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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPVSLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14, Section 1 provides that: 
SEC. 1. 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. 
Literacy is one of the foremost concerns in our country. As our population grows and our 
poverty increases, there is greater and greater challenge to reach out to our countrymen and 
provide their children with the gift of literacy. 
In order for our literacy program to be more cost and time efficient, we should integrate it 
with our early health programs spanning from pre-natal care to pre-school age services. This way 
we will be able help parents and children together as this is the time when they spend most of 
their time together. Before school age, it is the parents who are primarily responsible for the 
education of the children. By establishing the program early on, we will be able to better prepare 
our children for school. That way, the children can have an easier time getting started in school. 
This bill seeks to encourage the private sector to develop programs which would help 
parents and children to read and take up the habit of reading. 
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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
8 Niir 7 0 
I 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO AID AND SUPPORT PEDIATRIC INVOLVEMENT IN READING AND EDUCATION 
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 “Pediatric Early Literacy Act 
of 2008.” 
SECTION 2. DeJinitions. -The purposes of this Act the term - 
A. ELIGIBLE ENTITY - means a nonprofit organization that has, as determined by 
the Secretary, demonstrated effectiveness in the following areas: 
1. Providing peer-to-peer training to healthcare providers in research-based 
methods of literacy promotion as part of routine pediatric health 
supervision visits. 
2. Delivering a training curriculum through a variety of medical education 
settings, including residency training, continuing medical education, and 
national pediatric conferences. 
3. Providing technical assistance to local healthcare facilities to effectively 
implement a high-quality Pediatric Early Literacy Program. 
4. Offering opportunities for local healthcare facilities to obtain books at 
significant discounts. 
5. Integrating the latest developmental and educational research into the 
training curriculum for healthcare providers; 
B. PEDIATRIC EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM - means a program that - 
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1. creates and implements a 3-part model through which- 
a.healthcare providers, doctors, and nurses, trained in research-based 
methods of early language and literacy promotion, encourage 
parents to read aloud to their young children, and offer 
developmentally appropriate recommendations and strategies to 
parents for the purpose of reading aloud to their children; 
b. healthcare providers, at health supervision visits, provide each 
child between the ages of 6 months and 5 years a new, 
developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and 
keep; and 
c. volunteers in waiting areas of healthcare facilities read aloud to 
children, modeling for parents the techniques and pleasures of 
sharing books together; 
2. demonstrates, through research published in peer-reviewed journals, 
effectiveness in positively altering parent behavior regarding reading 
aloud to children, and improving expressive and receptive language in 
young children; and 
3. receives the endorsement of nationally-recognized medical associations 
and academies. 
C. SECRETARY - means the Secretary of Education, unless otherwise indicated. 
SECTION 3. Program Authorized. - The Secretary is authorized to award grants to 
eligible entities under this subpart to enable the eligible entities to implement Pediatric Early 
Literacy Programs. 
SECTION 4. Applications. - An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this 
subpart shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including 
such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
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SECTION 5. Matching Requirement. - An eligible entity receiving a grant under this 
subpart shall provide either directly or through private contributions, in cash or in-kind, non- 
Federal matching funds equal to not less than 50 percent of the grant received by the eligible 
entity under this subpart. 
SECTION 6. Use of Funds. - An eligible entity receiving a grant under this subpart shall - 
A. enter into contracts with private nonprofit organizations, or with public agencies, 
selected based on the criteria described in Section 7, under which each contractor will 
agree to establish and operate a Pediatric Early Literacy Program; 
B. provide such training and technical assistance to each contractor of the eligible entity 
as may be necessary to carry out this subpart; and 
C. include such other terms and conditions in an agreement with a contractor as the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of such programs. 
SECTION 7. Contractor Criteria. - Contractors shall be selected under Section 6 on the 
basis of the extent to which the contractors give priority to serving a substantial number or 
percentage of at-risk children, including- 
A. low-income children (defined in this section as children from families with incomes 
below 200 percent of the poverty line), particularly low-income children in high- 
poverty areas; 
B. children without adequate medical insurance; 
C. children living in rural areas; 
D. children with limited access to libraries. 
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SECTION 8. Restriction on Payments. - The Secretary shall make no payment to eligible 
entities under this Act unless the Secretary determines that the eligible entity or a contractor of 
the eligible entity, as the case may be, has made arrangements with book publishers or 
distributors to obtain books at discounts that are at least as favorable as discounts that are 
customarily given by such publisher or distributor for book purchases made under similar 
circumstances in the absence of government assistance. 
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SECTION 9. Reporting Requirement. - An eligible entity receiving a grant under this 
subpart shall report annually to the Secretary on the effectiveness of the program implemented 
by the eligible entity and the programs instituted by each contractor of the eligible entity, and 
shall include in the report a description of each program. 
SECTION 10. Appropriations. -The amount necessary for the initial implementation of 
this Act shall be charged against the appropriations of the Department of Education under the 
current General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for its full 
implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act as a distinct and 
separate item. 
SECTION 11. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 12. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or is inconsistent 
with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 13. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
/apm103108 
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