Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS:
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO3 828

Introduced by HONORABLE STRIKE B, REVILLA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In the information age that we live in, the leaps and bounds achieved by industries
associated with information technology have made possible the rapid dissemination of
advancements in science, technology, agriculture, engineering, and many other fields of
knowledge.

If the Philippine labor force is to catch up with the rest of the world, Philippine policy
makers should be cognizant of the fact that today; computer literacy is a skill that is as basic to a
student as mathematics, language or reading literacy.

This bill seeks to establish the Board on Computer Education as the government agency
that will be tasked to promote the development of computer literacy among Filipino student
also proposes enabling measures and incentives such as tax-free importation of computer
hardware by accredited entities in order to facilitate the implementation of a computer literacy
program in nineteen of the country's poorest provinces,

Our abundant supply of labor will turn out to be a liability unless our workers are
adequately equipped with the skills needed to compete in the global arena, This measure
proposes to achieve the goal of a competitive Philippine labor force through computer education.

In view of the foregoing, early passage of this bill is strongly urged.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NOBE2S

Introduced by HONORABLE STRIKE B. REVILLA.

AN ACT
TO INTEGRATE A COMPUTER EDUCATION PROGRAM INTO THE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1, Declaration of Policy. - It shall be the policy of the State to promote
functional computer literacy in all schools, at the earliest possible stage, and in a manner that is
most efficient and effective in producing a population that is highly skilled in the creation, use
and manipulation of computer software, In this regard, private sector initiative and participation
shall always be encouraged to achieve this policy objective.

SECTION 2. Board on Computer Education; Creation, Power and Functions. — A
Board on Computer Education, hereafter referred to as Board, is hereby created to implement the
provision of this Act and for this purpose shall have the following powers and shall exercise the
following functions:

a) supervise the accreditation of the computer schools which will participate in the
program;

b

assess and provide for the necessary training of the personnel of computer schools on
methods of teachings

©) prepare the curriculum for computer-aided logic, math and science education in the
elementary level;

d)

monitor the performance of the computer schools;

°)

evaluate the abilities of the students enrolled in the program;

) issue and implement all rules and regulations provided for in this Act; and

exercise all other powers and functions which may be necessary to carry out the
provision of this Act.

8


SECTION 3. Board Composition. - The Board shall be composed of the following
Members:

a) One (1) representative from the Department of Education (DepEd) to be nominated by
the Secretary of DepEd;

b) One (1) representative from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to be
nominated by the CHED Chairman;

©) One (1) representative from the Department of Science and Technology to be nominated
by the Secretary and Technology to be nominated by the Secretary of the Department of
Science and Technology.

d) One (1) representative from the duly accredited professional organizations of computer
programmers and system analysts to be nominated by the recognized leadership of these
organizations;

e) One representative from the National Economic Development Authority, to be nominated
by the Secretary-General of the National Economic Development Authority:
‘The representative from the DepEd shall serve as Chairman of the Board.
The Chairman and the Members shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of

the Philippines for a term of five (5) years and shall have the rank and compensation of a
Bureau of Director.

SECTION 4. Promotion of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme and other
similar arrangements. - The provision of Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, shall be applied
to the construction’, operation and servicing of computer education and its facilities, provided
that any contractual arrangement that will be utilized for this purpose shall additionally provide
for the following:

a) A taining program for teachers not onl:
maintenance and servicing of computer educa

on computer literacy but also on the
ion facilities; and

b) An apprenticeship program for interested students of the public school being serviced
whereby they may be employed as apprentices for the education component or for the
facilities maintenance component of computer education.

‘The build-operate-transfer arrangement or any other similar arrangements provided for in
Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, may be bidded out and awarded at the school
district level or at the school level, in accordance with the implementing rules and
regulations to be issued by the Board.

SECTION 5. Institutionalization of the Voucher System for Specialized Computer
Education in the Nineteen (19) Poorest Provinces. - In addition to whatever contractual
arrangements which may be utilized under the provisions of Section 4 hereof, there shall be
created a voucher system for specialized computer education in the country's nineteen (19)
poorest provinces whereby each of these provinces shall be given the amount of Five Million
Pesos (P5,000,000.00) each year from the annual budget allocated for the implementation of the
specialized computer education program, or such amount as may be latter on provided by law.



Students who have passed such qualifying examinations, or as many of those who may be
provided funds from the annual budget, shall be given a voucher worth Five Thousand Pesos
(P5,000.00) each, or such amount as may be later on provided by law, to enroll in a computer
school of his or her choice, to finish advanced and specialized computer courses such as, but not
limited to, advanced programming, computer-aided design, hardware design, networking, or
such other courses that may be identified by the Board.

Each student shall be entitled to only one voucher. The Board shall issue the
implementing rules and regulations to ensure that students do not enroll in more than one school.
or that enrollment figures reflect actual enrollment. Student found guilty of violating this one
voucher- per-student rule shall be subject to the penalties provided hereunder.

SECTION 6, Accreditation of Computer Education Service Providers, - All entities
participating the activities described in Section 4 and 5 hereof must be accredited by the Board as
bona fide participants. The accreditation must be renewed for every period of not less than one
year but not more than five years. Accreditation shall be based on the following criteria:

a) ‘The curriculum meet the standards provided for by the Board;
b) The quality of the computers and other peripherals to be provided and the other

peripherals to be provided and the other physical infrastructures to be built, operated or
used which must ensure quality of education and minimum health and safety standards;

c) The capability of the service provider's instructors, The Board will issue minimum

standards for evaluating teaching ability; and

4) With respect to renewal of applications, the performance of the students on performance
measures to be designated by the Board.

CTION 7. Curriculum of Publicly-funded Computer Education. - The computer
literacy program acknowledges the vital participation of the private sector in the scheme, but the
curriculum shall be prepared by the Board.

The curriculum should make use of computer-assisted education ‘to teach elementary
students the basic courses of math, science and logic. These courses will prepare the student for
the demands of computer programming and system analysis, as well as strengthen the learning
the student receives from the formal educational system.

The Board will also prepare the curriculum for computer programming and popular
software utilization, which will be taught at the high school level

SECTION 8. Monitoring and Incentives on Performance. - Monitoring of the
program shall be done to maintain the quality of education being given to the students.
Performance measures shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. periodic renewal of accreditation or license to operate;
b. Testing;

c. National competitions; and

4. Unannounced visits to participating schools.


The Board shall formulate or commission the formulation of a performance index which
will be used in assessing the performance of the participating schools. ‘The latest results of the
evaluation of all schools shall be published before the start of every school year.

The Board shall formulate a system of rewards and incentives to promote excellence
among the ‘service providers.

SECTION 9. Tax-free Importation of Computer Hardware and Software. — All
entities who have been accredited, or who have obtained contracts as participants in the activities
provided for in Sections 4 and 5 hereof shall be given fiscal incentives.

These incentives shall include the tax-free’ importation of all computer hardware,
software, peripherals and documentary materials. However, these incentives shall be limited to
imports that are intended for the schools, These incentives shall last for a period of not more than
ten years from the effectivity of this Act.

The Board shall issue the implementing rules and regulations for the availment of the
incentives described herein.

SECTION 10. Phased Implementation. - The computer education program shall be
implemented in phases to ensure that program and infrastructure requirement shall be met, to
prepare the private sector for the demand for computer schools and equipment, and to prime-up
the local demand for computer-literate workers.

‘The implementation shall be done in accordance with the following objectives:

(a) the graduation, one year from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high school
students who can manipulate the most popular computer application programs in the
areas of word processing, database encoding and spreadsheets;

(b) the graduation, three years from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high school
students who are not only literate in the applications described in paragraph (a) herein,
but also in basic programming and system analysis; and

(c) the immediate use of computer-aided education which will complement the academic
instructions in math, science and logic.

SECTION 11. Community Linkages. - Other software and computer programming may
be taught by the schools and service providers under a community link-up system whereby
additional training on the use of special software can be paid for by interested business or
manufacturing firms in the community. The business community will also be encouraged to
expand and update their manufacturing procedures to achieve efficiency through computerization
or computer-controlled processes.

SECTION 12. Budget and Funding. - An ial budget of One Hundred Million Pesos
(P100, 000,000.00) to be disbursed from the earnings of the lotteries conducted by the Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office is hereby appropriated for the payment of the services to be provided
under Sections 4 and 5 of this Act as well as for the expenses related to the establishment and
operation of the Board. Thereafter, the funds necessary for the continuous implementation of this
Act shall be included in the yearly General Appropriations Act.


The administrative expenses related to the implementation of this Act shall not be more
than three percent (3%) of the annual appropriations for this Computer Education Program.

SECTION 13. Penalties. - Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of
Section 5 hereof shall be meted the following penalties:

a) The student shall pay the full cost of tuition, with interest thereon, The payment may be
in cash, or in its equivalent in terms of community service.

b) ‘The accreditation of the service providers found guilty of padding their enrollment
figures, or for knowingly permitting a student to violate the provisions of Section 5
hereof shall be suspended, for the first offense; and cancelled for the second offense,
without prejudice to the payment of twice the amount of reimbursement resulting from
the padded enrollment as fine,

SECTION 14, Rules and Regulations. - Within forty five (45) days from the effectivity
of this Act, the Board shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 15. Separability Clause. - In the event that any provisions of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected by such
declaration.

SECTION 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or
portions thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 17. Effectivity Clause. - This law shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,