FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
First Regular Session 
7 JUL -3 P d :;? 'i 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
S.B.No. 848 
Introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The number of school facilities built has not met the yearly classroom 
requirements caused by the steady increase in enrollment. As a result, there is 
the perennial problem of classroom shortage which contributes to the 
deteriorating quality of our education system. 
Today, the national classroom-student ratio for elementary and secondary 
public schools is a staggering 1:65 due largely to the free education program, 
which has not been met by a corresponding increase in the number of 
classrooms. With only Phpl.76 Billion allocated for school building program in 
the 2007 GAA, the backlog of school rooms will increase to 30, 100 classrooms 
by the end of 2008. To attain the ideal classroom-student ratio in the next five (5) 
years, about 129,000 new classrooms have to be constructed excluding those 
that need to be rehabilitated. 
This bill seeks to create a comprehensive program which will address the 
problem of classroom shortage. A salient feature of this bill is the provision of 
build-operate-transfer, build-lease-transfer, build-transfer, rehabilitate-operate- 
transfer, and other contractual arrangements that will allow the use of both 
government and private funds to finance the construction of needed school 
buildings, and the creation of an inter-agency committee to formulate and ensure 
the effective implementation of the program by the Department of Education 
(DepEd). The program will also provide for the integration of all the necessary 
information for the effective monitoring and maintenance of existing school 
buildings, 


It is hoped that with the passage of this bill, class sizes will be reduced to 
a manageable level for a more conducive learning environment and thus result 
in the improvement in the quality of our education. 
For the abovementioned reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
MAWEL 
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M. LAPID 
-f Senator 


FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
First Regular Session 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
7 JUL -3 P 4  :z1 
S E N A T E  
s. B. NO. 848 
introduced by Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION OF SCHOOL SITES 
AND THE CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, REHABILITATION, AND 
REPAIR OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND 
SECONDARY 
SCHOOLS 
NATIONWIDE, 
APPROPRIATING 
FUNDS 
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and Hose of Representative of the Republic of the 
Philippines in Congress Assembled: 
Section 1. Title.-This 
Act shall be known as the "School Building 
Program Act of 2007" 
Sec.2. School Building Program Objectives.-There shall be established a 
comprehensive and continuing School Building Program, hereinafter referred to 
as the "Program", which shall have the following objectives: 
a. To provide a system for an accurate inventory of all existing public 
primary and secondary school buildings, with proper indications as to 
their location, size, capacity, condition, and compliance with basic 
building safety requirements; 
b. To provide appropriate studies for determining the yearly school 
building requirements based on projected increase in enrollment and 
other appropriate indicators; 
c. To provide for the effective monitoring and supervision of all school 
building facilities with respect to their proper and adequate 
maintenance, replacement, rehabilitation and repair; 
d. To provide a comprehensive plan for the acquisition andlor 
construction and adequate school sites, buildings and facilities for all 
public elementary 
and secondary schools nationwide, the aim of 
reducing the classroom-students ratio to an ideal proportion within a 
period of five (5) years upon approval of this Act; 
e. To provide the mechanism for the selection of public schools to 
prioritize in the school-building projects nationwide; 


f. To provide a specific time schedule for the construction of school 
buildings which shall be strictly followed so as to prevent unnecessary 
delays and backlogs; 
g. To provide for necessary mechanisms which will facilitate a close 
coordination among the Department of Budget and Management, 
Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of the Interior 
and Local Government, and the Department of Education to expedite 
the implementation of the Program; 
h. To formulate guidelines for the bidding procedures that will be used for 
the school building program including that of 
the contractual 
arrangement schemes in relation to the Procurement Reform Act; 
i. To provide for a definite work and financial schedule for the 
construction, operation and maintenance of school buildings under any 
of the contractual arrangement schemes in relation to the Procurement 
Reform Act. 
Sec.3. Inter-Agency Committee- 
To formulate and ensure the effective 
implementation of the program, there is hereby created an inter-agency 
committee to be headed by the Secretary of the Department of Education 
(DepEd) as Chairperson, and the respective Secretaries of the Department of 
Pubic Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Budget and Management 
(DBM), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), as 
members. The committee shall within one (1) year from the approval of this Act, 
submit to the Committee on Education of both Houses of Congress and every 
year thereafter, the comprehensive school-building program herein established. 
Sec. 4. Implementation of the Program-Consistent with the provisions of 
Republic Act No. 7880, otherwise known as the "Fair and Equitable Access to 
Education Act", the Committee shall determine and supervise the acquisition and 
/or construction of priority school building projects to be implemented by the 
DepEd as provided in the Program. The DepEd is herby authorized to enter into 
contracts with duly pre-qualified private contractors for the design and 
construction management, as well as the financing, construction, operation, 
maintenance of school buildings through the build operate and transfer, build and 
transfer, build-lease and transfer, rehabilitate-operate and transfer and other 
contractual arrangement schemes provided under R.A. No. 6957. 
Sec. 5. Release of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures.-For 
the purpose of ensuring compliance of such contractual arrangement as may 
hereinafter be entered, the appropriation of DepEd for the School Building 
Program and for Maintenance and other Operating Expenditures shall be directly 
released to DepEd according to the work and financial schedule stipulated in the 
program. 
Sec. 6. Appropriation.-The 
amount necessary to attain the objectives of 
this Act shall be authorized to be appropriated out of the unallocated share of the 
national government in the income of the Philippine Amusement Gaming 
Corporation (PAGCOR), for a period of (5) five years. 
If the above amount is inadequate and insufficient, such amount as my be 
necessary to augment said annual appropriations shall be included in the 
General Appropriations Act. 


Sec. 7. Separability Clause.-If 
any provision in this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other 
provisions hereof. 
Sec. 8. Repealing Clause.-All 
laws, decrees, orders, rules and 
regulations and all other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Sec. 8. Effectivity Clause.-This 
Act shall take effect upon its publication 
in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,