Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Sixteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 3883 _

Introduced by Honorable Patrick T. Antonio

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In a publication issued by the IBON News dated 16 October 2012, its research group
noted that based on a study commissioned by the government, Philippine agriculture is 20
years behind other Asian countries. Comparing land productivity with ASEAN member
countries, the Philippines ranked 4" in rice, coconut, sugarcane, and 5" in corn. World
Bank data also showed that Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in agriculture — or the
ratio of machinery investment in productivity — has stagnated in the Philippines at 0.2% per
year over the past two decades, compared to 1% per year in Thailand, 1.5% per year in
Indonesia, and 4.7% in China.

Despite being a country rich in natural resources, the Philippines continues to display
dismal performance in the area of agriculture. A significant factor believed to have
contributed to the underperformance of this sector is the declining number of small farmers.
Many are discouraged to engage in such line of work because of the perceived hardships,
evidenced by statistics showing that small farming families form part of the country’s
poorest.

Taking the foregoing into consideration, this bill aims to increase the participation of
Filipino workers in the agricultural sector by taking appropriate steps to uplift the standard
of living of small farmers. In particular, the bill intends to make quality education
accessible to small farming families who, based on experience, fail to send their children to
finish higher education because of financial constraints. Thus, this bill seeks to
institutionalize scholarship grants to the children of small farmers.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnesJy ought.

PATRICK T. ANTONIO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Sixteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO.__ 3883

Introduced by Honorable Patrick T. Antonio

AN ACT
GRANTING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHILDREN OF SMALL FARMERS AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION. 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Scholarship jor
Children of Small Farmers Act.”

SEC.2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to promote
comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform as well as give priority to
education and science and technology to accelerate social progress and promote
development in the country. Toward this end, the government shall provide qualified
children of small farmers opportunities to obtain quality education through the grant of

scholarships.


SEC. 3. General Objectives.— This Act promotes the development of
agriculture throughout the country by financing the college education of talented and
deserving children of small farmers and provide incentives for them to pursue a career in
the field of agriculture, especially in their home regions.

SEC. 4. Children of Small Farmers Scholarship Fund. — There is hereby
created a Children of Small Farmers Scholarship Fund to be administered by the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in financing the college education of talented
and deserving children of small farmers. For purposes of this Act and in accordance
with Republic Act No. 7607, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta of Small Farmers,”
small farmers shall refer to natural persons dependent on small-scale subsistence
farming as their primary source of income and whose sale, barter or exchange of
agricultural products do not exceed a gross value of One hundred eighty thousand pesos
(P180,000.00) per annum based in 1992 constant prices.

SEC. 5. Children of Small Farmer Scholarship Grant. — The scholarship
grant awarded under this Act shall be applied for any agriculture or science and
technology course, as identified by the CHED as a priority course, and shall cover the
entire tuition and miscellaneous fees of the grantee. The grantee may enroll in any public

or private university or college throughout the country.


Qualified and deserving children of small farmers who enroll in courses other than
those identified by CHED as a priority course shall be granted financial aid amounting to
fifty percent (50%) of the tuition fees.

SEC.6. Qualifications. - To be eligible for the scholarship grant under this
Act the applicant must:

(a) Bea Filipino citizen of good moral character;

(b) Bea high school graduate;

(c) Bea child of a small farmer;

(d) Be not more than thirty (30) years of age at the time of the award of the
grant;

(e) Be qualified as an incoming college student in any curricular year level at
the time of the award; and

(f) Have complied with such other requirements that may be established by the
CHED.

SEC. 7. Limit. — The award of the scholarship grant shall be limited to three
(3) children only per small farmer and shall apply even if both parents are small farmers.

SEC. 8. Conditions of the Grant. — The grantees of the scholarship must
maintain a general weighted average (GWA) grade of eighty percent (80%) or better,
with no failing grade in any subject. The grantee must also carry a full semestral or

trimestral load as prescribed in the course curriculum and finish within the normal


duration of the course. Failure to meet any of these conditions shall be a ground for the
termination of the grant.

SEC. 9. Appeal. — Upon receipt of a written notice of termination of
scholarship due to non-compliance or violation of the terms and conditions of the
scholarship, a grantee may, not later than fifteen (15) days from receipt of the notice, file
an appeal for reconsideration and reinstatement of the scholarship with the CHED,
Upon the lapse of the fifteen (15) days wherein a grantee may file an appeal and no
appeal is made, the termination of scholarship shall become final and executory.

SEC. 10, Service Obligation. — After graduating, a grantee must render return
service in the Philippines on a full-time basis, preferably in the grantee’s home region
and along the grantee’s field of training, for a period equivalent to one-half (1/2) of the
length of time that the grantee enjoyed the scholarship. Return service may be done by
being employed within the Philippines in a government agency or a private company or
by self-employment. The proof of employment, such as, certificate of employment,
business permit, income tax return and other documents evidencing the grantee’s
completion of the required number of years of return service must be submitted to the
CHED before being issued a final clearance.

A grantee that is unable to render the return service obligation imposed under
this section shall be liable to reimburse the Government the amount equivalent to the

scholarship funds received under this Act.


SEC. 11. Implementing Agency. — The CHED shall be the main
implementing agency of the provisions of this Act. It shall be responsible for the
evaluation, awarding and monitoring of the scholarship grants and scholars. The CHED
is also tasked with coordinating with other relevant agencies in the fulfilment of the
goals of this Act.

SEC. 12. Review and Monitoring. — The CHED shall report to the President of
the Philippines and to Congress after the first year, and annually thereafter, on the
implementation of the provisions of this Act and submit recommendations for its
improvement.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations, ~ Within sixty (60) days from
the approval of this Act, the CHED shall promulgate the rules and regulations to
effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 14.  Appropriations.~ The amount necessary to carry out the initial
implementation of this Act shall be included in the appropriations of the CHED in the
annual General Appropriations Act of the year the following the effectivity of this Act.
‘Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the effective and continuous
implementation of the provisions of this Act shall he included in the annual General

Appropriations Act.


SEC. 15.  Separability Clause. ~ If any provision or part hereof is held invalid
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected
shall remain valid and subsisting.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause.- All laws, decrees, executive orders,
proclamations and administrative regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC.17.  Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,