THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPU 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Sehator S. R. OsmeAa 111 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article XIV Section 2(2) of the 1986 Constitution mandates that “The 
State shall establish and maintain a system of free public education in the 
elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the natural right of parents 
to rear their children, elementary education is compulsory for all children of 
school age; xxx”. 
To ensure the implementation of the above provision, Sec. 20 of the 
Transitory Provisions of the 1986 Constitution mandated the First Congress to 
“give priority to the determination of the period for the full implementation of free 
public secondary education.” More importantly, Section 5(5) of Article XIV 
provides that “The State shall assign 
the highest budgetary priority 
to 
education . . . ’ I  
On June 10, 1987, President Corazon C. Aquino through 
E.O. 189 
nationalized public secondary school teachers 
and placed them under the 
supervision and control of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, in 
an effort to address the problems affecting secondary education. 
Today, out of the existing 1,532 municipalities, there remain hundreds 
with no public high schools. With children travelling an average of 50 to 70 
kilometers to reach the nearest high school, expenses can be prohibitive to a 
rural family subsisting on farm incomes. 
To fully implement the mandate of free secondary education to all, this 
bill proposes the compulsory establishment of a public high school in every 
municipality of the country. 
No doubt this mandate will entail a gargantuan 
budget outlay. However this is a challenge that the government must address 
to be true to the clear constitutional mandate of universal access to education. 
It is one of the paradoxes of the present era that physical assets have 
ceased to become the main sources of wealth. Countries whose citizenry display 
a high intelligence quotient in terms of levels of literacy and proficiency in the 
sciences, technology 
and management 
have ended up reaping a large 
proportion of economic rewards worldwide. 
Our aspiration to rank equal to 


such countries as these needs that our policymakers should never neglect nor 
underestimate the importance of investments in the human capital of the country. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this bill is earnestly 
requested. 
Senator 


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THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
} 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
' 
First Regular Session 
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S E N A T E  
Introduced by Senator S. R. Osmena I l l  
AN ACT 
. MANDATING THE IMMEDIATE ESTABLlSHlVlENT OF A PUBLIC HIGH 
SCHOOL IN EVERY MUNICIPALITY, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by fhe Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. There shall be a public high school in every municipality 
immediately beginning the school year following the approval of this Act. 
SEC. 2. Priority in the admission to the municipal public high school shall 
be given to students whose parents or guardians do not receive an annual 
income of more than Twenty-four thousand pesos (P24,OOO.OO). 
SECTION. 3. All the expenses necessary to operate a public high school 
in every municipality like the school site and building, including the salaries of 
teachers and other school personnel, books, laboratory instruments and similar 
things shall be for the account of the National Government 
However, the establishment of the municipal high school and the 
construction of the necessary buildings and .facilities shall be prioritized in favor 
of those municipalities where no high school exists whether public or private and 
those municipalities where no public high school exists 
SEC. 4. For the immediate implementation of this Act, any municipality, if 
financially able, may advance the necessary fund to own or lease a school site 


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and building to be used as public high school or to acquire such necessary 
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school furniture's and fixtures, subject to reimbursement by the National 
Government. 
SEC. 5. Immediately upon the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of 
Education, Culture and Sports shall submit to the Department of Budget and 
Management the plantilia of positions for teachers and personnel and the 
proposed annual budget for each municipal public high school. 
SEC. 
6. 
The Department of Budget and Management and the 
Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall issue their respective rules 
and regulations necessary to implement this Act. 
The Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports is hereby authorized to 
contract and negotiate with owners of private schools who wish to withdraw their 
investments in the said schools in order to convert them to public high schools. 
SEC. 7. The amount necessary to fund the establishment of a municipal 
public high school in every municipality as provided in this Act is hereby 
appropriated: Provided, That the corresponding amount needed to implement 
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this Act in subsequent years shall be included in the annual General 
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Appropriations Act for the Department of Education, Culture and Sports Budget. 
SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. 
Approved,