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

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‘TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3903

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative EDUARDO R. RAMA JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Education is a constitutional right, and part of the states overarching duties. Article XIV,
Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates 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.”

In pursuit of the aforementioned mandate, the “Expanded Government Assistance to
Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) program was established under
Republic Act No. 6728, which was further amended by Republic Act No. 8545. The E-
GASTPE. Program provided financial support to students and teachers in private education
institutions. This program contributed significantly to easing the burden of tuition fees,
expanding access to private education, and complementing the public education system
through the Education Service Contracting (ESC) and Tuition Fee Supplements.

However, with the growing population, rising costs of education, and persistent disparities
in access to quality education, the current scope of assistance remains insufficient. Many
families continue to struggle with the financial requirements of education, while teachers in
private institutions, who play an equally vital role in nation-building, often face inadequate
support and benefits compared to their public-school counterparts.

In view thereof, this representation respectfully proposes the passage of the Private Basic
Education Vouchers Assistance Act, which seeks to address these challenges by:

1. Expanding Coverage — widening cligibility of government assistance to cover more
learners in elementary and secondary levels, especially those belonging low-income
families;

2. Creation of the Bureau of Private Education ~ this legislative measure seeks to create the
Bureau of Private Education under the Department of Education, the sole purpose of
which is to serve as the focal office for the administration, supervision, and regulation of all



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

‘TWENTIETH CONGRE:
First Regular Session

3903

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative EDUARDO R. RAMA JR.

matters relating to private basic education institutions, including government assistance and
subsidies. It shall be headed by a Bureau Director;

3. Increasing Support for Teachers — providing enhanced assistance and benefits for
teachers in private educational institutions to ensure fair compensation, professional
development, and retention of the quality of educators

4. Updating Subsidy Levels — mandating the adjustment of financial assistance amounts
to match present-day tuition costs and the rising costs of living.

Private education institutions are indispensable partners in nation-building. By
strengthening the E-GASTPE framework and expanding its reach, the undersigned aims to
ensure that no Filipino learner is left behind due to financial limitations, and that private
school teachers receive the recognition and support they deserve.

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

EP. EDUARDO R. RAMA JR.
2e4 District, City of Cebu


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

‘TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3903

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative EDUARDO R. RAMA JR.

AN ACT

ESTABLISHING THE PRIVATE BASIC EDUCATION VOUCHER PROGRAM,
PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF THE BUREAU OF PRIVATE EDUCATION,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE
SECTIONS 2, 3, 4(2), 4(3), 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, AND 15 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8545,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "EXPANDED GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION ACT", WHICH
AMENDED REPUBLIC ACI NO. 6728, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
"GOVERNMENT STANCE TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PRIVATE
EDUCATION ACT"

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Private Basic Education
Vouchers Assistance Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the declared policy of the State to protect and promote
the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such
fate’s policy to establish and maintain a

education accessible to all. As part of its mandate, it is the S
system of scholarship grants, subsidies, and other incentives which shall be available to deserving
students, as determined by the guidelines, in both public and private schools, especially to the
underprivileged. Likewise, the State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private
educational institutions in the educational system and the invaluable contribution that the private
schools have made and will make to education.

‘The State shall provide the mechanisms to augment the resources and enhance the quality
of private basic education, specifically promoting the complementary roles of public and private
schools and thus recognize the government's priority of providing basic elementary and secondary
education to all Filipino students.


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SEC. 3. Coverage. —This Act shall cover all private basic education institutions that receive
government assistance in the form of vouchers for qualified students, teachers and schools. ‘This
covers all the years of basic education.

‘The programs of assistance for students under this Act shall be extended only to citizens of
the Philippines.

SEC. 4. Criteria for Voucher Assistance. — The programs for voucher assistance shall be
based on a set of criteria which include among others, the following:

(@ Crteria for Students. — The voucher assistance will be provided to students from middle-
income families, as determined by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), who attended
public schools identified by the Department of Education as congested or those living in
areas with congested public schools or without a nearby public school who wish to enroll in
private basic education schools.

Students who are most vulnerable and underprivileged shall receive a higher voucher amount
as determined by the Basic Education Assistance Council (BEAC).

(©) Criteria for Schools, — The participating private basic education schools shall receive assistance
based on Quality Assurance under Section 6 of this Act, as likewise determined by the BEAC,
except schools with gaps in resources and facilities which are located in geographically
isolated and disadvantaged and conflict-affected areas, or GIDCA schools. Private schools
shall undergo the process of recognition and periodic assessment to be able to participate in
the programs for voucher assistance.

SEC. 5. Empowering Student Choice. — "The Department of Education (DepEd) shall
create a system which allows students and parents to select their preferred schools from a registry of
recognized participating schools, subject to availability of slots.

“The registry of recognized participating private basic educational institutions shall include
the educational institution’s profile containing relevant information, such as location, number of
available slots, number of students per classroom and level, extra-curricular programs, current tuition
fees, and top-up required in cases where the voucher amount is less than the tuition fee, among,
others.

SEC. 6. Quality Assurance. — The DepEd shall establish, operate and maintain a
monitoring system for program outcomes to ensure the accountability of recognized participating
private basic educational institutions. The following areas shall be covered:

(a) Improved Student Performance — Appropriate performance indicators to determine the
extent and outcome of the government assistance and subsidies (GAS) programs
including youth literacy rates, national and international assessment scores, among
others. For this purpose, the National Achievement Tests and all national assessment
examinations generally given by the DepEd shall be administered to all eligible students
in all participating private basic education institutions;


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(©) Improved Student Outcomes — ‘Vracer system to collect and evaluate the career and
employment path of its graduates;

(©) School Performance — School performance data indicating the mean, median and mode of
the scores of the students in the national examinations, and such other measures of
quality education delivery: and

(@) Priority Subsidy for Underpnisilzged Students — Distribution of the GAS programs while
ensuring that funding is equitably allocated following the order of priority groups.

SEC. 7. Other Forms of Assistance. — 'The following shall consist of assistance to private
basic education institutions and teachers participating in the voucher program under this Act:

‘The forms of assistance granted to teachers in the participating recognized private basic
education schools include:
(a) In-service training fund for teachers in private basic education schools;
(b) Scholarships for qualified private basic education teachers encoled in quality graduate programs;
and

(©) Participation in government.funded in-serice training for basic education teachers.

The DepEd may establish a program of assistance for the development of qualified
recognized private basic education schools to cover the following areas of school operation:

@) Institutional Development;
(b) Organizational Development;

(©) Human Resource Development;

(@ Curriculum and Instructional Development;

(©) Research and Planning; and 5 (f) Facilities and School Improvement.

Consistent with Section 10 of Republic Act No. 10533, or the “Enhanced Basic Education
Act of 2013”, the DepEd, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),
may develop other forms of financial arrangements and engage the services of private basic education
schools based on the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational
system.

SEC. 8. Basic Education Voucher Program. — Under the basic education voucher program,
kindergarten, elementary, and secondary students enrolled in recognized private basic education
schools charging school fees shall be provided by the government with vouchers in such amount as
may be determined by the DepEd: Provided, ‘hat the amount shall not be less than the amount
currently provided by the DepEd: Provided, That the government shall disburse payment of the
vouchers to the schools concerned within sixty (60) days from the submission of complete
documents to the DepEd.



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‘The budget for the basic education voucher program shall be equitably allocated and
distributed among all regions, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(BARMM) based on official data sources including, but not limited to, congestion data and open
seats, giving priority to underprivileged students.

Pursuant to Section 2 (V), Artie V of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Bangsamoro
Government shall exercise its authority over education for the areas under the BARMM and will
directly implement the same program to be charged against their block grant. The DepEd shall
provide technical assistance in the implementation of the GAS programs, when necessary.

Schools participating in the basic education voucher program may increase tuition on the
condition, that seventy pereent (70%) of the amount of the tuition increases shall go to the payment of
salaries, mages, allowances, and other statutory benefits of teaching and non-teaching personnel, except
administrators, who are principal stockholders of the school, and may be used to cover salary increase
as provided for in the collective bargaining agreements existing or in force at the time when this Act
is approved and made effective. At least twenty percent (20%) of the tuition increases, shall go to
the improvement or modemization of buildings, equipment, libraries, laboratories, gymnasia and
similar facilities and to the payment of other costs of operation. For this purpose, schools shall
maintain a separate record of accounts for all assistance received from the government, any tuition
increase, and the detailed disposition and use thereof, which record shall be made available for
periodic inspection as may be determined by the DepEd.

SEC. 9. In-Service Training Fund or InSet Fund. — For the purpose of improving the
quality of teaching in private basic education, there is hereby established an Inset Fund under the
Department of Education; to provide for training programs for the leveling up of knowledge and
teaching competencies in critical subject areas and for the modemization of teaching techniques and
strategies, including training on the use of computers, artificial intelligence and of other multi-media
educational technologies to assist instruction: Protided, ‘That the amount of Inset Fund available to
private basic education shall not exceed that available to public basic education on a per capita basis:
Provided, further, ‘That the training programs shall be approved by the DepEd.

SEC. 10, Teachers’ Salary Subsidy Fund. — A Teachers’ Salary Subsidy Fund is hereby
established under the DepEd to grant government subsidy to teachers in recognized private basic
education schools participating in the programs of assistance under in this Act: Protided, ‘That the
government shall provide the teachers with salary subsidy, to be determined by the DepEd: Provided,
farther, That the government shall disburse payment within sixty (60) days after the close of the school
year upon submission of complete documents, including but not limited to qualification and actual
teaching service, to the DepEd: Provided, furthermore, That the present allocation out of increases from
tuition and other income shall be maintained: Provided, finally, That the teacher's salary subsidy
received by the teacher shall form part of the exclusions from taxable gross income in accordance
with Section 32(B)(7)(¢) of the National Internal Revenue 25 Code of 1997, as amended.

SEC. 11. Creation of the Bureau of Private Education. —'The Bureau of Private Education
(BPE) under the DepEd shall be created to serve as the focal office for the administration,
supervision, and regulation of all matters relating to private basic education institutions, including
government assistance and subsidies. It shall be headed by a Bureau Director.


It shall have the following powers and functions:

(@ Monitor and assess the implementation of the private basic education institutions of
the policies, plans, and programs established by the DepEd as recommended by BPI

(b) Set and enforce minimum standards for programs and institutions of learning, subject
to public hearing;

(© Ensure that the activities, efforts, and performance of private basic education
institutions shall meet the high standards of excellence and accountability;

(d) Administer and implement the policies and programs related to the assistance and
subsidies given by the government to students, teachers, and schools in _ private
education:

(© Establish and support partnerships with individual private education institutions to
respond effectively to the pressing, needs of students and teachers, and to provide
learning solutions to underserved communities;

() Monitor and ensure compliance of private basic education institutions to the
promulgated rules and regulations of the DepEd in all matters concerning private
schools, including tuition fee increases: and

(® Such other powers and functions as may be necessary for the effective and
efficient implementation of this Act.

SEC. 12. Program Administration and Implementation. —'The BEAC shall be responsible
for policy guidance and direction, monitoring and evaluation of new and existing programs while the
Government Assistance and Subsidies Service (GASS) under the BPE shall be responsible for the
day-to-day administration and implementation on the programs of assistance to private basic
education institutions.

‘The BEAC shall be composed of the Secretary of the Depld, a Chairperson, and the
Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Secretary of the
DBM, as members.

‘The alternate representative of the Chairperson shall possess the rank of an Undersecretary
while the alternate representatives of the members shall possess the rank of not less than an Assistant
Secretary in order to secure a quorum.

‘The BEAC shall meet, from time to time, as the need arises, to assess the effectivity of the
programs under this Act and to propose to Congress other forms of assistance to participating
students and schools.

‘The GASS shall serve as the permanent secretariat for the implementation of the GAS
programs under this Act.


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‘The DepEd may engage the services of a third party co-implementor of the GAS programs
under this Act.

SEC. 13. Appropriations. ‘The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this
Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriation of the DepEd. Thereafter, such amount
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 14, Penalties. — In case of violation of this Act by a private school, the DepEd may
bar, after due process, such school from participating in or benefiting from the programs of this Act,
and from other programs of the DepEd, without prejudice to administrative and criminal charges
that may be filed against the school or its responsible officers under existing laws.

SEC. 15. Transitory Provision. — Subject to the availability of funds, the implementation
of the provisions stipulated in this Act for the kindergarten and elementary levels shall gradually
‘commence in school year 2026-2027, as may be determined by the DepEd.

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90) days from the
approval of this Act, the DepEd shall, in consultation with the NEDA, the DBM, and other
concerned stakeholders from the national associations of private basic education institutions,
promulgate the rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 17. Separability Clause. — \f any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. — Sections 2, 3, 4(2), 4(3), 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, and 15 of Republic
‘Act No. 8545, or the "Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private
Education Act", which amended Republic Act No. 6728, or the "Government Assistance to Students
and Teachers in Private Education Act, are hereby repealed. All other laws, decrees, orders and
rules and regulations contrary to of inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed
or amended accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectivity. — Notwithstanding the non-issuance of the implementing rules and
regulations, this Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or
in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved