FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
} 
First Regular Session 
1 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 7 
jJ: -3 
p 6  :?: 
SENATE 
S.B.No. 909 
Introduced by SENATOR EDGARDO J. 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. w 
/+A 
EDGARDO J. ANGARA 
Senator 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
} 
7 
,]lit -3 PG 24 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
} 
First Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by SENATOR EDGARDO J. ANGARA 
AN ACT TO INTEGRATE COMPUTER EDUCATION PROGRAM INTO 
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be 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. 
SECTION 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; 
(c) Prepare the curriculum for computer-aided logic, math and science 
education in the elementary level; 
(d) Monitor the performance of the computer schools; 
(e) Evaluate the abilities of the students enrolled in the program; 
(f) Issue and implement all rules and regulations provided for in this 
Act; and 
(g) Exercise all other powers and functions which may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this Act. 
1 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
I1 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
SECTION 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; 
(e) 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. 
SECTION 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. 
2 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
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. 
SECTION 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,OOO.OO) 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 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. 
SECTION 6. Accreditation of Computer Education Service 
Providers. - All entities participating in the activities described in Sections 4 
and 5 hereof must be accredited 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; 
3 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
(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; 
(c) 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. 
SECTION 
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. 
SECTION 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; 
(e) 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. 
A 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
SECTION 9. Tax- free Importation of Computer Hardware and 
Software. - All 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. 
SECTION 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 
(c) The immediate use of computer-aided education which complement 
the academic instructions in math, science and logic. 
SECTION 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 
5 


1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
update their manufacturing procedures to achieve efficiency through 
computerization or computer-controlled processes. 
SECTION 12. Budget and Funding. - An initial budget of One 
Hundred Million Pesos (PlOO,OOO,OOO.OO) 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. 
SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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. 
6 


1 
SECTION 16. Repealing Clause. -- All laws, decrees, orders, rules 
2 
and regulations, or portions thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby 
3 
repealed or modified accordingly. 
4 
5 
6 
SECTION 17. Effectivity. -- This law shall take effect fifteen (15) 
days after its publication in two (2) national newspaper of general circulation. 
I 
8 
Approved, 
7