a REMRGS,
Republic of the Philippines i “
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVED
Qi Cit is VED
juezon City aye 20NOV Py

TIME:

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL No. 3399

Introduced by Representative EDGAR R. ERICE

AN ACT

PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN ALL
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS OF THE PHILIPPINES PURSUANT TO THE
AVOWED OBJECTIVES OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS “AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION
SYSTEM BY STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE
NUMBER OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Prior to the enactment of Republic Act No. 10533, otherwise known as “An
Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening its
Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating
Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes” in May of 2013, Philippines was one of only
three countries in the world (the other two being Angola and Djibouti), and the only
one in Asia, which requires ten (10) years of basic education.

The rest of the world has long deemed ten years of basic education as
insufficient to provide their respective young citizens with sufficient time for mastery
of concepts and skills, or to develop lifelong leamers, and to prepare graduates not
only for tertiary education, but also for middle level skills development, employment,
and entrepreneurship.’ Most countries therefore require an additional two (2) years
of senior high school to attain the said objectives.

Prescinding from this theory, the last Congress decided that it was high time
for the Philippines to upgrade the quality of education it gives to its constituents so
that the people can develop skills that would enable them to be competitive not only
within the Philippines, but more importantly, in the international arena.

The instant bill specifically seeks to provide an instrument to transform into

* The K to 12 Basic Education Program. Retrieved 6 November 2013 from http://www-gov.ph/k-12/,



reality the vision embodied in RA 10533 of providing Filipino citizens an educational
system at par with international standards like the Bologna Process for the European
Union and the Washington Accord for the United States. This can be achieved by
providing for the construction and establishment of Senior High Schools in all
legislative districts of the country. Within the walls of these Senior High Schools,
young Filipinos would gain two (2) years of specialized upper secondary education,
based on their aptitude and interests, and the capacity of the school, that would
allow them to have middle-level skills and offer them better opportunities to be
gainfully employed or become entrepreneurs?

The first batch of junior high school students under the K to 12 program is
scheduled to graduate in the summer of 2016. Education Secretary Armin Luistro
expects these graduates from public schools alone to reach One Million
(1,000,000)°. There would, therefore, be more than One Million (1,000,000) students
in 2016 (taking into consideration the students of private educational institutions) that
would need the specialized classrooms of the proposed Senior High Schools.
‘Assuming that there would be at least forty-five (45) students per classroom, we
need to build at least 22,000 classrooms in time for school year 2016 to 2017 and an
additional 22,000 more classrooms for school year 2017 to 2018. According to the
Department of Education the estimated cost of building one classroom is Seven
Hundred Thirty Thousand Pesos (Php730,000.00).* If we were to multiply this
estimated cost with the required number of classrooms, then we would need at least
Fourteen Billion Six Hundred Million Pesos (Php14,600,000,000.00) for 2016 and
another Fourteen Billion Six Hundred Million Pesos (Php14,600,000,000.00) for
2017. Given the magnitude of the needs of the Philippines in the coming years, it
would only inure to our benefit if we were adhere to the principle that there is no
better time than today to start preparing for the future of our country.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this p

DGAR R. ERICE
Ve Representative
2” District Caloocan City

2 The K to 12 Basic Education Program. Retrieved 6 November 2013 from hitp:/iwww.gov.phik-12/,

* DepEd Plans to Send More Students to Private Schools. Retrieved 6 November 2013 from
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/412597/deped-plans-to-send-more-students-to-private-
‘schools#ixzz2joXPCKFk.

* DepEd details P1.1M cost of each classroom. Retrieved 6 November 2013 from
http:/Ippp.gov.ph/?p=12396.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3389

Introduced by Representative EDGAR R. ERICE

AN ACT

PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN ALL
LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS OF THE PHILIPPINES PURSUANT TO THE
AVOWED OBJECTIVES OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS “AN ACT ENHANCING THE PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION
SYSTEM BY STRENGTHENING ITS CURRICULUM AND INCREASING THE
NUMBER OF YEARS FOR BASIC EDUCATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Establishment of Senior High Schools. There shall be
established, under the control and supervision of the Department of Education
(DepEd), a Senior High School for each of the legislative districts in the country,
pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 10533, otherwise known as “An Act
Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening its Curriculum
and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds
Therefor and for Other Purposes.”

The courses to be offered by the Senior High Schools shall be in accordance
with the enhanced basic education curriculum formulated and designed by the
DepEd in pursuance of Section 5 of the RA 10533 and in coordination with
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA).

SECTION 2. The budgetary allocation needed to carry out the provisions of
this Act is hereby authorized to be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act of
the year immediately following its enactment into law.

SECTION 3. Repealing Clause. — Alll laws, decrees, executive orders, rules
and regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed and/or modified
accordingly.


SECTION 4. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
following the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)
national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,