FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article II, Section 17, provides: 
10 
jI, 
' 
'HI: _') 
[) f: "1 • 
/i~)iJ 
l. 
' U • .l!l 
The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, 
culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, 
and promote total human liberation and development. 
In 1994, the US Congress and the Department of Education collaborated to make a long-
term, meaningful, and public investment in the principle that high-quality pre-school television 
programming will help children be ready to learn by the time children entered first grade. 
The Ready-to-Learn Television Program through Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and 
local public television stations has proven to be extremely cost-effective national response to 
improving early childhood development and helping parents, caregivers, and professional child 
care providers learn how to use television as a means to help children learn, develop, and play 
creatively. 
Independent research shows that parents who participate in Ready-To-Learn workshops 
are more critical consumers of television and their children are more active viewers. 
A 
University of Alabama study showed that parents who have attended a Ready-To-Learn 
workshop read more books and stories to their children and read more minutes each time than 
non-attendees. The parents did more hands-on activities related to reading with their children. 
The parents engaged in more word activities and for more minutes each time. The parents read 
less for entertainment and more for education. The parents took their children to libraries and 
bookstores more than non-attendees. 
Further, six (6) months after participating in Ready-To-Learn workshops, parents who 
attended generally had set rules for television viewing by their children. These rules related to 
the amount of time the children were allowed to watch television daily, the hours the children 
were allowed to watch television, and the tasks or chores the children must have accomplished 
before the children were allowed to watch television. 
Hence, this bill seeks to incorporate ready-to-learn television programming in the country 
by forging partnership between the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports aud eligible 
television and broadcasting entities in order to develop, produce, and distribute educational and 
instructional video programming for preschool and elementary school children and their parents. 


~ . 
" 
O~·;:~CE ,,:;:' -
~ ':"c[ ,-
i.~( ~-", r{"r' 
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
10 
~,UG-2 P6:14 
I 
2 
SENA,lli 
S.No. 
~~94 
Introduced by Senator Miriam·Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO PROVIDE FOR DIGITAL EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
3 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Digital Education Act." 
4 
SECTION 2. Ready-To-Learn Digital Television. -
5 
(A) In General. - The Secretary of Education is authorized to award grants to, or enter 
6 
into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible television and broadcasting entities to 
7 
develop, produce, and distribute educational and instructional video programming for pre-school 
8 
and elementary school children and their parents, patterned after the Ready-To-Learn television 
9 
program in the United States. 
10 
(B) Availability. - In making such grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, the 
II 
Secretary shall ensure that eligible entities make programming widely available, with support 
12 
materials as appropriate, to young children, their parents, and childcare workers. 
13 
SECTION 3. ,Educational programming. -
14 
(A) Awards. - The Secretary shall award grants, contracts, cooperative agreements to 
15 
eligible entities to -
16 
(I) Facilitate the development directly, or through contracts with producers of 
17 
children and family educational television programming, of-
18 
(a) Educational programming for pre-school and elementary school 
19 
children; and 
1 


I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
(b) Accompanying support materials and servICes that promote the 
effective use of such programming; 
(2) Facilitate the development of programming and digital content especially 
designed for nationwide distribution over public television stations' digital 
broadcasting channels and Internet, 
containing Ready-to-Learn-based 
children's programming and resources for parents and caregivers; and 
(3) Enable eligible entities to 
contract with entities 
such 
as 
public 
8 
telecommunications entities so that programs developed under this section are 
9 
disseminated and distributed -
10 
(a) To the widest possible audience appropriate to be served by the 
II 
programming; and 
12 
(b) By the most appropriate distribution technologies. 
13 
(B) Eligible Entities. - To be eligible to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative 
14 
agreement under paragraph (A), an entity shall be-
15 
(1) A public telecommunications entity that is able to demonstrate a capacity for 
16 
development a capacity for the development and national distribution of 
17 
educational and instrnctional television programming of high quality for 
18 
preschool and elementary school children; and 
19 
(2) Able to demonstrate a capacity to contract with the producers of children's 
20 
television programming for the purpose of developing educational television 
21 
programming of high quality for preschool and elementary school children 
22 
(C) Cultural Experiences. - Programming developed under this section shall reflect the 
23 
recognition of diverse cultural experiences and the needs and experiences of both boys and girls 
24 
in engaging and preparing young children for schooling. 
25 
SECTION 4. Duties of the Secretary. - (A) To award grants, contracts, or cooperative 
26 
agreements to eligible entities, local public television stations, or community-based organizations 
27 
of demonstrat,ed effectiveness, for the purpose of-
2 


I 
(1) Addressing the learning needs of young children in limited English proficient 
2 
households, and developing appropriate educational and instructional 
3 
television programming to foster the school readiness of such children; 
4 
(2) Developing programming and support materials to increase family literacy 
5 
skills among parents to assist parents in teaching their children and utilizing 
6 
educational television programming to promote school readiness; and 
7 
(3) Developing and disseminating training materials, including -
8 
(a) lnteractive programs and programs adaptable to distance learning 
9 
technologies that are designed to enhance Imowledge of children's 
10 
social and cognitive skill development and positive adult-child 
II 
interactions; and 
12 
(b) Support materials to promote the effective use of materials developed 
13 
under subparagraph (2) among parents, early childhood development 
14 
personnel, elementary school teachers, public libraries, and after-
15 
school program personnel caring for preschool and elementary school 
16 
children; 
17 
(B) T~ establish within the Department a clearing-house to compile and provide 
18 
information, referrals, and model program materials and programming obtained or developed 
19 
under this part to parents, child care providers, and other appropriate individuals or entities to 
20 
assist such individuals and entities in accessing programs and projects under this part. 
21 
SECTION 5. Application. - Each entity desiring a grant, contract, or cooperative 
22 
agreement shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
23 
accompanied by such information as the secretary may reasonable require. 
24 
SECTION 6. Reports and Evaluations. -
25 
(A) Annual Report to Secretary. - An eligible entity receiving funds under this Act shall 
26 
prepare and submit to the Secretary an annual report which contains such information as the 
27 
Secretary may require. At a minimum, the report shall describe the program activities undertaken 
28 
with funds received, including-
3 


1 
(1) The programming that has been developed directly or indirectly by the 
2 
eligible entity, and the target population of the programs developed; 
3 
(2) The support materials that have been developed to accompany the 
4 
programming, and the method by which such materials are distributed to 
5 
consumers and users of the programming; 
6 
(3) The means by which the programming developed under this section has been 
7 
distributed, including the distance learning technologies that have been 
8 
utilized to make programming available and the geographic distribution 
9 
achieved through such technologies; and 
10 
(4) The initiatives undertaken by eligible entity to develop pUblic-private 
11 
partnership to secure support for the development, distribution and broadcast 
12 
of educational and instructional programming. 
13 
(B) Report to Congress. - The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the relevant 
14 
committees of Congress a biannual report which includes-
15 
(1) A summary of activities assisted; and 
16 
(2) A description of the training materials made available, the manner in which 
17 
outreach has been conducted to inform parents and childcare providers of the 
18 
availability of such materials, and the manner in which such materials have 
19 
been distributed in accordance with such section. 
20 
SECTION 7. Funding. - There are authorized such sums as may be necessary to carry 
21 
out the provisions of this Act. 
22 
SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - If any provisions or part hereof, is held invalid or 
23 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision shall remain valid and subsisting. 
24 
SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
25 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulations contrary to or inconsistent 
26 
with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
4 


1 
SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
2 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
5