Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH (16") CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 8949

Introduced by Representative LINO S, CAYETANO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Education has always been at the forefront of Philippine executive and legislative agenda. ‘The
national budget for the Department of Education (DepEd) for the ensuing fiscal year is not only the
largest allocation submitted by the present administration to the Philippine Congress, with a 49-billion
peso increase from last year’s budget for said agency, but also the largest fiscal proposal for an individual
department in Philippine budget history.

Clearly, Education is this government's top priority.

However, significant shortages and backlogs still exist in the number of schools to be constructed
nationwide, And nowhere is the tragedy of poverty more painfully experienced than in connection with
the lack of quality and accessible education, Currently, the public school system lacks 19,579 classrooms,
with 770 schools in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao presently determined as overcrowded.! Further, it
has been reported that “as more families (have) become poorer, more students are enrolling, in public
schools, particularly high school,” which trend, according to concerned organized groups, “has exerted
tremendous pressure on the smaller number of high schools.”? At present, the number of our secondary
schools is a little less than one-fifth of the number of our elementary schools, with 7,470 high schools and
38,503 elementary schools currently operating in the country.’ According to statistics, “for every five
elementary schools,” there is “only one public high school.”* 2012 data obtained from the DepEd also
shows a “6,38 percent dropout rate in primary school and 7.82 percent drop-out rate in secondary
schools.”5 According to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), “4.6 million high school-age youth
from 12 to 15 years old are not enrolled in high school due to the gross shortage in public secondary
schools,” with this figure making up “a significant portion of the country’s 6.24 million out-of-school
youth.”

' As reported by Anne Marxe D. Umil in the article entitled “Shoriages, lack of budget still afflict public school
system, published online at Bulatlat.com on 19 July 2013, Information available at
http://bulatlat. conV/main/2013/07/19/shortages-lack-of- budget-still-afMlict-public-school-systemy, last accessed on 25
November 2013

2 bid.

3d.

“As reported by Anne Marxe D. Umil in the article entitled “More shortages afflict public school system despite
DepEd claims,” published online at Bulatlat.com on 07 June 2013. . Information available at
http:/Moulatlat.com/main/2013/06/07/more-shortages-alflict-public-school-system-despite-deped-claims/, last
accessed on 25 November 2013

5 As reported by Anne Marxe D. Umil in the article entitled “Shortages, lack of budget still afflict public school
system”, published online at Bulatlat.com on 19 July 2013, Information available at
http: //oulatlat. com/main/2013/07/19/shortages-lack-of: budget-still-afMict-public-school-system/, last accessed on 25
‘November 2013

® As reported by Anne Marxe D. Umil in the article entitled “More shortages afflict public school system despite
DepEd claims,” published online at Bulatlat.com on 07 June 2013. Information available at
http://bulatlat.com/main/2013/06/07/more-shortages-afflict-public-school-system-despite-deped-claims!, last
accessed on 25 November 2013


No less than the 1987 Philippine Constitution recognizes the right to education as a basic
right that must be afforded to all citizens, particularly the nation’s children. Education is and
remains to be a fundamental bulwark of society as well as a beacon of hope against oppression
and tyranny brought about by illiteracy and poverty. To prevent further entrenchment of social
inequalities and foster unhampered national development and growth, the Constitution rightly
mandates the government to provide for “a system of free public education in the elementary and
high school levels.” (Section 2, par. 2, Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution)

‘The fundamental law is thus clear: the Philippine government is responsible in providing
for quality education that is both free and accessible in the elementary and secondary levels. The
need to provide for a system of free public education is in conjunction with the Philippine
Education for All National Action Plan of 2015 (BFA 2015), a blueprint that seeks to bring about
education for every citizen and eradicate barriers of illiteracy and lack of knowledge in basic
skills, EFA 2015 draws attention to the importance of education as a crucial tool in developing
the capacity and upholding the dignity of the human person.

In the international plane, quality education as a basic human right finds root in several
treaties and agreements to which the Philippines is a firm signatory, the foremost of which is the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR asserts that each person has the
right to free and compulsory education both in the elementary and fundamental stages. Further,
the right to education is echoed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Despite this, the country’s problem of inadequacy of public educational institutions
continues to persist, a situation which the government must immediately address lest the nation’s
youth become further entrenched in the quagmires of illiteracy, poverty and destitution. Given
the real shortages in the number of public schools in the country, local governments have sought
to mirror and bolster DepE¢’s efforts by advocating for the meaningful accessibility of quality
education. In line with this, the City of Taguig has consistently focused its projects and programs
towards extending quality educational opportunities to the people.

‘There is a real and continuing need to provide for additional public schools in the City of
Taguig, one that is similarly felt by local governments and legislative districts across the country
‘A great number of our nation’s youth is composed of poverty-stricken students, who, despite
their hardships and economic disadvantages, remain to be hard-working, intelligent and
courageous. These youth must be given the proper venue to hone their skills and rise from the
quagmire of poverty by equipping them with the most important, essential and effective tool that
life can give: quality and accessible education,

This bill aims to provide a chance at such quality and accessible education to the hope of
our nation through the creation of a high school in Barangay Maharlika in the City of Taguig, to
be known as “Maharlika Village National High School”. Through the passage of this bill, a
better future will be on the horizon for the hope of our nation, one that is free from the shackles
of poverty, unproductivity and destitution.

In view of these considerations, the immediate approval of this bil] is highly and
earnestly sought.

LINO S. CAYETANO
Representative
Second District, City of Taguig


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH (16!) CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 8949

Introduced by Representative LINO S. CAYETANO

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL IN BARANGAY
MAHARLIKA VILLAGE IN THE SECOND DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF TAGUIG,
TO BE KNOWN AS MAHARLIKA VILLAGE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL,
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

Section 1. Establishment of A National High School. ~ There is hereby established, under
the supervision of the Department of Education, a national high school in Barangay Maharlika
Village in the Second District of the City of Taguig, to be known as “Maharlika Village National
High School”.

Section 2. Appropriations. ~The Secretary of Education shall immediately include in the
Department's program the operationalization of Maharlika Village National High School, the
funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 3. Implementation. ~ The Secretary of Education shall issue such rules and
regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this Act.

Section 4, Eifectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette.

Approved,