvement, equity, innovation, and technological advancement; (3) establish a 
partnership program for elementary, secondary, and tertiary school teachers and school library 
media specialists, who will jointly design resource and curriculum-based instructional activities, 
that provide opportunities for students to access a broad diversity of resources and information, 
and other languages and cultures, including materials that swill encourage understanding; and (4) 
establish a partnership program for encouraging uses of technology and the sharing of 
infoiinatioii and access to resources by elementary and secondary school students, school library 
media specialists, and teachers. 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
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4. . 
SENATE 
. A . K .  
, 
S. Nb. 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY, AND TERTIARY 
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA RESOURCES, TECHNOLOGY ENRICHMENT, 
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representative of the Philippines in Congress 
Assem bled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be lcnown as the "Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary 
School Library Media Services Act." 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is a policy of the State to 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. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act the term: 
(1) "Director" means the Director of the Division of Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary School 
Library Media Service established under this Act; 
(2) "Local Educational Agency" refers to a public board of education or other public authority 
legally constituted within a state for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a 
service flmction for public elementary, secondary or tertiary school in a province, city or 
municipality; 
(3) "National Educational Agency" refers to the officer or agency primarily responsible for the 
national supervision of public elementary, secondary and tertiary schools; 
(4) "Secretary" refers to the Secretary of Education, culture and sports; 
(5) "Division of Elementary School Library Media Services" refers to the Division established 
for the purposes of this Act under the Bureau of Elementary Education; 


(6) "Division of Secondary School Library Media Services" refers to the Division established for 
the purposes of this Act under the Bureau of Secondary Education; and 
(7) "Division of Tertiary School Library Media Services" refers to the Division established for 
the purposes of this Act under the Bureau of Higher Education. 
SECTION 4. Establishment and Functions of the Division of Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary 
School Library Media Services. - 
(a) DIVISION - There is established within each of the Bureaus of Elementary, Secondary 
Education and higher Education, a Division of School Library Media Services to be administered 
by a Director of such Division. 
(b) FUNCTIONS - The Division of School Library Media Services shall -- 
(1) Provide information and leadership to elementary, secondary and tertiary school library media 
specialists, teachers, and school administrators in order to encourage improvement of educational 
programs, train library, use advanced technology, and develop library resources that will 
encourage students to acquire skills in other languages; and 
(2) Monitor and administer -- 
(A) The grant programs for elementary, secondary and tertiary school library media center 
resource development; 
(B) Elementary, secondary and tertiary school library media specialist and teacher partnership 
grants for innovative education; and 
(C) Grants foe uses of technology in the classroom that are linked to the library media center. 
SECTION 5. Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary School Library Media Program. - 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY SCHOOL 
LIBRARY MEDIA RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM -- The Director shall award 
grants from allocations under subsection (b) to provinces for the acquisition of school library 
media resources for the use of student library media specialists, and teachers in public 
elementary, secondary and tertiary schools. 
(b) ALLOCATION TO PROVINCES - From the amount appropriated pursuant to the authority 
of subsection (e) in each fiscal year, the Director shall allocate to each province having an 
approved plan under subsection (c) an amount which bears the same relationship to such funds as 
the amount such province received for education purposes. 


(c) PROVINCIAL PLANS - In order for a province to receive an allocation of funds under 
subsection (b) for any fiscal year such province shall have in effect for such fiscal year a 
provincial plan. Such plan shall -- 
(1) Designate the national educational agency as the agency responsible for the administration 
and supervision of the program described in this section; and 
(2) Set forth a program under which funds paid to the province from its allocation under 
subsection (b) will be expended solely for -- 
(A) Acquisition of school library media resources including foreign language resources for the 
use of students, school library media specialist and teachers in elementary, secondary and tertiary 
school; and 
(B) Administration of the /provincial plan, including development and revision of standards 
relating to school library 
provincial plan in any 
province under 
except that the amount used for administration of the 
exceed 5 percent of the amount allocated to such 
(3) Set forth the criteria to +e used in allocating funds for school library media resources among 
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the local educational agenc es of the province, which allotment shall take into consideration the 
relative need of the students school media specialist, and teachers to be served. 
(d) DISTRIBUTION OF A LOCATION TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES -- 
(1) DISTRLBUTION RULE - From the funds allocated to a province under subsection (b) in each 
fiscal year, such proviiice s all distribute not less than 9.5 percent of such funds in such year to 
local educational agencies ! 
ithin such province according to the relative enrolment of students iii 
public elementary, secoiida y and tertiary schools within the school districts of such province, 
adjusted to provide highe per-pupil allotments to local educational agencies that have the 
greatest iiuinber or percentages of students whose education imposes a higher than average cost 
per child such as those students -- i 
(A) Living in areas with high concentrations of low-income families; 
(B) From low-income families; and 
(C) Living in sparsely populated areas. 
(2) CALCULATION OF ENROLLMENT - The calculation of relative enrolments under 
paragraph (1) shall be made on the basis of the total number of students enrolled in public 
schools in the province. 


SECTION 6. Establishment of the Scholl Library Media Specialist and Teacher Partnerships for 
Instructional innovation Program. - The Director shall award grants for projects that -- 
( 1 ) Encourage colIaboration between public elementary, secondary and tertiary school library 
media specialists and teacher in order to develop units of instruction that enable elementary, 
secondary and tertiary school students to use a variety of information resources; and 
(2) Expand students' information-gathering abilities and cognitive sltills of selection, analysis, 
evaluation and application. 
SECTION 7. Establishment of the Uses of Technology in the Classroom Program. - The Program 
established - 
(1) IN GENERAL - The Director shall award grants to encourage collaborative elementary, 
secondary and tertiary school library media specialist and teacher programs designed to -- 
(A) Expand the use of computers and computer networks in the curriculum; and 
(B) Enable elementary and secondary school library media centers to access information from 
computerized databases. 
SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary shall promulgate the 
necessary rules and regulations to assure the smooth and efficient implementation of the 
provisions of this Act. 
SECTION 9. Construction, - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with State and 
local initiative and responsibility in the conduct and support of school library media services, the 
adininistration of school library media centers or the selection of personnel or library boolts and 
materials. 
SECTION 10. Supplementation. - Funds provided under this Act shall be used so as to 
supplement and not supplant other national or local funds available to carry out the activities and 
services assisted under this Act. 
SECTION 11. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such sum as may be 
necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. Thereafter, the 
sum necessary for the continuous operation of the program shall be included in he annual 
appropriation of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports. 
SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision, or part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional the remainder of the law or the provision shall remain valid and subsisting. 


SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, 
letter of instiwtion, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the 
provision of this Act is hereby repealed or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved. 
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