Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

87085

House Bill No.

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Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

Education plays a very powerful role in affording an individual
a certain degree of success and security. It is through formal and
systematic learning that young minds are honed, developed and
pushed to their limits in order to be fully equipped with sufficient
knowledge and skills to face the hard realities of the future they
behold.

Education is also key in eradicating poverty especially in third
world countries such as ours, the Philippines. Education opens the
gates of opportunities for a person; and once this opportunity is
grabbed, it is also education that keeps the person on such position
and allows him to move further up the ladder of professional
success.

Education also equips one with enough understanding and
enlightenment with respect to the current issues prevailing in our
society which inevitably leads to the development of sensible


decision-making skills. Possessing the latter characteristic is crucial
not only with respect to the personal progress of an individual but
also to the national development of our country. For one, education
prepares our children to become the next great leaders of this
nation. Also, an individual who is well educated and well-aware of
his rights and of his duties will surely be more vigilant and critical
about our country’s current state or condition.

Unfortunately though, in as much as education is perceived to
be the only effective way to fight off poverty, oftentimes poverty
serves as the very hindrance for people to obtain proper education.

It is not an unusual sight to us how a typical Filipino
household works. In a third world country like ours, majority of the
families usually lack means and resources to even put food on the
table three times a day. The alarming unemployment rate,
underemployment rate and other several economic factors
contribute to making it more difficult for a family to survive on a
day to day basis. As these problems continuously shoot off by the
years, more and more Filipinos are forced to postpone, if not
permanently give up their education in order to attend to the more
basic needs of the family.

This bill seeks to address this ironic tossing-back-and-forth
kind of situation wherein the only plausible solution to a chronic
problem of our country is rendered unavailable by the very problem
it wishes to solve.

By providing mandatory and automatic scholarship programs
to the top 10% of the graduating class of all public high schools, the
education of the deserving students need not be compromised
anymore regardless of the economic hardships being faced by
majority of the Filipino families. It is high time that we make
Filipinos realize that education, although not as basic a necessity
as food, clothing and shelter, should never be sacrificed. In


connection to this, the significant role of the State comes in. By the
approval of this bill, the State shall grant to more Filipino students
who are deserving and hardworking tertiary education that they
otherwise could not afford. Through the facilitation of our
government, the looping interplay of poverty and education is once
and for all ended, and the main purpose of education -which is to
eradicate poverty - can now be attained slowly, but surely.

am (- OW,

ERIC OLIVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 3705

—__——

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

AN ACT PROVIDING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO THE TOP 10
PERCENT OF THE GRADUATING CLASS OF PUBLIC HIGH
SCHOOL

Section 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the
“College Scholarship Act of 2014.”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared as the
policy of the State to promote completion of tertiary education by
the deserving and bona fide students from public high schools as a
way to eliminate the poverty prevailing in the country.

Section 3. Coverage. The scholarship grant under this Act
shall cover all graduating public high school students nationwide

belonging to the top 10% of their respective batch, without regard to
their sex, age, religion or creed.


Section 4. Scholarship Program. The Scholarship Program
contemplated in this Act shall cover the payment of tuition and
other related fees of the student as well as a monthly stipend to be
fixed by the Commission on Higher Education but must in no case
be less than five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) per month and which
shall cover meal allowances, transportation costs, board and
lodging expenses if applicable and any other expenditures deemed
appropriate and necessary by the Commission. Provided, that the
student covered by this Act complies with Section 5 hereof with
respect to the school, college or university in which he or she shall

go.

Section 5. General Rule is to Enrol in a Public College or
University. To avail of the scholarship grant under this act, the
student must enrol only in a public college or a state university in
the country. However, the scholarship grant may still be availed of
by a student who wishes to study in a private college or university
provided he/she qualifies in a separate scholarship which exempts
him/her from paying tuition and other related fees thereat. In such
case, he/she will still get a monthly stipend and other benefits as
described in the preceding section, as fixed by the Commission on
Higher Education.

Section 6. Monitoring. The Commission on Higher Education
shall coordinate with and may require the college or university in
which scholars under this Act are enrolled for the purpose of
monitoring the performance of the said students. It may also
require a monthly report or certification from the said scholars to be
issued by their respective colleges or universities assuring the
Commission that its scholars therein as of present do not possess


the status of “dropped from the rolls” and/or have not undertaken
“leave of absence” or “absence without leave”.

Section 7. Temporary Disqualification. A scholar under
this Act who has undertaken a “Leave of Absence” during the
semester shall be temporary disqualified from receiving the benefits
of the scholarship program until the time that he or she formally
returns to school. Provided that a scholar may only take at most
two leaves of absence in the entire duration of his or her college
years, otherwise he shall be permanently disqualified from receiving
said benefits and shall automatically be excluded from the coverage
of this Act. Provided further, that the absence of the student must
be “with Proper Leave or Notice” in accordance with the rules and
policies of the school. An AWOL (Absence without leave) status and
a “dropped from the rolls” status shall automatically disqualify the
scholar from receiving scholarship under this Act permanently.

Section 8. Transfer of School. A scholar who transfers from
one public college or state university to another retains his
scholarship under this Act provided that the transfer is not due to
being dropped from the rolls from the previous college or university,
and the scholar retains the same course in the new college or
university. Provided further, that a scholar may only transfer once
in the entire duration of his college years otherwise he or she will be
permanently disqualified from receiving the scholarship benefits.

Section 9. Rule on Leave of Absence when Transferring to
another School . The limit on the number of leave of absence
which a scholar may undertake as described in Section 5 hereof
encompasses both the previous and the new college or university.
The number of Leave of Absence a transferring scholar has


undertaken in his/her previous school is taken into consideration
along with the number of leave of absence he/she has undertaken
in the new school, for purposes of determining whether or not
he/she has exceeded the limit of allowed number of leaves of
absence and thereby be permanently disqualified from the
scholarship.

Section 10, Budget Appropriation. The funding of this
Scholarship Program shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

Section 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Unless
otherwise provided in this Act, the Commission on Higher
Education shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and
Regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act. Such rules and
regulations shall take effect upon their publication in three (3)
newspapers of general circulation.

Section 12. Repealing Clause.- All laws, presidential
decrees, letters of instructions, executive orders, rules and
regulations insofar as they are inconsistent with this Act, are
hereby repealed or amended as the case may be.

Section 13. Separability Clause.- In the event that any
provision of this Act or any portion thereof is declared
unconstitutional by a competent court, the other provisions shall
not be affected thereby and shall remain valid and enforceable.


Section 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect
after its complete publication in at least three (3) newspapers of
general circulation.

APPROVED.