EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S'lU .U ;
tr o( lije fei i m - i j ’
S E N A T E
S. No. 403
’19 
JULll 
P4 -18
receiVlD r; :
Introduced by Senator Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR STUDIES IN 
NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution, Article 14, Section 10, provides:
Science and technology are essential for national development and 
progress. The State shall give priority to research and development, 
invention, innovation, and their utilization; and to science and technology 
education, 
training, 
and 
services. 
It 
shall 
support 
indigenous, 
appropriate, and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and 
their application to the country's productive systems and national life.
Science and technology is essential for the development and advancement of 
the nation. One field of science that has been proven to provide endless benefits to 
society is the study of Nuclear Science. Nuclear technology is one of Russia's biggest 
economic assets which according to the World Nuclear Association, foreign orders 
totaled to USD133 billion at the end of 2016.
Currently, the Philippines is the only country in the Association of South East 
Asian Nations (ASEAN) with a completed nuclear power plant. The country's existing


nuclear power plant located in Morong, in the province o f Bataan, is one o f 13 
prospective sites across the Philippines.
This bill aims to further inspire and urge the Filipino youth to pursue a future 
in nuclear science and nuclear engineering by providing scholarship grants in order for 
the country to fuily realize the potential and harvest the benefits of nuclear science.1
'T O L" N. TO LENTINO
Senator
1 This was lifted from  the bill originally filed by the late Senator Miriam  Santiago during the Fourteenth Congress, 
Second Regular Session; refiled during the Sixteenth Congress, Second Regular Session; and is now refiled during 
the Eighteenth Congress, First Regular Session in her honor.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
S E N A T E  
s. No. 403
''j 
Ss'LlU1.: 
<©ffitr of lijC £?• i-. fl.iip
■19 
J U L ll 
P4:18
Introduced by Senator Francis 'T o l" N. Tolentino
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR STUDIES IN 
NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "Nuclear Science and
2 
Nuclear Engineering Scholarship Act."
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  Science and Technology is essential for national
4 
development and progress. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote
5 
the development of the country's science and technology by promoting and enhancing
6 
the capabilities required in the areas of research, development, innovation as well as
7 
their utilization. As such, it shall provide for scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other forms
8 
of incentives to deserving science students and other specially-gifted citizens to enable
9 
them to pursue higher education or training in areas of science and technology.
10 
Sec. 3. Definition o f Terms. -  For purposes of this Act, the term:
11 
a) DOST -  refers to the Department of Science and Technology;
12 
b) Nuclear engineering -  refers to the application of the breakdown of atomic
13 
nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear
14 
physics. It includes, but is not limited to, the interaction and maintenance of
15 
nuclear fission systems and components, specifically, nuclear weapons, nuclear
16 
power plants, and/or nuclear weapons. The field may also include the study of
1


1 
nuclear fusion, medical and other applications of (generally ionizing) radiation,
2 
nuclear safety, heat/thermodynamics transport, nuclear fuel and/or other
3 
related (e.g., waste disposal) technology, nuclear proliferation, and the effect
4 
of radioactive waste or radioactivity in the environment; and
5 
c) Nuclear science -  refers to the study of the atomic nucleus.
6 
Sec. 4. In Genera! -  A National Scholarship Program for Studies in Nuclear Science
7 
and Nuclear Engineering shall be created and spearheaded by the Department of
8 
Science and Technology (DOST), in coordination with such government agencies and
9 
institutions involved in fostering the development of nuclear science and nuclear
10 
engineering in the country.
11 
Sec. 5. Application. -  An eligible undergraduate institution may receive a grant
12 
upon proper application to the Secretary of the DOST. The application shall include a
13 
cost effective proposal on how the scholarship grant shall be expended to attain the
14 
objective of fostering the development of nuclear science and nuclear engineering in
15 
the country including but not limited to proposed scholars willing and capable to
16 
undertake comprehensive training on nuclear science and technology as well as the
17 
institutions, locally or abroad, which will provide such training.
18 
Sec. 6. Duration. -  The National Scholarship Program for Studies in Nuclear
19 
Science and Nuclear Engineering shall last for four years from the effectivity of this
20 
Act. Thereafter, the program shall be evaluated according to criteria and measures to
21 
be determined by the DOST.
22 
Sec. 7. Report. -  The DOST shall transmit a progress report to Congress every
23 
year for the duration of the program.
24 
Sec. 8. Appropriations. -  The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this
25 
Act is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury.
26 
Sec. 9. Separability Clause. -  If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
27 
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other
28 
provisions hereof.
29 
Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or portions
30 
thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed,
31 
amended or modified accordingly.


1 
Sec. 11. Effectivity Clause. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
2 
pubiication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,