Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 3297 
Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE ARNULF BRYAN “ARNIE” B. FUENTEBELLA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a specialized public high school in the 
Philippines created by virtue of President Decree No. 1287. It offers an arts-focused general secondary 
level education program, combined with a special curriculum oriented to take arts. It is geared toward 
the early recognition and development of highly talented and exceptionally gifted students in the arts. 
The PHSA has successfully produced notable alumni like Rowenna Arrieta, a world-class 
pianist; Leila Florentino, a singer who played a leading role in the Broadway-run Miss Saigon; Candice 
Adea, then principal dancer of Ballet Philippines; Raymond Red, filmmaker and recipient of the Palme 
d’Or Award at the 2000 Cannes Festival for his short film “Anino”; and John Cinco, Professor of Computer 
Graphics at Farleigh Dickinson University, among many others. 
However, since its creation in 1978, a similar specialized public high school for the Arts has 
not been established in any part of the country limiting the chances of many exceptionally gifted students 
to be discovered and to harness their talents, particularly those in far-flung areas. 
This bill seeks to establish a high school for the arts in San Rafael High School located at 
Barangay San Rafael, Municipality of Tigaon, Province of Camarines Sur to be known as the San Rafael 
High School for the Arts. The bill intends to replicate the enviable accomplishment of the PHSA and its 
lasting contribution in the field of arts. 
The establishment of the San Rafael High School for the Arts will open windows of opportunity 
to highly talented and exceptionally gifted students in the arts not only in the Province of Camarines Sur 
but in the entire Bicol Region as well. It intends to attain the following objectives: 
a) To recruit and screen students with special talents in the arts;
b) To provide a specialized and dedicated curriculum for highly talented and specially
gifted children in a separate school site; and
c) To establish a separate facility attuned to the needs and methods of teaching arts
peculiar from the ordinary classroom setting.
The paramount objective of the bill is to provide a continuing source of artists of excellence 
and leaders in the preservation and promotion of Filipino heritage in the arts. 
We filed this bill in the 19th Congress and it is my hope this passes into legislation this 20th 
Congress. 
In view of the foregoing reasons, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
  ARNULF BRYAN “ARNIE” B. FUENTEBELLA 
     Representative 
     Fourth District, Camarines Sur 
August 6, 2025
3:49 pm


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 3297 
Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE ARNULF BRYAN “ARNIE” B. FUENTEBELLA 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS IN SAN RAFAEL NATIONAL 
HIGH SCHOOL, BARANGAY SAN RAFAEL, MUNICIPALITY OF TIGAON, PROVINCE OF 
CAMARINES SUR TO BE KNOWN AS THE SAN RAFAEL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FOR 
THE ARTS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
 of the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Establishment. – There is hereby established national high school for the 
arts in Brgy. San Rafael, Municipality of Tigaon, Province of Camarines Sur to be known as the 
San Rafael National High School for the Arts, hereinafter referred to as the “School”. 
SECTION 2. School Director. – The School shall be headed by a School Director who 
shall serve as head of the School and whose functions, powers, and duties, in addition to those 
described by this Act, shall be those pertaining to the office of a public high school principal. 
The School Director shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Board to be established by 
Section 4 of this Act, subject to qualifications set forth by the Department of Education (DepEd). 
SECTION 3.  Assistant Director. – There shall be an assistant Director, who shall assist 
the Director in the arts education phase of the school. In the absence of the Director, he shall 
assume such administrative and supervisory functions of the Directors as he may be authorized 
by the DepEd.  
The Assistant Director shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Board, subject to the 
qualifications set forth by the DepEd. 
SECTION 4. Board of Advisers. - The San Rafael National High School for the Arts shall 
have a Board of Advisers, hereinafter referred to as the “Board”. The Board shall be composed 
of the following: (1) the DepEd Secretary as Chairperson; (2) the Schools Division Superintendent 
as Vice Chairperson; (3) the School Director; and (4) a representative each from the fields of 
music, dance, theater arts, and visual arts, who shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the 
Board. 
SECTION 5. Power and Prerogatives. – The Board, which shall act as the overseer, 
shall have the following duties; 
a) To fix the site of the School;
b) To receive and appropriate for the ends specified by law such sums as may be
provided by law for support of the School;
c) To recommend to the DepEd the appointment made and contracts entered into by
the Director in connection with employment of teachers, lecturers and other
employees of the School, subject to the provisions of Section 12 of this Act; to fix


their compensation and other conditions of employment; and to remove them for 
cause after proper investigation; 
d) To provide fellowships for faculty members and approve the grant of scholarships, 
stipends and such other allowances to deserving students; 
e) To establish criteria for the selection and admission of students which shall 
include, among others, national competitive examinations; 
f) To approve the issuance of certificates of diplomas to successful candidates for 
graduation; 
g) To receive in trust legacies, devises, gifts, and donations of real and personal 
property of all kinds and to administer the same for the benefit of the School or for 
aid to any of its students. 
 
SECTION 6. Quorum. - A quorum of the Board shall consist of majority of all the members 
holding office at the time a meeting is called. 
 
SECTION 7. Reportorial Requirement. – On or before June of each year, the Board 
shall submit to the President of the Philippines a detailed report on the progress, condition, and 
needs of the School. 
 
SECTION 8. Executive Council. - The DepEd shall organize an Executive Council 
consisting of the Director, the Assistant Director, the heads of departments, and such other ranking 
faculty members or officials of the High School. The council shall have the power to screen and 
select the students to be admitted to the High School, to select students who shall be recipients 
of scholarships, stipends, and other allowances, and to develop the curricula, course or study, and 
rules of discipline. 
 
The Council shall implement and execute the policies laid down by the DepEd as 
recommended by the Board and exercise such other functions, powers and duties as the Board 
may prescribe. 
 
 
SECTION 9. Tax Exemption Privilege. -  All legacies, devises, gifts and donations for 
the benefit of the High School or for its support and maintenance or for aid to any of its students 
shall be tax-exempt and shall be an allowable deduction from its gross income of the donors. For 
the purpose of the income tax, the High School shall be exempt from payment of all taxes, fees 
and assessments and other charges of the government, its branches and subdivisions. It shall 
likewise be exempt from taxes and duties on any equipment, books, articles, goods or services it 
may import from abroad, including withholding taxes on honoraria or fees paid by the High School 
to visiting lecturers or professors from abroad. 
 
 
SECTION 10. The High School for the Arts Fund. -  All income and donations to the 
Special Program shall be formed into a fund, to be known as the High School for the Arts Fund. 
This fund shall be expended as authorized by the Board exclusively for the purpose of this Act. 
 
 
SECTION 11.  Appropriations. – The amount necessary to implement this Act is hereby 
appropriated and made available from the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated for the current year. Thereafter, such sums as many be necessary for the continuous 
operations the High School shall be charged against the annual appropriations of the Department 
of Education. 
 
 
SECTION 12.  Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days from the 
approval of this Act, the DepEd, in consultation with the National Commission for Culture and the 
Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) shall issue the rules and regulations 
implementing the provisions of this Act. 
 
 
 
SECTION 13. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved.