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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1586 _

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
and
HON. FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

‘The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides for the recognition and
promotion of other forms of education, other than formal education. Article XIV.
Section 2, Paragraph (1) declares that the State shall establish, maintain and
support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to
the needs of the people and society; and paragraph (4) concisely encourages
non-formal, informal and indigenous learning systems as well as self-learning,
independent and out-of-schooi study programs particularly those that respond
to community needs.

To this end, Republic Act 9155, otherwise known as the Governance of
Basic Education Act of 2001 stipulates the establishment of the Alternative
Learning System (ALS) to provide out-of-school children, youth and adults
population with basic education (cf. Sec 2, RA 9155). The Alternative Learning
System is a parallel learning system to provide a viable alternative to the
existing formal education instruction, encompassing both the non-formal and
informal sources of knowledge and skills.

Since its introduction in 2001, thousands of out-of-school youth and
Persons in disadvantaged situations, including those who cannot afford formal
schooling for reasons of poverty, employment or other pressing circumstance
have benefitted from the Alternative Learning System. It has been recognized
as one of the most important initiatives in non-formal education in the last fifteen
years, addressing the needs of marginalized learners,

Nonetheless, there remains the need to institutionalize ALS as a major
‘component of our basic education system with a clearly defined role within the
overall education goals in our country, parallel to the formal educational system
This will allow the ALS to build a more systematic and flexible approach in
responding to all types of learners outside the school system and providing a
viable alternative to the existing formal education instruction, encompassing
both the non-formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills.


By institutionalizing the Alternative Learning System, the State shall
protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality basic education and make
it accessible to all by providing all Filipino children in the elementary level and
free education in the high school level. Furthermore, the ALS will provide the
development of livelihood skills, which manifest in the individual specific
competencies that prepare, improve, and enhance employability and economic
productivity.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Rep. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
Representative, Phgog Sinirangan



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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
1586

House Bill No.

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
and
HON. FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM
IN THE BASIC EDUCATION FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN, YOUTH
AND ADULTS, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
AND OTHER MARGINALIZED SECTORS OF SOCIETY, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Bé it enacted by the Senate and the House of the Representatives of the

Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title - This Act shall be known as the “Alternative
Learning System Act of the Philippines”.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. \t is hereby declared the policy of the
State to promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and
shall take the appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. The
State shall likewise give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that
promote human development and the acceleration of social progress
thereby reducing social, economic and political inequalities.


Towards this end, the State shall provide the out-of-school children,
youth and adults, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other
marginalized sectors of society with opportunities to improve their knowledge,
technical and vocational efficiency, and other skills through a system of informal
nonformal and indigenous education which are tailored to meet their limited
schedule and their incapacity to attend to formal classroom learning experience
due to time, physical emotional, economic, and other constraints.

Section 3. Objectives. This Act aims to achieve the following
objectives:

(a) Provide adequate attention to the learning needs of the out-of-school
children, youth and adults, persons with disabilities, indigenous
peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society;

(b) Guarantee equal opportunity for learners in every barangay,
including residents of unreached, underserved and conflict-affecied
communities, to avail of systematic and flexible alternative basic

education program outside of the formal school system;

(c) Promote lifelong learning in all streams of education to ensure the
learners’ sustainable future; and

(d) Institute a mobile teacher program especially in far-flung, unserved,
underserved, and conflct-affected communities

Section 4. The Alternative Learning System. - The Alternative
Learning System, hereinafter referred to as “ALS”, is hereby established as a
parallel learning system that provides an alternative learning arrangement to
leamers, who, for acceptable reasons to be determined by the Department of
Education (DepEd), cannot be admitted to the existing formal basic education
It includes both the nonformal and informal sources of knowledge and skills


The ALS shall cover out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons
with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society,
who either have none or limited access to formal schools, and who are usually
located in far-flung communities, including those in areas with armed conflict.

Section 5. Implementation. - The Secretary of Education, through the
appropriate DepEd office, shall exercise general supervision and administration
cover the ALS programs. It shall:

(a) Establish an appropriate governance mechanism to ensure the
efficient and effective coor

ation and management of the ALS
covering policy, curriculum, learning program delivery, learning
materials, learner assessment and certification, quality assurance
and support systems;

(b) Provide the appropriate ALS curriculum assimilating culture and
gender-sensitive formulations that meet the minimum requirements
of bas

education, training of teachers and coordinators, and the
mechanism to implement the program in every city and municipality
throughout the country;

(©) Coordinate with local government units (LGUs), nongovernment
organizations (NGOs), and other government agencies on matters
pertaining to community mapping activities and come up with a
centralized database for out-of-school children, youth and adults,
persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other

marginalized sectors of society who have not yet completed their
basic education;

(d) Address the learning needs of the marginalized groups of the
population including the deprived, depressed, unserved, and
underserved citizens through nonformal and informal education
programs;


(e) Ensure access to educational opportunities for learners of different
interests, capabilities, demographic characteristics and
socioeconomic origins and status;

(f) Promote certification and accreditation through alternative learning
programs, both nonformal and informal in nature, for basic
education;

(@) Coordinate with various agencies for skills development to ensure
the learners’ employability, efficiency, productivity. and
competitiveness in the labor market; and

(h) Establish minimum quality standards for ALS program
implementation and management including certification of learning
outcomes, accreditation of service providers, competency standards
for ALS personnel, and requirements for ALS learning environments,
among others, to help promote quality assurance of the ALS.

Section 6. ALS Programs. - The Department of Education shall
strengthen the implementation of Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Informal
Education (InfEd) Programs.

(a) The Non-Formal Education Program shall be modular and flexible in
nature, which means learning can take place anytime and, in any
place, depending on the convenience and availability of the ALS
learners.

This program is subdivided into

(1) Basic Literacy Program (BLP), for iliterates; and


(2) Continuing Education Program, called Accreditation and
Equivalency Program, for elementary education dropouts.
(b) The Informal Education Program includes skills and livelihood
training, entrepreneurship, personal interest, and community
development sessions

To deliver the ALS programs, the DepEd may utilize the following
learning resources:

(1) Learning modules which contain learning activities, and pre- and
post-assessments; and

(2) Supplementary materials like text and non-text based modules, self-
learning instructional materials, learning activity packages, online or
digital modules, textbooks, e-modules, or blended technology

learning materials from various sources.

Section 7. Duration of ALS Programs. - The DepEd shall prescribe an
appropriate minimum number of session hours or days required for the
completion of ALS programs to ensure that the leamers enrolled therein are
provided with adequate and quality schooling and training at par with the formal
educational system.

Section 8. Accreditation and Equivalency Examinations for ALS
Learners. - The ALS Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E) Test shall be a
paper and pencil test designed and administered by the DepEd to measure the
competencies of those who have neither attended nor finished elementary or
secondary education in the formal school system.

Passers of the ALS A&E Test are given a certificate or diploma bearing
the DepEd seal, and the signature of the Secretary of Education, certifying their


competencies as comparable graduates of the formal school system. Passers
are qualified to enroll in junior high school or senior high schoo! education, as
appropriate.

Section 9. Admission to Senior High School. - ‘earners, who
successfully complete the required ALS program and pass the appropriate ALS
A&E Test for junior high school level, may be admitted to senior high schoo! to
pursue courses of their own choice: Provided, That they comply with the other
basic documentary requirements set by the school as requisite for enrollment

The DepEd shall develop supplemental learning programs for passers
of the ALS A&E Test to help the leaners cope with and be acquainted with the
kind of academic, technical, or vocational subjects being offered in senior high
school education.

Section 10. Admission to Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority. The Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA). The TESDA, in coordination with the DepEd, shall assist
ALS A&E Test passers equivalent to Grade 10 in taking up technical vocational
education and training (TVET) programs. This shall serve as an option to
enrolling in senior high school.

The DepEd shall also encourage ALS graduates in possession of skills

to undergo competency assessment and certification being administered by
TESDA,

Section 11. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). -
The DOLE, in partnership with the DepEd, shall promote gainful employment
opportunities to ALS passers, who will eventually graduate from senior high
school education, through coordination with prospective employers for job
placement in the industry sector.


Section 12. Hiring and Training of ALS Learning Facilitators. - The
DepEd shail hire ALS Mobile Teachers, Literacy Volunteers, and Instructional
Managers, who shall serve as ALS Learning Facilitators, in order to augment
the manpower resources needed in the implementation of the ALS programs
throughout the country.

The ALS Learning Facilitators shall undergo the necessary training
regularly throughout the calendar year to upgrade their teaching skills to the
standards expected for the ALS curriculum,

Section 13. Establishment of ALS Community Learning Centers.
There shall be established at least one (1) ALS Community Learning Center
(CLC) in every municipality and city throughout the country. As much as
possible, the ALS CLC shall be situated at the place within the municipality or
city that is conducive for learning and accessible to the public.

Each ALS CLC shall be constructed in accordance with the
specifications, criteria, and other details provided and approved by the DepEd,
in consultation with the municipal or city mayor or a duly authorized LOU

representative, to ensure the orderly implementation of the project.

Section 14. The Department of the Interior and Local! Government
(DILG). - The DILG shall help enlist the support of LGUs as DepEd partners in
the operation of the ALS. It shall coordinate with the DepEd on matters requiring
LGU participation and shall issue and disseminate to the LOUs concerned ALS-
felated memoranda or advisories, as necessary.

Section 15. Participation of LGUs. - The Secretary of Education shall
initiate partnerships with the Chief Executives of LGUs to encourage them to
contribute available resources to the ALS programs within the LGUs' respective
areas of jurisdiction


Section 16. Local ALS Committee. - The Local School Board may
create a local ALS Committee and provide for its composition, as necessary

The local ALS Committee shall perform the following functions:

(a) Oversee the ALS implementation at the city or municipal level,
including the identification of priority ALS programs, establishment of
ALS CLC, provision of technical assistance to ALS Learning
Facilitators, program monitoring and evaluation, and coordination
with government and nongovernment partners for post-program
support activities;

(b) Recommend to the local schoo! board, in accordance with the criteria
set by the DepEd, the determination of the annual supplementary
budgetary needs for the operation and maintenance of ALS within
the city or municipality, and the supplementary local cost of meeting
‘such needs, which shall be reflected in the form of an annual ALS
budget corresponding to its share of the proceeds of the special levy
on real property constituting the Special Education Fund and such
other sources of reveriue as this Act and other laws or ordinances
may provide;

(c) Ensure the implementation of community literacy mapping activities
within the city or municipality and coordinate with the barangays
nongovernment organizations and other agencies in the
ide

tion of out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons
with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors
of society who have not yet completed their basic education.

(d) Coordinate with the DepEd in regard to the establishment, operation
and maintenance of ALS CLG; and

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(e) Serve as an advisory committee to the Sangguniang Panlungsod or
Sangguniang Bayan concerned on the ALS implementation in the
city or municipality.

Section 17. Special Education Fund Allocation. - Notwithstanding the
provision of Section 272 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the
“Local Government Code of 1991", the local school boards shall set aside a
portion of the proceeds of the Special Education Fund for the utilization of ALS
programs within the LGUs’ respective areas of jurisdiction.

Section 18. Private Sector Participation. - The Secretary of Education
shall encourage and promote close partnerships with the private sector whose
support in the form of cooperative or collaborative arrangements may be
harnessed to ensure the sustainable implementation of ALS programs.

Section 19. Unlawful Fees. - \t shall be unlawful for any DepEd-
administered ALS CLC, its officers, or Learning Facilitators to solicit or require
the payment of admission, enrollment and other kinds of fees from any
interested leamer as requisite for admission.

Section 20. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current year's
appropriations for Flexible Learning Options of the DepEd. Thereafter, such
amount as may be necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act shall
be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90)
days from the approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education, m consultation
with the DILG, TESDA, DOLE, the Coordinating Council for Private Educational
Associations, NGO, and other concerned government agencies, shall formulate
the rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this Act. The
implementing rules and regulations issued pursuant to this section shall take

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effect thirty (30) days after its publication in a national newspaper of general
circulation

Section 22. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held
invalid or unconstitutional the other provisions not so declared shall! remain in

force and effect.
Section 23. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders and rules
and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are

hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 24. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

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