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RECEIVED
parDEC 0 2018

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No. 8753

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Education is invaluable, but running a school requires money. This is not so much a paradox
as it is emphasizing the worth of knowledge, while at the same time acknowledging that the
tangible mechanisms by which knowledge is transferred -- maintenance and construction of
facilities, payment of teachers and other school employees -- requires funding. One need not
reject one in order to affirm the other.

Case in point: while reasonable tuition fees are necessary in order for a school to survive and
deliver quality education to its students, the time to do so is not immediately before exams,
Tests, like it or not, have evolved into a central focus of our school system. For these tests to
have a chance of serving their purpose, how a student performs on these examinations must
come down solely to how rigorously the student studied and prepared, with external factors
kept to a minimum. Preventing students from taking the examination at all -- or receiving the
permit that allows them to take the exam -- because of a monetary issue runs counter to the
purpose of educational tests, and can undermine all the hard work of a student, even leading to
his or her expulsion, or worse.

This bill, a re-filing of House Bill No. 3106 filed by former DIWA Party-list Representative
Emmeline Villar and a counterpart of Senate Bill No. 722 of Senator Cynthia Villar, will
prohibit this harmful "No Permit, No Exam" policy, while outlining other methods by which
schools can ensure their financial viability in a way that does not have the potential to sabotage
students as they are about to cross the finish line.

PEPITO M. PICO
Representative, DIWA Party-list

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bit No, 8753

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

ANACT .

PENALIZING THE IMPOSITION OF A “NO PERMIT, NOEXAM” POLICY OR
ANY SUCH POLICY THAT PROHIBITSSTUDENTS OF POST-SECONDARY AN!
HIGHER EDUCATIONFROM TAKING THEIR MIDTERM OR FINAL
EXAMINATIONS, OR OTHER SIMILAR ASSESSMENTS DUE TO UNPAID
TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES

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

SECTIONI. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Anti-‘No Permit, No Exam’ Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared unlawful for any technical-
vocational (tech-voc) institute or higher education institution(HEI), whether public or private,
to disallow any student of post-secondary and higher education from taking any midterm or
final examination, or other similar assessments, due to non-payment of tuition and other school
fees under the established terms of payment prescribed by the concerned educational institution
and approved by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), respectively.

SECTION 3. Coverage. — This Act shall cover all public and private post-secondary tech-voc
institutes and HEIs, including local colleges and universities.

SECTION 4. Right of Students.— Students of post-secondary and higher education shall have
the right to take the midterm or final examinations, or other similar assessments,
notwithstanding the existence of unpaid financial obligations to the school.

SECTION 5. Obligation of Students. — The students and/or their parents, unless waived by the
school authorities concerned, shall be obligated to pay an interest for the unpaid tuition and
other school fees, which shall not be more than five percent (5%) per annum, computed from

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the date of the examination taken by the students until the date when the overdue and unpaid
tuition and other school fees are fully liquidated.

SECTION 6. Rights of Schools. — The school authorities shall have the following rights against
students with financial obligations, which remain due and unsettled to their schools:

(a) To withhold the release of the grades of a student with delinquent account until the
unpaid tuition and other school fees plus interest charges are fully paid;

(b) To deny admission or enrolment of any student having unsettled tuition or other school
fees at the next succeeding semester classes, in the case of higher education, or at the next
succeeding short-term course, in the case of post-secondary tech-voc education, as the case
may be, until the previous delinquencies are fully paid; and

(©) To refuuse issuance of school clearance to students with financial obligations to the
school until all previous delinquencies are fully paid.

SECTION 7. Unlawful Acts. — In recognition of the students’ right to take their midterm and
final examinations, the following acts by tech-voc institutes and HEIs shall be considered
unlawful:

(a) _ Disallowing students with due and unpaid tuition and other school fees from taking the
midterm or final examination;

(b) Requiring the students to secure a permit to take the midterm or final examination from
the school authorities prior to the administration of midterm periodic or final examination; and

(c) Compelling the students to pay upon enrollment a down payment or first installment
equivalent to more than thirty percent (30%) of the total amount of tuition and other school
fees for the entire semester or duration of the course.

SECTION 8. Penalties. - Any HEI or tech-voc institute official or employee, including deans,
coordinators, advisers, professors, instructors and other concerned individuals found guilty of
violating any of the unlawful acts enumerated in Section 7 of this Act shall be punished by a
fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than Two
hundred thousand pesos(P200,000.00).

SECTION 9. Implementing Guidelines. - The TESDA and the CHED shall promulgate the
implementing guidelines necessary to enforce the objectives of this Act.

SECTION 10. Separability Clause. ~ If any provision or part of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected thereby and shall
remain in force and effect.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,
proclamations, issuances, administrative orders, rules and regulations contrary to or
inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified
accordingly.

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SECTION 12. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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