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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by Representatives  
BELLA VANESSA B. SUANSING and MIKAELA ANGELA B. SUANSING 
AN ACT 
DIGITIZING ALL BOOKS NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND 
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ONLINE LIBRARY, PROVIDING FUNDS 
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article II, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to prioritize education, 
science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social 
progress, and promote total human liberation and development. Furthermore, Article XIV, Section 1 of 
the same upholds the duty of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education 
at all levels and to undertake measures taken to ensure its accessibility to all.  
Aligned with the aforementioned constitutional mandates, the following bill seeks to establish 
the Philippine Online Library and to mandate the digitization of all essential textbooks and learning 
materials necessary for public education to ensure the accessibility and availability of learning materials 
and references for all learners.  
With this legislative proposal, the State shall ensure that its citizens are provided with 
opportunities to enhance their adaptability to emerging information and communications technology, 
and for our public academic institutions to use diverse tools to disseminate, store, and manage learning 
materials in a more accessible and efficient manner to improve learning mechanisms.   
The following measure introduces amendments to the measure previously filed by Rep. Yedda 
Marie K. Romualdez and Rep. Jude A. Acidre during the 19th Congress.  
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
BELLA VANESSA B. SUANSING  
MIKAELA ANGELA B. SUANSING 
      2nd District of Sultan Kudarat 
1st District of Nueva Ecija 
July 28, 2025
8:00 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by Representatives  
BELLA VANESSA B. SUANSING and MIKAELA ANGELA B. SUANSING 
AN ACT 
DIGITIZING ALL BOOKS NECESSARY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND 
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE ONLINE LIBRARY, PROVIDING FUNDS 
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Online Library Act of 
2025.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to ensure that its citizens are 
computer literate and are provided access to an increasingly digitized world. Thus, the State shall 
provide its citizens with the opportunity to increase their adaptability with information and 
communications technology, and to enhance their learning experience by providing access to digitized 
copies of textbooks necessary for the provision of quality primary and secondary education. 
SECTION 3. Philippine Online Library. – The Department of Education (DepEd) shall 
create digitized copies of all textbooks prescribed in the curriculum of each academic year, as well as 
reference books it deems necessary for the comprehensive understanding of learning materials of 
Philippine elementary and secondary school students. 
Upon the creation of the digitized copies of textbooks and reference books, a Philippine Online 
Library shall be created and managed by the DepEd, in coordination with the National Library of the 
Philippines and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).  
The Philippine Online Library shall be made accessible to the public, free of charge, through 
the creation of an online platform accessible to all students with internet access.  
SECTION 4. Recycling of Computers. – To facilitate the accessing of public elementary and 
secondary schools of the Philippine Online Library, all national government agencies, government-
owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and other government financial institutions (GFIs) with 
approved capital outlay budgetary allocations for the procurement of new computers shall be legally 
bound to endorse their old units to the DepEd for use of schools and students. 
Prior to the endorsement of the used computers to local schools, representatives from the DICT 
shall inspect the used computers to determine whether the computers may still be used by the schools.  
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Used computers from regional offices, provincial offices, municipal offices and city offices of 
national government agencies, GOCCs and GFIs shall be endorsed to local schools in the municipality 
or city in which the offices are stationed. Local schools which have the lowest number of functioning 
computers shall be given priority in the allocation of used computers.  
 
Used computers from central offices of national government agencies, GOCCs and GFIs shall 
be endorsed to the DepEd Central Office, which shall determine, based on the assessment on need and 
on current functionality of existing fleet of computers, the local schools to which the used computers 
shall be endorsed.  
 
SECTION 5. Additional Online Educational Materials. – The DepEd shall coordinate with 
the National Library of the Philippines to complement the Philippine Online Library's digital repository 
of textbooks with additional materials that may contribute to Filipino students’ understanding of 
Filipino culture and literature, including existing books found in the Philippine eLib Project.  
 
SECTION 6. Custody Over Digitized Copies of Textbooks. - The Department of Education 
and the National Library of the Philippines shall have joint custody over the digitized copies of the 
textbooks. The Department of Information and Communications Technology shall likewise ensure the 
technological management and structural integrity of the digital repository system. 
 
SECTION 7. Appropriations. – The  initial amount of Five Hundred Million 
(Php500,000,000.00) shall be appropriated for the immediate implementation of this Act, which shall 
be jointly managed by the DepEd and DICT. An annual budget of One Hundred Million 
(Php100,000,000.00) will be included in the annual budget of the DepEd for maintenance and operating 
expenses of the Philippine Online Library, including the creation of additional digitized copies of 
textbooks and other reference materials.  
 
SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DepEd, the DICT, and the 
National Library of the Philippines shall have joint responsibility over the formulation of the 
implementing Rules and Regulations necessary for the effective execution and enforcement of this Act. 
The Implementing Rules and Regulations shall be released within ninety (90) days from the approval 
of this Act. 
 
SECTION 9. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or 
unconstitutional, the provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. 
 
SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, 
presidential proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this 
Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SECTION 11. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,