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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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AUG 15 P3 :18 
SENATE 
S. No. 1319 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14, Section I provides that: 
SEC. 1. The State shall 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. 
In Section 2 paragraph 3 ofthe same article, the Constitution further mandates that: 
SEC. 2. The State shall: 
(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan 
programs, subsidies and other incentives which shall be available to deserving 
students in both public and private schools, especially to the underprivileged; 
In a letter to the editor published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer entitled "UP Closed to 
the Brightest ofPoor,,,l Mr. Noli Reyes highlighted the financial problems besetting our students 
in our country's premiere state university. The poor student neither able to afford the tuition fee 
nor figure out how to work through the system to assist him in his education. As a result, he did 
not pursue the degree program he worked so hard to get into. Without any connections, the poor· 
student was not able to avail in time any of the multitudes of scholarship programs available to 
our impoverished youth. 
By creating a centralized scholarship database online, scholarship information will be 
easily accessible to both the institutions granting the scholarship and their beneficiaries. It will 
make the application for scholarship tru.1y co,mpetitive instead of being limited to those who have 
direct access to the information. 
I Reyes, Noli N., "UP Closed to the Brightest of the Poor," Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 June 2008. 
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This bill seeks to democratize the access to scholarship information by making the 
information available online. This will effectively connect the sponsors to their intended 
beneficiaries and truly provide support to the less privileged but deserving students. 2 
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2 This bill was originally filed in the Fourteenth Congress, Second Regular Session 
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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
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(~(I.;. "I t~, .)io""I.,~ 
'13 
AUG 15 P3 :18 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
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AN ACT 
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MANDATING THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A 
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PUBLIC WEBSITE THROUGH WHICH INDIVIDUALS MAY FIND A COMPLETE 
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DATABASE OF AVAILABLE SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND OTHER 
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PROGRAMS OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE STUDY OF SCIENCE, 
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TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS 
Be it enacted by the Senate cmd the House of representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "National STEM Scholarship 
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Database Act." 
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SECTION 2. Establishment a/a Database. - The Secretary of Education shall establish 
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and maintain, on the public website of the Department of Education, a database consisting of 
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information on scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial assistance available 
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from public and private sources for the study of science, technology, engineering, or 
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mathematics at the post-secondary and post-baccalaureate levels. 
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SECTION 3. Presentation of Inform1
i';on. - The information maintained on the database 
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established under the preceding section shall be displayed on the website in the following 
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manner: 
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(A) 
Separate information shall be provided for each of the fields of study referred to 
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in Section 2 and for post-secondary and post-baccalaureate programs of financial assistance. 
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(B) 
The database shall provide specific information on any programs of financial 
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assistance which are targeted to individuals of a particular gender, ethnicity, or other 
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demographic group. 
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(C) 
If the sponsor of any program of financial assistance included on the database 
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maintains a public website, the database shall provide hyperlinks to the website. 
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(D) 
In addition to providing the hyperlink to the website of a sponsor of a program of 
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financial assistance as required under paragraph (C), the database shall provide general 
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information that an interested person may use to contact the sponsor, including the sponsor's 
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electronic mail address. 
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(E) 
The database shall have!a sear~h capability which permits an individual to search 
for information on the basis of each category of the information provided and on the basis of 
combinations of categories of the information provided, including whether the scholarship is 
need- or merit-based and by relevant academic majors. 
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(F) 
The database shall include a recommendation that students and families should 
carefully review all of the apPlicationlreqUirements prior to applying for aid, and a disclaimer 
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that the scholarships presented in the d'ftabase are not provided or endorsed by the Department of 
Education. 
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SECTION 4. Dissemination of Information on Database. - The Secretary shall take such 
action as may be necessary on an ongoing basis, including sending notices to secondary schools 
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and institutions of higher education, to: disseminate information on the database established and 
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maintained under this Act and to encourage its use by interested parties. 
SECTION 5. Encouraging the Provision of Information. - In carrying out this Act, the 
Secretary of Education shall consult with public and private sources of scholarships and make 
easily available a process for such entities to provide regular and updated information. 
SECTION 6. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as is 
necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
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SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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