Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

91

HL No.

INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE JUAN EDGARDO “SONNY” M. ANGARA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The number of school facilities built has not met the yearly building requirements caused
by increases in enrollment. As a result, the backlog of classroom has increased. This shortage in
the number of public schoo! buildings in our country has always been @ perennial problem
associated with the deteriorating quality of our education system.

Today, the national classroom-student ratio for elementary and secondary public schools is
4 staggering 1:65, due largely to the free education program, which has not been met by a
corresponding increase in the number of classrooms. With only Php2.5 Billion allocated for
school buildings in the 2001 GAA, the backlog of school rooms will increase to 30,100
classrooms by the end of 2000. To attain the ideal classroom-student ratio in the next five (5)
years, a total of 129,000 new classrooms have to be constructed excluding those that have to be
rehabilitated.

The bill seeks to create a comprehensive program which will address the problem of
classroom shortage. A salient feature of this bill is the provision of build-operate-transfer, build-
lease-transfer, build-transfer, rehabilitate-operate-transfer, and other contractual arrangements
that will allow the use of both government and private funds to finance the construction of needed
school buildings, and the creation of an inter-agency committee to formulate and ensure the
effective implementation of the program by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
The program also provide for the integration of all the necessary information for the effective
monitoring and maintenance of existing school buildings

It is hoped that with the passage of this bill, class sizes will be reduced to a manageable
level for a more conducive learning environment and thus result in the improvement in the quality
of our education

In view thereof, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly requested

A6O eg _/
JUAN EDGARD# INNY”

Representative,
Lone District, Province of Aurora



THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

Introduced by HON. JUAN EDGARDO “SONNY” M. ANGARA

AN ACT

ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM FOR THE ACQUISITION OF SCHOOL SITES AND
THE CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, REHABILITATION, AND REPAIR OF
SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY

SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “School Building Program Act of

2004”,

SEC. 2. School Building Program Objectives. - There shall be established a
comprehensive and continuing School Building Program, hereinafter referred to as the “Program”,
which shall have the following objectives:

1

To provide a system for an accurate inventory of all existing public primary and
secondary school buildings, with proper indications as to its location, size, capacity,
condition, and compliance with basic building safety requirements,

. To provide appropriate studies for determining the yearly school building requirements

based on projected increases in enrollment and other appropriate indicators;

. To provide for the effective monitoring and supervision of all school building facilities

with respect to its proper and adequate maintenance, replacement, rehabilitation and
repair,

To provide a comprehensive plan for the acquisition and/or construction and adequate
school sites, buildings and facilities for all public elementary and secondary schools
nationwide, with the aim of reducing the classroom-students ratio to an ideal
proportion within a period of five (5) years upon approval of this Act;

To provide the mechanism for the selection of public schools to prioritize in the
school-building projects nationwide;

To provide a specific time schedule for the construction of schoo! buildings which
shall be strictly followed so as to prevent unnecessary delays and backlogs;

To provide for pecessary mechanisms which will facilitate a closer coordination
between the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Public Works


and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, and Department of
Education, Culture and Sports to expedite the implementation of the Program;

8. To formulate guidelines for the bidding procedures that will be used for the school
building program including that of the contractual arrangement schemes,

9. To provide for a definite work and financial schedule for the construction, operation
and maintenance of schoo! buildings under any of the contractual arrangement
schemes.

SEC. 3. Inter-Agency Committee. - To formulate and ensure the effective implementation
of the program, there is hereby created an inter-agency committee, to be headed by the Secretary
of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) as Chairperson, and the respective
Secretaries of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Budget
and Management (DBM), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), as
members. The committee shall within one (1) year from the approval of this Act, submit to the
Committee on Education of both houses of Congress and every year thereafter, the
comprehensive school-building program herein established.

SEC. 4. /mplementation of the Program. - Consistent with the provisions of Republic
Act No. 7880, otherwise known as the “Fair and Equitable Access to Education Act”, the
Committee shall determine and supervise the acquisition and/or construction of priority school
building projects to be implemented by the DECS as provided in the Program. The DECS is
hereby authorized to enter into contracts with duly pre-qualified private contractors for the design
and construction management, as well as the financing, construction, operation, maintenance of
school buildings through the build operate and transfer, build and transfer, build-lease and
transfer, rehabilitate-operate and transfer and other contractual arrangement schemes provided
under R.A. No. 6957.

SEC. 5. Release of Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures. - For the purpose of
ensuring compliance of such contractual arrangement as may hereinafter be entered, the
appropriation of DECS for the School Building Program and for Maintenance and other
Operating Expenditures shall be directly released to DECS according to the work and financial
schedule stipulated in the program.

SEC. 6. Appropriation. - The amount necessary to attain the objectives of this Act shall
be authorized to be appropriated out of the unallocated share of the national government in the
income of the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), for a period of five (5)
years.

If the above amount is inadequate and insufficient, such amount as may be necessary to
augment said annual appropriations shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision in this Act is declared unconstitutional, the
same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions hereof.

SEC. 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations and all other
issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

‘Approved,