Ass
/ RECEIVED

SEVENTEETH CONGRESS
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Second Regular Session
THE SENATE

House Bill No. 2383

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ANN K. HOFER:

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Nation-building, through its education system, requires higher education institutions with
higher standards of executive capacities and ethical leadership for their internal governance. This
should support the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandate for the State to provide for a
“complete, adequate, and integrated system” of quality education at all levels.

In line with this, Philippine higher education is mandated to contribute to building a
quality nation capable of transcending the social, political, economic, cultural and ethical issues
that constrain the country’s human development, productivity and global competitiveness!. At
present, there is an urgent need to institutionalize and strengthen the Philippine Higher Education
stem by investing on the recruitment and selection of competent leadership in state-run higher
education institutions, continuous professional development, and career management of these
institutions’ executive personnel, especially in preparation for the unique demands of leading
State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)..

The establishment of a merit-based career system specifically designed for the public
higher education sector shall bring about greater institutional accountability, strengthened public
management, and enhanced academic competencies and leadership. It will provide capability
development, promote career progress from recruitment and selection up to retirement, and
contribute to compliance with global standards and international best practices. This will enable
our public HEIs to be at par with other countries which saw fit to establish such career system
and to better equip them in the era of internationalization of higher education.

This investment in the leadership of public higher education institutions shall ensure that
er edu stitutions are equipped with the proper tools and capabilities to be
competitive in this time of rapid growth and change. It will in turn ensure quality education for

‘ CHED Memorandum Order No. 46, s. 2016


the Philippine youth, facilitate key technological innovations, economic growth, and global
competitiveness of the country, and ultimately the improvement of the quality of life of Filipinos.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is earnestly and immediately sought.

\
ANN K. HOFER


SEVENTEETH CONGRESS
CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES
Second Regular Session
THE SENATE

House Bill No. 7383

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ANN K. HOFER

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE HIGHER EDUCATION CAREER SYSTEM 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 “Philippine Higher Education Career
System or the Phil-HECS Act of 2017”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy — The State shall protect, foster and promote the right of all
citizens to affordable quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to ensure that
education shall be accessible to all. The State further recognizes the role of education in securing
the future of the youth and in the development of our nation. Article XIV, Section 2 (1) of the
1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall establish, maintain and support a
complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and
society. Therefore, pursuant to the foregoing, there is an urgent need to establish a coherent,
ased career system for executives in state universities and colleges, designed to provide a
continuing pool of highly qualified, well-selected, and development-oriented career
administrators, which subsequently allows for the institutionalized and transparent
implementation of the processes for selection and appointment of the leadership in state
universities and colleges (SUCs). Through this system, the State ensures the efficiency,
responsiveness and effectiveness of the institutional governance of SUCs, thus strengthening and
ensuring the global competitiveness of Philippine higher education.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms — The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:


(a) Higher Education Career System refers to the system that shall facilitate the transparent
recruitment, selection, appointment, further professional advancement, and career
management of both potential and incumbent SUC leaders;

(b) Higher Education Career Officer (HECO) refers to any individual, whether active or
retired, who has at any point been conferred eligibility for appointment to the position of
SUC president by qualifying them through the Professional Advanced Program (PAP)
and assessment conducted by Phil-HECS:

(©) Roster of Eligible Executives refers to the officially validated pool of qualified HECOs
from which potential SUC presidents shall be selected for appointment as instituted and
maintained by the PhilHECs Governing Board;

(d) Recruitment and selection refers to the element of the career system wherein
applications for entry into Phil-HECS Executive Development Program (EDP) are
screened and accepted;

(e) Professional Advancement Program (PAP) refers to the element of the career system
which enhances and updates the competencies of eligible candidates in accordance with
international best practices:

(1) Career management refers to the element of the career system which provides career
tracking and performance assessment and management for HECOs:

(g) Governing Board (GB) refers to the body that shall be convened for the purpose of
governance program and policy direction of Phil-HECS, and conferring eligibility to
those who qualified and met the prescribed requirements and standards;

(h) International Points of Reference (IPRs) refers to individuals representing certain
relevant sectors and institutions chosen by the GB to advise on international higher
education traditions and best practices;

(i) Secretariat refers to the body of technical, administrative, and other support staff that
shall implement the directives of the GB:

(i) Technical Working Group refers to the transitional body created by the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) to plan and operationalize Phil-HECS prior to the convening
and operation of the Governing Board, and this shall cease to exist after the assumption to
duty of the latter;

(k) Top SUC Management Executives refers to the positions of Vice Presidents,

Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, Deans and Campus Directors

(V) Reputable HET refers to any local higher education institution (HEI) which has been
recognized by the CHED as meeting the standards of either vertical (universities,
professional institutes, and liberal arts colleges) and horizontal typologies (autonomous


or deregulated), or those acknowledged by CHED as belonging to accredited or
recognized 1000 overseas HEIs.

SEC. 4. Philippine Higher Education Career System (Phil-HECS) — The Philippine Higher
Education Career System is hereby established as a coherent and merit-based system which shall
promote and facilitate the recruitment, selection, professional advancement, and career
management of qualified individuals for deployment to Philippine SUCs.

SEC. 5. Purpose — Phil-HECS shall increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and external students
of the institutional governance of SUCs, by strengthening the competencies of SUC executives
and managers, and promoting individual accountability, in order to contribute to improving the
quality of Philippine higher education, Specifically, the Phil-HECS shall:

|. Facilitate the recruitment, selection, professional advancement, and career management
of the best leaders and senior academic staff in public higher education;

2. Establish and maintain a Roster of Eligible Executives from which appointments to the
positions of SUC presidents will be drawn through the implementation of an eligibility
process, and the provision of professional advancement program; and

3. Introduce transformational leadership that steers Philippine State Universities and
Colleges towards recognition by the various local and international quality assurance
institutions,

SEC. 6. Scope ~ Phil-HECS shall be focused on executive positions in SUCs. Entry into the
system shall be open to all qualified applicants as maybe determined by the Governing Board,
regardless whether they come from the public or private sector, provided they meet the
qualification standards set by the Governing Board. All incumbent SUC presidents on the date of
this Order shall also be considered included in the system by way of the Presidential Leadership
Program.

SEC. 7. Elements of Phil-HECS - Phil-HECS shall have three main functional elements that
allow the system to meet its objectives:

1. Recruitment and selection, which sources talent into Phil-HECS and accepts and screens
applications for entry into the system;

2. Professional advancement, which enhances and updates the competencies of high-level
SUC officials and senior academic staff, including both eligibility candidates and
incumbent SUC presidents;

3. Career management, which tracks individual performance and identifies placement
opportunities for individuals included in the system.

EC. 8. Eligibility - Through the Phil-HECS, candidates shall be granted the eligibility to
ify for the position SUC president the manner and requirements of which shall be fixed by



the GB. This eligibility shall be conferred with the title of Higher Education Career Officer
(HECO) and shall mean permanent inclusion to the Roster of Eligible Executives.

SEC. 9. Creation of a Governing Board ~ To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Phil-HECS
Governing Board (Phil-HECS GB) is hereby created, hereinafter referred to as the Board.

A. Composition. The permanent Phil-HECS GB shall be composed of the following:

‘The Chairperson of the CHED, as ex-officio chairperson of the board;

A Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), as ex-officio member;

The Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) or his/her
representative who shall have the rank of Undersecretary, as ex-officio member;

4. The Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
or his/her representative who shall have the rank of Undersecretary, as ex-officio
member;

An incumbent or former SUC president;

An incumbent or former president of a private higher education institution; and

A representative from the private sector who has a recognized advocacy for executive
development.

may

The three appointive members of the GB shall serve part-time and may receive per diem
and allowances for meetings attended. They shall have a term of six years.

B. Powers, duties, and functions. The Board shall have the following powers, duties, and
functions:

1. To provide policy and program direction on matters pertaining to the implementation
of Phil- HECS, in particular:

a. The qualifications standards, recruitment and selection of candidates for the PAP:

b. The content, methodology, and approaches of instruction and assessment applied
in PAP;

c. The conferment of the title of HECO, which grants eligibility for appointment to
the position of SUC president and such other rights and privileges appertaining
thereto;

d. The career management of individuals who are entered into the Roster of Eligible
Executives;

2. To promote efficiency, transparency, meritocracy, and accountability throughout the
entire process;

3. To address any appeals regarding the Phil-HECS eligibility process;

4. To designate International Points of Reference to advise the Board on international
higher education traditions and best practices;

5. To appoint technical consultants and other external resource individuals, selected
from eminent academics, administrators, and researchers, to advise the Board on



matters related to academic policies, both local and international, and on the
monitoring and evaluation of all programs implemented;

6. To evaluate the financial status and viability of Phil-HECS;

To mobilize resources from both local and international sources accordingly;

8. To select and designate the appropriate venues for the activities of Phil-HECS,
including PAP, that are most conducive to the pursuit of its diverse objectives;

9. To exercise all other powers incidental, necessary, and appropriate for the fulfillment
of the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 10. Creation of a Phil-HECS Secretariat ~ A Secretariat is hereby created to be headed by
an Executive Director to support the Board in carrying out its functions. The Board shall provide
for the institutional setup, qualifications and compensation and certain incentives of employees
composing the Secretariat in accordance with existing Civil Service and Career Executive
Service rules and regulations and consistent with the provision of the Salary Standardization Law
for government personnel, and determine the size and composition of the Secretariat.

A. Composition. The Secretariat, as appointed by the GB, shall be composed of

An Executive Director, which shall have the rank of an Assistant Secretary;
‘A Deputy Director for Management Services;

A Deputy Director for Professional Development; and

Technical, administrative, and support staff.

pv

The two Deputy Directors shall alternately serve as Secretary to the Phil-HECS GB.

B. Functions. The Secretariat shall perform all the functions necessary for the fulfillment of
the system’s goals, including but not limited to conceptualizing, planning, implementing,
monitoring, and evaluating the activities of the different elements of the system.

SEC. 11. Funding — The initial operations of Phil-HECS shall be initially funded from the
Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) amounting to one hundred million pesos
(PhP 100,000,000.00). Thereafter, the operation of Phil-HECS and the GB shall be included in
the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations ~ Within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of
this Act, the Board shall constitute a working group, in consultation with relevant stakeholders in
Tertiary Education to promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations necessary for the
proper implementation of this Act within sixty (60) days from the constitution of the Board.

SEC. 13. Separability Clause — If, for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, parts or provisions of this Act which are not affected shall continue to
be in full force and effect.

SEC. 14. Repealing Clause — All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, Implementing
Rules and Regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.


SEC. 15. Effectivity Clause - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.