SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
]
F irst R eg u lar S ession 
j
SENATE
S. B. No. 1434
of t'.if &'■;ir la r ?
•17 
MI\Y-3 P 6 ’*34
RhCtiVLDBY.
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT CREATING A SPECIAL TUITION SUBSIDY FUND 
FOR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
In line with the State policy of accessible public education, basic and 
secondary education are m ade available free-of-cost to every Filipino child 
through the public education system. Thus, every Filipino is guaranteed the 
right to education up to the high school level. While there is no law 
providing for free higher education, there are pending legislations in both 
houses of Congress th at are directed towards the goal of m aking higher 
education free in all state universities and colleges.
Under the 2017 budget, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) 
h as been given an additional P8.3-billion ($167.17 million) allocation m eant 
to provide for free tuition fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs).1 
Through this budget allocation, deserving students will be given free access 
to tertiary education. 
C onsistent with the m andate of the current 
adm inistration, the Senate of the Philippines has already approved the Free
1 http://www.rappler.com/nation/155562-congress-2017-budget-ched-free-tuition-sucs.


Higher Education bill on third reading. However, this will not benefit the 
students who are enrolled in local universities and colleges.
Undeniably, the significant purpose for which these local universities 
and colleges (LUCs) are established within the jurisdiction of a particular 
local governm ent unit, is to provide access and equitable distribution of 
opportunities for Filipinos to acquire higher education. Considering th at the 
students in these institutions are similarly situated with those enrolled in 
SUCs, it is fair and imperative then that the governm ent provides subsidy in 
funding for the financial sustainability of these LUCs to ensure the 
institutionalization of free tertiary education.
This m easure seeks to provide for full tuition subsidy to all current 
and future enrollees in LUCs. The tuition fees to be paid by the students will 
instead be paid directly by the governm ent to the LUCs.
In view of the foregoing, support for the passage and approval of this 
legislation is earnestly sought.
ATCHALIAN


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
]
F irst R eg u lar S ession 
]
SENATE
S. B. No. 1434
oi llir 
rtflr2»
•17 
MAY-3 P6--34
received bt.
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT CREATING A SPECIAL TUITION SUBSIDY FUND 
FOR LOCAL UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assem bled:
1 
SEC. 1. S h o rt Title. • This Act shall be known as the “Free Tuition in
2 
Local Universities and Colleges Act.”
3 
SEC. 2. D eclaratio n  o f Policy. -  It is the policy of the State to
4 
protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels
5 
and to take appropriate steps to m ake education accessible to all. Pursuant
6 
to this policy, the State shall comply with its constitutionally m andated
7 
duty to give the highest budgetary priority to education and in doing so, it
8 
shall take into account regional and sectoral needs and conditions and shall
9 
encourage local governm ent units to develop educational program s and
10 
policies.
11 
SEC. 3. D efinition o f Term s. -  As used in this Act, the term s
12 
enum erated below shall have the following meaning:
13 
(a) “Local Universities and Colleges” or “LUCs” refer to higher


1 
educational institutions established by a local government unit
2 
through an enabling ordinance, and financially supported by the
3 
concerned local governm ent unit.
4 
(b) “O rdinance” refers to enabling act of the Sangguniang Bayan,
5 
Panglunsod or Panlalawigan th at creates a particular local
6 
university or college 
and serves 
as the charter of the local
7 
university or college.
8 
(c) “Local Government Unit” or “LGU” refers to m unicipalities, cities
9 
and provinces th at created or established the local college or
10 
university.
11 
SEC. 4. F ull T uition S ubsidy in L ocal U niversities a n d  Colleges. -
12 
All Filipino citizens who are either currently enrolled at the time of effectivity
13 
of this Act, or shall enroll at any Local Universities and Colleges shall be
14 
exempt from paying tuition fees for any units enrolled, unless they are
15 
disqualified under the provisions of this Act or by any other provision of law.
16 
Notwithstanding the provision of the preceding paragraph, only 
those
17 
Local Universities and Colleges duly accredited by the CHED shall be
18 
covered under this Act.
19 
SEC. 5. E xcep tio n s to th e  F ull T uition Subsidy. - The following are
20 
ineligible to avail of the full tuition subsidy in LUCs:
21 
a) 
Persons who have already attained a bachelor’s degree or
22 
equivalent degree from any LUCs, SUCs or higher education
23 
institution, w hether public or private;
24 
b) 
Persons who have been dishonorably discharged from any LUCs
25 
or higher education institution, w hether public or private, for any
26 
reason other than financial difficulty in paying tuition and other fees;
27 
^ c) 
Students who failed to complete their degree a n d /o r non-degree
28 
program s within a year after the period prescribed in their program.
29 
SEC. 6. LUC T uition S ubsidy F u n d  - The LUC Tuition Subsidy Fund,
30 
hereinafter referred to as the Fund, is hereby established. The Fund shall


1 
be used solely for the purposes of im plementing the full tuition subsidy
2 
under the provisions of this Act. Tuition fees for units enrolled by persons
3 
eligible for the tuition benefit under the provisions of this Act, payable to
4 
LUCs, shall be paid from this Fund.
5 
SEC. 7. A d m in istratio n  o f th e  F u n d  - The Fund shall be
6 
adm inistered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), with the
7 
following powers and functions:
8 
a) 
Manage and adm inister the Fund;
9 
b) 
Device a reporting m echanism  to be implemented by the LUCs
10 
which will detail the exact am ount of tuition fee subsidy availed
11 
of by persons eligible for the full tuition subsidy under this Act;
12 
c) 
Form ulate 
and 
im plem ent 
an 
efficient 
and 
transparent
13 
m echanism  to ensure the paym ent of tuition subsidy, utilizing
14 
money from the Fund, to the respective LUCs, p u rsu an t to this
15 
Act;
16 
d) 
Resolve and mediate disputes concerning the ineligibility or
17 
disqualification of persons from the full tuition subsidy under
18 
the provisions of this Act or any other provision of law; and
19 
e) 
Any other powers or functions necessary for the im plem entation
20 
of the provisions of this Act.
21 
SEC. 8. R eq u irem en ts f o r  LUCs -  LUCs are hereby m andated to
22 
fulfill before accessing the Fund:
23 
a) 
Establish an adm ission and retention standard which shall be
24 
m eritocratic and equitable. This shall include, but not be
25 
limited to, a qualifying exam ination and an affirmative action
26 
m echanism  
for 
underprivileged 
but 
deserving 
students:
27 
Provided, That the qualifying exam ination and all other
28 
requirem ents to be fulfilled to qualify for adm ission under said
29 
qualifying m echanism  shall be free of charge to persons eligible
30 
for the tuition subsidy under the provisions of this Act and the
31 
paym ent of the cost thereof shall be sourced from the Fund;


1 
b) 
In order to facilitate the tracking of students and their
2 
perform ance, adopt the learner information system  established
3 
by the D epartm ent of Education (DedED) in accordance with
4 
the guidelines to be developed by CHED;
5 
c) 
Subm it relevant information as determ ined by CHED on school
6 
quality 
and 
perform ance 
to 
assist 
the 
Commission 
in
7 
im plementing this Act;
8 
d) 
Determine a grade requirem ent and establish a m onitoring
9 
m echanism  in m aintaining the tuition subsidy so th at students
10 
will rem ain competitive; and
11 
e) 
Form ulate and subm it to CHED and to the Committee on
12 
Education of the Senate and the Committee on Higher and
13 
Technical Education of the House of Representatives a detailed
14 
LUC Development Plan updated every year, which shall include
15 
plans 
for 
facilities 
and 
infrastructure 
development 
and
16 
expansion.
17 
SEC. 9. T uition R eport. - The President of each LUC shall subm it to
18 
the CHED, within five (5) days after the last day of late registration for each
19 
sem ester, a report detailing the num ber of units enrolled by persons eligible
20 
for the full tuition subsidy in their institution, as well as the tuition fee
21 
am ount due based on the num ber of units enrolled.
22 
SEC. 10. P ay m en t fro m  F u n d  - The CHED shall ensure the full
23 
paym ent of tuition fees due to the LUC, as reported under the next
24 
preceding Section of this Act, no later than thirty (30) days after the
25 
subm ission of the report to the CHED: Provided, That the CHED shall
26 
reserve the right to disallow the paym ent of any reported fees which are
27 
anom alous or irregular, until further investigation has been conducted.
28 
SEC. 11. A cco u n tab ility  R eport. - At the end of each academ ic
29 
sem ester, the President of each LUC shall subm it to the CHED a report
30 
reconciling the funds received from the Fund. Any unused or improperly
31 
disbursed am ount shall be returned immediately to the Fund.


1 
SEC. 12. M idterm  R eport. - Starting during the first school year
2 
upon effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall conduct a m andatory review and
3 
subm it a m idterm  report to Congress as to the statu s of im plem entation of
4 
this Act.
5 
The CHED shall include am ong others, in this m idterm  report, the
6 
following key m etrics of access to and quality of public tertiary education:
7 
a) 
Enrollm ent rate;
8 
b) 
Student demographics;
9 
c) 
G raduation rate;
10 
d) 
Gross tuition receipts;
11 
e) 
Disqualification and ineligibility;
12 
f) 
Teachers' welfare and training profiles;
13 
g) 
Adequacy of funding requirem ents; and
14 
h) 
O ther educational quality indicators, including but not limited to
15 
physical learning infrastructure, teacher-to-student ratio, and student
16 
housing.
17 
SEC. 13. T uition Fee C eiling -  The CHED shall formulate and
18 
implement policies to prevent undue and arbitrary irrcrease in tuition fee by
19 
LUCs.
20 
SEC. 14. A p p ro p riatio n s. • The am ount of Four Billion Pesos
21 
(P4,000,000,000) is hereby initially appropriated for the LUC Tuition
22 
Subsidy Fund and to im plem ent the provisions of this Act. Thereafter, the
23 
am ount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in
24 
the budget of the CHED in the General Appropriations Act.
25 
SEC. 15. Im plem enting R ules a n d  R egulations. -  The (60) days
26 
from the effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall prom ulgate the implementing
27 
rules and regulations necessary to ensure the efficient and effective
28 
im plem entation of this Act.
29
SEC. 16. S e p a ra b ility  C lause. - Should any part of this Act be


1 
declared unconstitutional, the rest of the provisions of this Act shall
2 
continue to be in effect and subsisting.
3 
SEC. 17. R ep ealin g  C lause. - The provisions of other laws, decrees,
4 
executive orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby
5 
repealed, am ended, or modified accordingly.
6 
SEC. 18. E ffectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
7 
its publication in the Official Gazette a n d /o r in at least two (2) national
8 
new spapers in general circulation.
Approved,