Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
____________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT ENSURING THAT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES UNDER THE  K 
TO 12 PROGRAM ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND 
SKILLS DEMANDED IN THE LABOR MARKET, ENHANCING THEIR 
EMPLOYABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS, CREATING THE BATANG 
MAGALING COUNCILS TO STRENGTHEN MULTI-STAKEHOLDER 
COLLABORATION AND SUPPORT FOR THEIR EMPLOYMENT, ALLOWING 
FULL DEDUCTION OF TRAINING EXPENSES INCURRED FOR THEIR SKILLS 
DEVELOPMENT, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES  
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Department of Education (DepEd) envisioned the SHS program to produce 
graduates prepared for higher education and capable of starting their own businesses 
or land a job even without a college degree. However, the direction of the K to 12 
program to make its graduates employable is not happening right now. It is worthy to 
note that the unemployment rate of individuals whose highest grade completed was 
SHS, has increased significantly from 1.8% in 2018 to 8.2% in December 2022. 
According to a study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies 
(PIDS), compared to their ASEAN neighbors, the Filipino youth (15 to 24 years old) 
have historically had the lowest rates of labor participation.  
A study by the advocacy group Philippine Business for Education (PBED) said that the 
first batch of SHS graduates possess “theoretically” 93 percent of the competencies 
suitable to the needs of the nation’s industries, such as critical thinking and problem-
solving skills. But a separate PBED study recently said only about 20 percent of 70 of 
the country’s leading companies across all sectors were inclined to hire senior high 
graduates. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Human Resources 
Development Foundation Inc. (PCCI HRDF) believes the hesitance to hire fresh 
graduates may be due to the absence of the necessary skills and training that industries 
need but not yet provided by the current SHS program. PIDS added that there is a 
need to re-examine the employment and entrepreneurial objectives of the SHS 
program and the work preparation component in the SHS curriculum due to the 
following reasons: (1) most of the SHS graduates continue with their education rather 
than enter the labor market; and (2) there is no clear advantage nor disadvantage of 
SHS graduates compared to grade 10 and second-year college completers.  
August 23, 2023
1:12 pm
8960


 
This bill seeks to address the issue by ensuring that K to 12 SHS graduates are well-
equipped with knowledge, training, and skills demanded in the labor market. 
 
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. 
 
 
 
REP. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
______________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
______________________________________________________________________ 
AN ACT ENSURING THAT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES UNDER THE K TO 12 
PROGRAM ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND SKILLS 
DEMANDED IN THE LABOR MARKET, ENHANCING THEIR EMPLOYABILITY AND 
COMPETITIVENESS, CREATING THE BATANG MAGALING COUNCILS TO 
STRENGTHEN MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION AND SUPPORT FOR THEIR 
EMPLOYMENT, ALLOWING FULL DEDUCTION OF TRAINING EXPENSES INCURRED 
FOR THEIR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, APPROPRIATING 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 “Batang Magaling Acf. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to establish, maintain, and 
support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of 
the people and society.  
This Act likewise reiterates a declared State policy that every graduate of basic 
education shall be an empowered individual who has learned, through a program that is 
rooted on sound educational principles and geared  towards excellence, the foundations for 
learning throughout life, the competence to engage in work and be productive, the ability to 
coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global communities, the capability to engage in 
autonomous, creative, and critical thinking, and the capacity and willingness to transform 
others and one’s self.  
SEC. 3. Objective. – This Act shall ensure that the Philippine basic education system, 
as enhanced under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10533 or the "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 
2013”, will produce Senior High School (SHS) graduates who are equipped with knowledge, 
training and skills  demanded in the labor market, whether they have chosen the 
higher education, middle-level skills development, or employment or entrepreneurship exit, 
thereby enhancing their employability and competitiveness in the workforce.  
SEC. 4. Strengthening Multi-Stakeholder Linkages and Collaboration; The Batang 
Magaling National and Local Councils; The Batang Magaling Roadmap. – To align the 
tracks and strands of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum under R.A. No. 10533 with the 
needs of the labor market, a National Batang Magaling Council (National Council) shall be 
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created composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education and 
Skills Development Authority (TESDA), three (3) national industry partners, one (1) national 
labor group, and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.  
 
Local Batang Magaling Councils (Local Councils) shall likewise be formed at the 
provincial, city and municipal levels to ensure that K to 12 SHS graduates are equipped with 
education, training and skills demanded by the industry partners. The Local Councils shall be 
composed of the provincial, city or municipal local school boards (LSBs), at least two (2) 
industry partners in the locality, a representative of the TESDA provincial office, and a 
local employee organization or association.  
 
Every education institution offering the SHS Program shall regularly consult with the 
Local Council at least twice a year to be guided by the actions of the council especially the 
roadmap in paragraph e hereunder and to establish a mechanism for active collaboration and 
meaningful communication 
for 
the 
following 
purposes: 
 
(a) to provide information to the education institutions for the updating and alignment of 
the work component of the SHS program with the market needs as identified by the industry 
partners; 
 
(b) to convince industry partners to accept learners in Work Immersion Programs 
(WIPs), ensure that their deployment is done according to their tracks or specialization 
courses, and enable them to acquire specialized skills and competencies to advance in their 
chosen path;  
 
(c) to enable the LSBs to provide relevant data and information to the stakeholders, 
increase their awareness of their mutual issues and concerns on the employability of SHS 
graduates in the locality, and give local incentives to recognize best practices on 
collaboration;  
 
(d) to craft the WIPs of all education institutions offering the SHS Program within a 
province, city or municipality and ensure that the curriculum is aligned with industry needs, 
learners meet the minimum requirements of the work immersion industry partners, and 
learners develop competencies and acquire skills that are industry-based to improve their 
work readiness and employability; and  
 
(e) to develop a local Batang Magaling Roadmap in the province, city or municipality 
that shall introduce interventions and set measurable goals on enhancing the employability 
and competitiveness of SHS graduates, including but not limited to an increase or 
improvement in the following: the number of industry partners participating in the WIPs; the 
number of SHS learners deployed under the WIPs according to their tracks or specialization 
courses; and the rate of employment of K to 12 SHS graduates. As such, the local roadmap 
shall include the skills demanded by industry partners in the locality vis-a-vis the needed 
knowledge, training and skills of K to 12 SHS graduates to match the said demand, using the 
labor market demand forecast under Sec. 6, and the skills database under Sec. 7 hereof.  
 
Taking into consideration the local roadmaps developed at the provincial, city and 
municipal levels, the National Council shall craft a parallel National Batang Magaling 
Roadmap to fulfill the objective under Sec. 3 of this Act. The provincial Local Councils shall 
similarly craft their respective Provincial Batang Magaling Roadmaps based on the Municipal 


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Batang Magaling Roadmaps, while the city Local Councils shall base their respective City 
Batang Magaling Roadmaps on the WIPs within the locality under their jurisdiction.  
 
SEC. 5. Work Immersion Programs. - The WIPs that are mandated to be offered by 
education institutions offering the SHS Program shall develop in learners the competencies, 
skills, work ethic and values relevant to pursuing further education or joining the world of work.  
 
The WIP shall be based on the Batang Magaling Roadmap and designed to match the 
needs of the learners and the capabilities of the education institutions vis-a-vis the demands 
of the work immersion industry partners.  
 
The Schools Division Office of the DepEd shall approve the WIP as proposed in these 
provinces, cities or municipalities, with due compliance to legal and administrative 
prescriptions on the number of hours and delivery models, among others.  
 
SEC. 6. Labor Market Demand Forecasting. - To align the WIP with market demand 
and ensure that the knowledge, training and skills of K to 12 SHS graduates match the in-
demand and projected in-demand jobs of industry partners in the locality, the Councils are 
hereby mandated to conduct labor market demand studies every three (3) years.  
 
The data derived from such demand forecast shall serve as basis for the work 
components of the SHS Program, the Batang Magaling Roadmaps, the WIPs, the trainings to 
be conducted, the resources to be procured, and the skills to be developed among the 
learners, among others. The demand forecast will also allow education institutions to focus 
on employable skills as determined by medium- to long- term labor market demand.  
 
SEC. 7. Batang Magaling Database; Centralized Skills Database. - The DepEd, in 
collaboration with the National and Local Councils, shall develop, maintain and update a 
centralized nationwide database of skills information to serve as one-stop shop for all matters 
related to the employment of K to 12 SHS graduates.  
 
The Batang Magaling Database shall help strengthen the educational institutions’ 
linkages and collaboration with industry partners, facilitating the meeting of skills demand 
within the province, city, municipality, and the country as a whole.  
 
The Batang Magaling database shall register the demographic profile of learners 
including, but not limited to, their educational background, track and strand completed in SHS, 
training, skills, competencies, work immersion performance, course taken after SHS, work 
experience and employment history. It shall also contain the profiles, demands, and 
vacancies, among others, of industry partners. The Implementing Rules and Regulations shall 
prescribe the process to be followed in ensuring that the Local Councils themselves provide 
and register such demographic information as required to be included in the centralized 
database.  
 
SEC. 8. Affirmative Hiring of K to 12 SHS Graduates; Civil Service Commission; 
Industry Partners. - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in coordination with 
the DepEd, shall conduct studies and research for the crafting of strategies and guidelines to 
minimize the impediments to K to 12 SHS employment, and promote the affirmative hiring of 
K to 12 SHS graduates.  
 


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The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is hereby mandated to review the eligibility 
requirements for government employment and revise its policies to integrate the K to 12 
qualifications in the CSC qualification standards to fulfill the employability of K to 12 SHS 
graduates in the government sector. Such K to 12 qualification standards may include, among 
others, one’s education as a SHS graduate, experience, training, and eligibility.  
 
The industry partners are likewise enjoined to rethink and review their hiring policies and 
job requirements to provide employment opportunities, such as entry-level positions, to K to 
12 SHS graduates.  
 
SEC. 9. Fully Deductible Training Expenses from Taxable Income; Additional Item 
of Deduction. - Industry partners shall be allowed an additional item of deduction from their 
taxable income of the full value of training expenses incurred for the skills development of K 
to 12 SHS graduates hired pursuant to this Act, hereby amending Sec. 34 (A) (1) (a) (v) of 
R.A. No. 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended by R.A. No. 11534 
or “CREATE”.  
 
SEC. 10. Mandatory Review and Impact Assessment. - The DepEd shall conduct a 
mandatory review of the implementation of this Act and submit an assessment report to 
Congress on its impact and effectiveness, not later than two (2) years from its effectivity and 
every two (2) years thereafter.  
 
SEC. 11. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this 
Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current appropriations of the DepEd. 
Thereafter, the amount necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the 
annual General Appropriations Act.  
 
SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days after the 
approval of this Act, the DepEd, CSC, DOLE, TESDA, and other public and private 
stakeholders, including industry partners shall issue the necessary rules and regulations 
implementing its provision. The IRR issued pursuant to this section shall take effect thirty (30) 
days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
SEC. 13. Separability Clause. – If any portion of this Act is declared unconstitutional or 
invalid, the portions or provisions which are not affected shall continue to be in full force and 
effect.  
 
SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive issuances, rules and 
regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly.  
 
SEC 15. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at 
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.  
 
Approved,