Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.__46_

AN ACT REQUIRING THE USE OF PLAIN LANGUAGE IN ALL GOVERNMENT
ISSUED PUBLIC ADVISORIES, NOTICES, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SIMILAR
DOCUMENTS INTENDED FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION

EXPLANATORY NOTE

To ensure that all citizens are able to effectively understand and participate in the
democratic processes of the Republic of the Philippines, the government should always
aspire to make itself more accessible to all peoples. To achieve this, communication
between the former and the latter must be in general terms, unless the situation requires
the use of more technical words.

However, the government must ensure that relevant information reaches the
masses lest it alienates them from vital knowledge.

This bill, thus, seeks to introduce mechanisms in place, upon consultation with
relevant stakeholders, to ensure that government issuances are easy to understand,
without the need to resort to secondary resources to understand them.

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

Hef. ERNESTO “ERNIX” M. DIONISIO, JR.
Representative
First Congressional District of Manila


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 48

Introduced by HONORABLE ERNESTO “ERNIX” M. DIONISIO, JR.

AN ACT REQUIRING THE USE OF PLAIN LANGUAGE IN ALL GOVERNMENT
ISSUED PUBLIC ADVISORIES, NOTICES, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SIMILAR
DOCUMENTS INTENDED FOR PUBLIC DISSEMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "Plain Language in Government
Documents Act."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - In recognition of the vital role of communication and
information in nation-building, all documents and communications from the government
intended for public dissemination and distribution shall be clear, comprehensible, concise,
and language-accessible. The citizenry must be able to easily understand and use the
information presented in such documents.

SECTION 3. Plain Language in All Government Documents. - To ensure the widest
accessibility, clarity and easy understanding of public information, all national government
agencies, offices, instrumentalities, including government-owned and-controlled
corporations (GOCCS), are hereby mandated to adopt the use of plain language in
English, Filipino and/or other regional languages or dialects, as may be deemed
necessary, for all covered documents under this Act. For this purpose, the Civil Service
Commission (CSC) is hereby tasked with the duty of monitoring and ensuring the
implementation of this plain language requirement. For GOCCs, the Governance
Commission for GOCCs (GCG) shall be the agency tasked to perform this duty.


SECTION 4. Scope of Application. - The following are the documents issued by the
government intended for public dissemination and distribution covered by this Act:

a. Advisories;
b. Notices;
c. Announcements;
. Bulletins;

e. Forms and other papers for the application, request or enjoyment of a public
service, right, privilege, benefit, license, clearance, permit, etc.;

f. The agency's citizens’ charter;
g. Documents detailing and explaining a government program, activity or project;
h. Replies and responses to an inquiry or request for assistance or information; and

i, Any other document that the CSC or GCG as the case may be, in consultation with
the agency or office concerned, deems as important to be included in this Act's
coverage.

SECTION 5. Tr and Capacity-Building. - The CSC and GCG shall regularly
conduct trainings, seminars and other similar capacity-building activities for the offices
and agencies covered by this Act. For plain !anguage In Filipino and other regional
languages or dialects, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) shall be tapped to facilitate
the necessary capacity-building activities.

SECTION 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the CSC and GCG, in coordination with the KWF, the Philippine
Information Agency (PIA), and other relevant government agencies and stakeholders,
shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Act

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,
proclamations, rules and regulations, or any part thereof, which are inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) day after its publication in
at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,