Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS:
First Regular Session

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Introduced by HONORABLE JUAN EDGARDO “SONNY” M. ANGARA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The world has shrunk into a single global village. Advances in science and technology
have made this possible. Modern telecommunications and modes of transportation have
facilitated simultaneous and fast exchanges of ideas, information and resources among nations.
This is the global technological and scientific setting which confronts the Philippines today.

In our country’s strides to regain lost economic grounds, our people need to be attuned
to the latest developments in science and technology. The Filipino youth must be scientifically

and technically prepared so that, their innate talents may be fully harnessed for national
development.

The proposed bill, the basics of computer applications and programming will be
integrated in the school curriculum. A Board on Computer Education is created. Private sectors’
participation is enlisted through the grant of fiscal incentives to private sector participants. A
voucher system is institutionalized with respect to the country's nineteen (19) poorest provinces
to make these provinces at par with the rest of the country in terms of computer literacy.
Community linkages among the participants are likewise enjoined to hasten the nationwide
upgrading of computer skills.

In short, this bill is intended to prepare the Filipino youth to meet the technological
challenges of this new country.

Approval of this bill is, thus, earnestly requested.
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JUAN engARoo “SONNY” M. ANGARA

Representative
Lone District, Province of Aurora


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ;
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

H. B. No. _ Av?

Introduced by Honorable JUAN EDGARDO “SONNY” M. ANGARA

AN ACT
TO INTEGRATE COMPUTER EDUCATION PROGRAM INTO
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. It shall be the policy of the State to promote
functional computer literacy in all schools, at the earliest possible stage, and in a manner that is
most efficient and effective in producing a population that is highly skilled in the creation, use
and manipulation of computer software. In this regard, private sector initiative and participation
shall always be encouraged to achieve this policy objective.

SEC. 2. Board on Computer Education; Creation, Power and Functions. A Board
on Computer Education, hereafter referred to as Board, is hereby created to implement the
Provision of this Act and for this purpose shall have the following powers and shall have the
following powers and shall exercise the following functions:
a. Supervise the accreditation of the computer schools which will participate in the
program;
b. Assess and provide for the necessary training of the personnel of computer schools
of methods of teaching;
¢. Prepare the curriculum for computer-aided logic, math and science education in the
elementary level;
Monitor the performance of the computer schools;
Evaluate the abilities of the students enrolled in the program;
Issue and implement all rules and regulations provided for in this Act; and
Exercise all other powers and functions which may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act.

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SEC. 3. Board Composition. The Board shall be composed of the following Members:

a. One (1) representative from the Department of Education to be nominated by the
Secretary of Education

b. One (1) representative from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to be
nominated by the CHED Chairman;


c. One (I) representative from the Department of Science and Technology to be
nominated by the Secretary of Department of Science and Technology;

d, One (1) representative from the duly accredited professional organizations of
computer programmers and system analysts to be nominated by the recognized
leadership of these organizations;

@. One (1) representative from the National Economic Development Authority, to be
nominated by the Secretary-General of the National Economic Development
Authority; The representative from the Department of Education shall serve as
Chairman of the Board. The Chairman and the Members shall be appointed by the
President of the Republic of the Philippines for the term of five (5) years and shall
have the rank and compensation of a Bureau Director.

SEC. 4. Promotion of the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme and other similar
arrangements. The provision of Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, shall be applied to the
construction, operation and servicing of computer education and its facilities, Provided that any
contractual arrangement that will be utilized for this purpose shall additionally provide for the
following.

a. A training program for teachers not only on computer literacy but also on the

maintenance and servicing of computer education facilities; and

b. An apprenticeship program for interested students of the public school being

serviced whereby they may be employed as apprentices for the education
component or for the facilities maintenance component of computer education,

The build-operate-transfer arrangement or any other similar arrangements provided for
in Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, may be bidded out and awarded at the school district,
level or at the school level, in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations to be
issued by the Board.

SEC. 5. Institutionalization of the Voucher System for Specialized Computer
Education in the Nineteen (19) Poorest Provinces. In addition to whatever contractual
arrangements which may be utilized under the provisions of Section 4 hereof, there shall be
created a voucher system for specialized computer education in the country’s nineteen

(19) poorest provinces whereby each of these provinces shall be given the amount of Five
Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) each year from the annual budget allocated for the
implementation of the specialized computer education program or such amount as may be later
on provided by law.

Students in these provinces who have completed secondary education shall be allowed
to take competitive aptitude examinations in specialized computer education.

Students who have passed such qualifying examinations, or as many of those who may
provided funds from the annual budget, shall be given a voucher worth Five Thousand Pesos
(P5,000.00) each, or such amount as may be later on provided law, to enroll in a computer
school of his or her choice, to finish advanced and specialized computer courses such as, but

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not limited to, advanced programming, computer-aided design, hardware design, networking, or
‘such other courses that may be identified by the Board.

Each student shall be entitled to only one voucher. The Board shall issue the
implementing rules and regulations to ensure that students do not enroll in more than one
school, or that enrollment figures reflect actual enrollment, Student found guilty of violating this
‘one-voucher-per-student rule shall be subject to the penalties provided hereunder,

SEC. 6. Accreditation of Computer Education Service Providers. All entities
Participating in the activities described in Sections 4 and 5 hereof must be acoredited by the
Board as bona fide participants. The Accreditation shall be based on the following criteria:

a. The curriculum meets the standards provided for by the Board:

b. The quality of the computers and other peripherals to be provided and the other
Physical infrastructures to be built, operated or used which must ensure quality of
education and minimum health and safety-standards;

¢. The capability of the service provider's instructors. The Board will issue minimum
standards for evaluating teaching ability; and

d. With respect to renewal of applications, the performance of the students on
performance measures to be designed by the Board.

SEC. 7. Curriculum of Publicly-funded Computer Education. The computer literacy
Program acknowledges the vital participation of the private sector in the scheme, but the
curriculum shall be prepared by the Board. The curriculum should make use of computer
assisted education to teach elementary students the basic courses of math, science and logic.
These courses will prepare the student for the demands of computer programming and system
analysis, as well as strengthen the learning the student receives from the formal educational
system. The Board will also prepare the curriculum for computer programming and popular
software utilization, which will be taught at the high school level.

SEC. 8. Monitoring and Incentives on Performance. Monitoring of the program shall
be done to maintain the quality of education being given to the students. Performance measures
shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. Periodic renewal of accreditation or license to operate;

b. Testing;

c. National competitions; and

d. Unannounced visits to participating schools.

The Board shall formulate or commission the formulation of performance index which will
be used in assessing the performance of the participating schools. The latest results of the
evaluation of all schools shall be published before the start of every school year. The Board
shall formulate a system of rewards and incentives to promote excellence among the service

providers.


SEC. 9. Tax- free Importation of Computer Hardware and Software. A\l entities who
have been accredited, or who have obtained contracts as participants in the activities provided
for in Sections 4 and 5 hereof shall be given fiscal incentives.

These incentives shall include the tax- free importation of all computer hardware,
software, peripherals and documentary materials. However, these incentives shall be limited to
imports that are intended for the schools. These incentives shall last for a period of not more
than ten years from the effectivity of this Act.

‘The Board shall issue the implementing rules and regulations for the availment of the
incentives described herein.

SEC. 10. Phased Implementation. The computer education program shall be
implemented in phases to ensure that Program and infrastructure requirement shall be met, to
prepare the private sector for the demand for computer schools and equipment, and to prime-up
the local demand for computer-literate workers. The implementation shall be done in
accordance with the following objectives:

a. The graduation, one year from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high-school
students who can manipulate the most popular computer application programs in the
areas of word processing, database encoding and spreadsheets;

b. The graduation, three years from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high schools
students who are not only literate in the applications described in paragraph (a)
herein, but also in basic programming and system analysis; and

©. The immediate use of computer-aided education which complement the academic
instructions in math, science and logic.

SEC. 11. Community Linkages. Other software and computer programming may be
taught by the schools and service providers under a community link-up system whereby
additional training on the use of special software can be paid for by interested business or
manufacturing firms in the community. The business community will also be encouraged to
expand and update their manufacturing procedures to achieve efficiency through
computerization or computer-controlled processes.

SEC. 12. Budget and Funding. An initial budget of One Hundred Million Pesos
(P100,000,000.00) to be disbursed from the earnings of the lotteries conducted by the Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office is hereby appropriated for the payment of the services to be
provided under Sections 4 and 5 of this Act as well as for the expenses related to the
establishment and operation of the Board. Thereafter, the funds necessary for the continuous
implementation of this Act shall be included in the yearly General Appropriations Act.

The administrative expenses related to the implementation of this Act shall not be more
than three percent (3%) of the annual appropriations for this Computer Educations Program.

SEC. 13. Penalties. Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of Section 5
hereof shall be meted the following penalties:


a. The student shall pay the full cost of tuition, with interest thereon. The payment may
be in cash, or in its equivalent in terms of community service.

b. The accreditation of the service providers found guilty of padding their enrollment
figures, or for knowingly permitting a student to violate the provisions of Section 5
hereof shall be suspended, for the first offense, without prejudice to the payment of
twice the amount of reimbursement resulting from the padded enrollment as fine.

SEC. 14. Rules and Regulations. Within forty five (45) days from the effectivity of this
Act, the Board shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective

implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. In the event that any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected by such declaration.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or portions
thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 17. Effectivity. This law shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
two (2) national newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,