Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

5325

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HON. LORNA P. BAUTISTA-BANDIGAN

Article 14 of the Philippine Constitution states 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. Provide adult citizens,
the disabled, and out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational efficiency
and other skills.” Thus, the highest law of the land expressly affirms that education
is a primordial and fundamental mandate to the State that cannot be evaded without
just reason.

This Bill seeks for the conversion of the Kidaman Elementary School in
Barangay Kalbay, Municipality of Jose Abad Santos in the Province of Davao
Occidental. Ground for filing this Bill is the increasing student population that
cannot continue with their secondary school education due to the distance of high
schools that are located in the other barangays in the municipality. Students
committed to their ambition to pursue secondary education have to walk and trek in
the precipitous rough mountain roads, rough rivers, dark forests and mountain
cliffs. All these put their safety at risk.

Furthermore, going to the high schools that are far from Barangay Kalbay
means great expenses in the students’ transportation. Residents of said barangay,
while desirous for their children to pursue the next level of education find it difficult
because of their occupation (which is mostly farming and fishing), very low income,
and the challenging topography of their locale. These hurdles have made some of
the elementary school graduates to stop from schooling.

Adjacent secondary schools are Kolbe High School, Edna Guillermo High
School and their extensions are accessible only through trekking and horseback
riding. The drawback of such challenges has drove many would-be high school
students to get married at an early age to escape from the expectation of their
parents to help them augment the family income by working in the farms.



Conversion of Kidaman Elementary School into Kidaman Integrated School is
highly recommended. The reason for this is to get all school age population to go
beyond the elementary education level. Kidaman Integrated School when converted
will lessen the expenses in schooling and encouraged the students to attend high
school because of the proximity of their residences and therefore to their families.

If the Kidaman Elementary School is converted in the coming Academic Year
of 2020-2021 it will be able to offer Grade 8 and would motivate students to go back
to school and finish their studies. This could well be a step in the right direction in
developing our human resources that could redound to the acceleration of national
development.

Approval of this Bill is earnestly sought.

REP- LORNA P. BAUTISTA-BANDIGAN


ween,

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 5325

Introduced by: HON. LORNA P. BAUTISTA-BANDIGAN

AN ACT CONVERTING THE KIDAMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN BARANGAY
KALBAY, MUNICIPALITY OF JOSE ABAD SANTOS, PROVINCE OF DAVAO
OCCIDENTAL INTO AN INTEGRATED SCHOOL TO BE KNOWN AS KIDAMAN
INTEGRATED SCHOOL AND APPOPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SEC. 1. The Kidaman Elementary School in Barangay Kalbay, Municipality of
Jose Abad Santos, Province of Davao Occidental is hereby converted into an integrated
school to be known as Kidaman Integrated School.

SEC. 2. All personnel, assets, liabilities, and records of the Kidaman
Elementary School are hereby transferred to and absorbed by the Kidaman Integrated
School.

SEC. 3 The Secretary of Education shall immediately include in the
Department's program the operationalization of the Kidaman Integrated School, the
funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act

SEC. 4. Within one hundred twenty (120)days from the approval of this Act, the
Secretary of Education shall formulate the rules and regulations implementing the
provisions of this Act.

SEC. 5 This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,