Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.. 146

Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to
those who prepare for it today.”

One of the greatest failures the world can ever have is for the love
for knowledge and passion for learning to become more and more
a thing of the past as time goes by. As we gain heaps of
milestones in terms of technological advances, it is feared that
such technological achievements also provides various
distractions and disincentives for the youth to learn. It becomes
increasingly difficult for people to distinguish false information,
more popularly known as “fake news” from facts that are backed
by evidence and science, and curiosity and critical thinking are
starting to fade to obscurity.

Clearly, there is a need to re-awaken the people’s thirst for
knowledge and passion for learning if we want to keep making
the world a better place. The only way to do this is to educate as
many people as we can through every means, channel, or
platform available to them.

One such way is to revive the educational programs that we used
to regularly see on television. In the Philippines, television is one
of the main sources of entertainment of the people, especially the
general masses. It will be a very good entry point for educating
the public about sensible topics in the fields of Science,


Mathematics, Arts, History, Language, and/or other academic
disciplines. A TV show can reach thousands of people, and if
given a strategic time slot, it can very well reach very specific
target audiences like the children. What more, TV networks are
in fact experts in finding a way to deliver its message in an
engaging, entertaining manner to keep the interest of its intended
viewers. Thus, it could serve as a great instrument to deliver
educational and factual information to the public.

Having said the forgoing, this bill seeks to mandate all TV
networks to air a regular program of educational content for at
least 50 hours in a year, in order to revive that love for knowledge
and passion for learning in our people, especially the children
and the youth. We believe that the television is a very powerful
tool for education if it chooses to be so. Hence, this bill seeks to
direct the television networks to contribute in this noble objective
of educating the public in a more direct, straightforward manner,
free of fiction, sensationalism, drama, and inappropriate content.

gumry

ERIC L. OLIVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 146

Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

AN ACT
MANDATING ALL TELEVISION NETWORKS TO AIR AT LEAST ONE
REGULAR PROGRAM OF PURELY EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
RUNNING FOR AT LEAST 50 HOURS PER YEAR

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 “Educational
Television Shows Act of 2021”.

Sec. 2. Policy of the State. It shall hereby be declared as policy of
the State to promote and uphold with utmost regard the passion for
knowledge and the pursuit of excellence among its citizens,
particularly the youth.

Sec. 3. TV Show of Educational Content, defined. For purposes of
this Act, a TV show of Educational Content shall mean any
television program the content of which is primarily based on
factual information in the fields of Science, Mathematics, History,
Arts, Language, and other Academic Subjects, shown or aired with
the main purpose of teaching, educating and expanding the
knowledge of the viewers, especially the children and the youth, on
certain established scholastic truths and novel discoveries.

Sec. 4. Mixed and blended TV programs. TV programs that are
substantively loaded with sensationalism; drama; fictional plots
especially those that tend to change, mix, blend or bend scientific


and historical truths or facts; public entertainment; and personal-
opinion-heavy content shall not be considered as “educational
television show” for purposes of this Act.

Sec. 5. TV programs with incidental educational contents. TV shows
primarily aimed at entertainment, but which may contain an
incidental amount of educational content, such as “medical
drama”, “detective drama”, “political dramas”, “historical dramas”
and other analogous shows, shall not be considered as “educational
television show” for purposes of this Act.

Sec. 6. News and public affairs programs. News and public affairs
programs, while on its own merit a purveyor of current events and
factual information, shall likewise not be covered as “educational
television show” for purposes of this Act.

Sec. 7. Mandatory Regular Airing of a TV Program of Educational
Content. All television networks operating under Philippine Laws
are hereby required to air at least one regular program of
educational content as defined in this Act, for at least 50 hours in a
year.

Sec. 8. Monitoring System. The National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) shall develop a system to monitor the
compliance of all TV networks on this act. The NTC shall review and
determine whether a television show can be classified or not as
purely educational program in compliance with this act. Should the
NTC determine that certain episodes, or significant portions of an
episode of a regular program of educational content aired by a
television network did not comply with the requirements set by this
Act as to what constitutes “educational content”, it shall deduct the
number of hours to the required 50 hours of airtime and give notice
to the television network to carry over the deducted number of
hours the following year.

Sec. 9. Reporting. All television networks shall make an annual
reporting on their respective compliance of this act. They shall
submit the list of educational tv programs to the NTC that were
aired in a current year that complied with at least 50 hours of
education programs mandated by this act subject to the provision
of the preceding paragraph.

Sec. 10. Development of Guidelines. The NTC shall develop
guidelines on the proper implementation by the TV networks of the


provisions of this Act. Such guidelines shall, among others, ensure
that TV Shows of educational content do not perpetuate or promote
baseless, unfair, or discriminatory remarks and stereotypes on
gender, age, culture, religion, ethnicity, disability, and/or any form
or kind of disease, whether directly or indirectly. The guidelines
shall also ensure that the TV show of educational content adopt a
gender-, culture-, and disability- sensitive, and age-appropriate
language at all times. The NTC shall develop the guidelines in close
consultation with the relevant government agencies such as the
Philippine Commission on Women, National Council on Disability
Affairs, The Council for the Welfare of Children, The National
Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the Department of Health, the
Commission on Human Rights, National Youth Commission, among
other agencies, as well as academic experts whenever applicable.

Sec. 11. Penalty. Failure to air a regular program of educational
content in accordance with the provisions of this Act within one
year from the time it becomes effective, upon the determination of
the NTC shall be a ground for the imposition of fine in the amount
of P1,000,000.00. Once notice to the tv networks for compliance
has been issued by the NTC and the tv networks still failed to
comply, the NTC shall suspend the tv nctwork’s license to opcrate
based until such time that the requirements of this Act are
complied with.

Sec. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The National
Telecommunications Commission in partnership with the
Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education
shall, within sixty (60) days from the of this Act, come up with the
Implementing Rules and Regulations to effectively carry out the
provisions of this Act.

Sec. 13. Separability Clause. If, for any reason, any part, section or
provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the
remaining provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in
force and effect.

Sec. 14, Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders,
proclamations, rules and regulations, and other issuances, or part
or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.


Sec. 15. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.

Approved,