Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “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.” This constitutional to education, being a social equity tool, must 
be afforded to everyone especially to the country’s most disadvantaged sectors. While the 
government has introduced measure such as to ensure equitable access education, a lot of 
Filipinos still do not have access to formal education. Among these are the prison population.  
The UN Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, states that all prisoners shall have the 
right to education. Aside from being a fundamental human right, education for prisoner positively 
contributes to their social reintegration after release. Studies suggest that offenders who had 
access to education and vocational programs in penal institutions are more likely to find jobs after 
their release than those who did not1.  
Consistent with the concept of restorative justice which emphasizes the need to treat prisoners 
with respect and allow them to reintegrate into the larger community, this measure seeks to 
improve the access of prisoners to formal education. This measure seeks to establish complete 
educational programs in all penal institutions in the Philippines as only the National Bilibid Prison 
offers a complete educational program for prisoners at present.  
On behalf of the people of Parañaque City’s Second District, and for the common good of the 
Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought. 
JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City 
1 Rangel Torrijo, H., & De Maeyer, M. (2019). Education in prison: A basic right and an essential tool. International 
Review of Education, 65(5), 671–685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09809-x 
November 12, 2021
3:46 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING A SYSTEM OF FREE FORMAL EDUCATION FROM 
ELEMENTARY TO TERTIARY LEVELS FOR PRISONERS IN ALL PENAL INSTITUTIONS, 
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
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 the “Prison Education Act.” 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared that quality education is an inalienable 
right of all Filipinos and that it is the policy of the State to protect and promote the rights of all 
citizens to quality education at all levels. Therefore, the State shall take appropriate steps to make 
such education accessible to all. 
Further, it is the policy of the State to promote the general welfare and safeguard the basic rights 
of every prisoner incarcerated in our penal institutions. It recognizes the responsibility of the State 
to put in place a truly reformative and rehabilitative prison system. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms are hereby defined: 
a) Alternative Learning System (ALS) – refers to a program implemented by the Department
of Education (DepEd) which provides basic literacy and livelihood skills to inmates, among
others, without going through regular classes;
b) Correctional facilities – include the country's prisons under the management and
supervision of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), jails [municipal, city and district] and
detention centers under the management and supervision of the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP), and provincial and sub-provincial jails under the
management and supervision of the provincial governments;
c) Inmates – refer to persons deprived of liberty as a result of conviction for an offense.
They shall include detainees who are awaiting trial or who are undergoing trial, as well as
those serving short sentences but exclude detainees who are under investigation;
d) Penal institutions – shall be used interchangeably with correctional facilities; and
e) Prisoners – shall have the same meaning as inmates.
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SEC. 4. Implementation of A System of Free Formal Education At All Levels In Penal 
Institutions. – The BuCor, the BJMP, and the provincial governments, in coordination with the 
DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), shall establish and implement a system 
of free formal education from elementary to tertiary levels to be conducted on-site in all penal 
institutions throughout the country. 
In the establishment and operation of such formal schooling, the safety and welfare of both the 
teachers and the inmates shall be paramount considerations. 
 
SEC. 5. Curriculum. – In the implementation of the school-in-prison program, the DepEd and 
the CHED shall follow the same curricula as prescribed in their regular academic programs.  
 
SEC. 6. Faculty. – All the teachers assigned or recruited under the program shall undergo a 
special training in correctional education. They shall be entitled to reasonable traveling expenses, 
to and from the correctional facility, and to hazard pay. 
 
The DepEd shall train qualified full-time teachers for the program, who preferably shall be 
residents of the barangay, municipality, city or province where the correctional facility is located. 
 
The CHED shall establish linkages with the Local University or College (LUC) or State University 
or College (SUC) nearest to the correctional facility, which is willing to become an educational 
partner under the program, for purposes of recruiting qualified faculty members. 
 
In case of absence or shortage of professional teachers from the DepEd and/or the CHED, full-
time employees of the Education Section of the BuCor and the BJMP, as applicable, may be 
recruited as faculty members under the program, subject to accreditation by the DepEd and the 
CHED. In no case, however, shall volunteers from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or 
any other civic or private organization shall be recruited as teachers. 
 
SEC. 7. Inmate-Students. – All prisoners from the three (3) security groupings - minimum, 
medium and maximum - as well as those awaiting trial, undergoing trial or convicted with short 
sentences, shall be given access to education under the program. However, the concerned 
correctional facility shall adopt a rigid screening process that shall include a panel interview, in 
order to determine the desire to study and the current academic level of the applicants and to 
exclude probably unmotivated or disruptive students from the program. 
SEC. 8. Infrastructure and Facilities. – Subject to the availability of a parcel of land, there 
shall be constructed a building in all penal institutions which shall house, among other facilities, 
classrooms, a computer room, an audio-visual room and a library for the on-site implementation 
of the program. In the absence of an available lot, the visitors I reception area, recreation area, 
prison chapel, and any other common area(s) shall be utilized for the implementation of the 
program. 
 
SEC. 
9. 
Alternative 
Learning 
System 
(ALS), 
Vocational-Technical 
and/or 
Correspondence Courses. - The existing Alternative Learning System (ALS), vocational-
technical, and/or correspondence courses, if any, in the various penal institutions of the country 
shall be continued and strengthened. 
 
SEC. 10. Credits or Allowance for Good Behavior. – Participation in the formal education 
system under this Act shall entitle the inmates reasonable credits or allowance for good behavior.  


 
SEC. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within one hundred and twenty (120) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the BuCor, the BJMP and the Department of the Interior and 
Local Government [in behalf of the provincial governments], together with the DepEd and the 
CHED, shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). 
 
SEC. 12. Appropriations. – The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall 
be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
SEC. 13. Separability Clause. – If any portion of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the same 
shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions not so affected. 
 
SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules and regulations which 
are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified 
accordingly.  
 
SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication either in 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines. 
 
Approved,