Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.____ 
Introduced by Representative MA. VICTORIA CO-PILAR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Access to quality basic education remains one of the starkest fault lines separating 
urban centers from the geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict‑affected 
areas (GIDCA) of the Philippines. Children in remote mountains, island barangays, and 
regions scarred by insurgency or natural calamity still trek hours—often on foot or by 
boat—to reach the nearest school, if one exists at all. Where school buildings do stand, 
they are frequently makeshift structures without electricity, internet connectivity, or 
sufficient teachers. As a result, literacy rates, completion rates, and overall learning 
outcomes in these communities consistently lag behind national averages. 
The 1987 Constitution mandates the State to “establish and maintain a system of 
free public education in the elementary and high school levels” and “take appropriate 
steps to make such education accessible to all.” Republic Act No. 9155 likewise tasks the 
Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure that every Filipino child has access to 
complete, quality basic education. Despite these mandates, government data show that 
more than a million school‑age children in GIDCA remain out of school, while many 
Indigenous Peoples (IPs) still lack culturally appropriate learning facilities within their 
ancestral domains. Physical isolation, rugged terrain, and intermittent conflict have 
hindered government’s ability to build and maintain schools, deliver social services, and 
attract qualified teachers to these areas. 
By turning the constitutional promise of universal education into concrete, 
measurable action, this measure lays the groundwork for inclusive growth and social 
justice. It affirms that distance, poverty, and conflict should never deprive a Filipino child 
of the fundamental right to learn, dream, and thrive.  
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In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is earnestly 
sought. 
July 24, 2025
3:40 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.____ 
Introduced by Representative MA. VICTORIA CO-PILAR 
AN ACT 
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ESTABLISHING PUBLIC BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY 
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ISOLATED AND DISADVANTAGED AND CONFLICT-AFFECTED AREAS, 
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PROVIDING ACCESS ROADS LEADING TO LAST MILE SCHOOLS, AND 
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APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in  Congress 
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assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Last Mile Schools Act”.  
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SEC. 2.  Declaration of Policy. – It is the declared policy of the State to protect and 
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promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and take appropriate 
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steps to make such education accessible to all.  
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The State recognizes and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities 
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within the framework of national unity and development. To this end, the State shall 
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recognize the right of indigenous families and communities to retain shared 
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responsibility for upbringing, training, education and well-being of their children, 
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consistent with the rights of the child.  
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The State shall improve the quality and access to basic education of children in the 
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far-flung, isolated, disadvantaged and conflict-affected areas, as well as those in Last Mile 
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Schools, by investing on school infrastructures and roads leading to the said public 
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schools.  
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SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act: 
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(a) Basic education refers to the intended basic learning needs which provide the
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foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It includes
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kindergarten, elementary and secondary education as well as alternative 
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learning systems for outof-school learners and those with special needs;  
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(b) Basic Education School refers to learning institutions accredited by the 
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Department of Education (DepEd) to deliver services addressing the intended 
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basic learning needs of students;    
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(c) Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)/Indigenous Peoples (IPs) refer to the same 
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definition stated in Section 3h, Chapter 2 of Republic Act No. 8371, or “The 
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Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997”, which describes it as “group of people 
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or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, 
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who have continuously lived as organized community on communally 
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bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since 
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time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing 
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common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural 
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traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of 
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colonization, nonindigenous religions and cultures, became historically 
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differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include 
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peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the 
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populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or 
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colonization, or at the time of inroads of nonindigenous religions and cultures, 
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or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their 
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own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been 
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displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside 
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their ancestral domains”; and  
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(d) Last Mile Schools refer to public basic education schools with gaps in resources 
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and facilities which are located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged 
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and conflict-affected areas (GIDCA).   
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SEC. 4.  Establishment of Last Mile Schools. – The Last Mile Schools are hereby 
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established, under the administration of the DepEd, to cater to the basic education of 
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learners throughout the country’s GIDCA.   
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The establishment of Last Mile Schools in locations situated by the ICCs shall be 
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undertaken in consideration of the rights of the IPs, in accordance with Republic Act No. 
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8371.    
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SEC. 5. Access to Education. – The DepEd shall collaborate with concerned national 
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government agencies for the delivery of the infrastructures necessary to ensure access to 
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education in the Last Mile Schools, namely:  
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(a) Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for the construction of 
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access roads leading to the location of Last Mile Schools;  
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(b) Department of Energy (DOE) and National Electrification Administration 
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(NEA), for the installation of electricity; and  
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(c) Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), for the 
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installation of information and communications technology.  
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SEC. 6. Criteria. – The indicators used in identifying a public school to be included 
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among the Last Mile Schools are the following:   
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(a) Having less than four (4) classrooms;  
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(b) With makeshift or nonstandard rooms;  
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(c) Absence of or irregular electricity;  
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(d) Have not been allocated funds for repairs or new construction projects in the 
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last four (4) years unless destroyed;  
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(e) With travel distance of more than one hour from the center of a city or 
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municipality, or with difficulty of terrain or of such nature as to be considered 
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having difficulty of access to existing educational institutions;  
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(f) Having multigrade classes or rooms;  
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(g) With less than five (5) teachers;  
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(h) Having a student population of less than one hundred (100) learners;   
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(i) With more than seventy-five percent (75%) IP learners; and  
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(j) Having such other circumstances that make it difficult for learners to access 
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school facilities.  
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SEC. 7. Implementation. – The school building program for the Last Mile Schools shall 
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be established and completed within a period of five (5) years after the effectivity of this 
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Act.  
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To facilitate synchronicity, harmony and complementarity of plans, resources and 
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efforts of both the national government and the local government units (LGUs) towards 
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the attainment of the objectives of this Act, the DepEd shall plan and implement the 
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programs, projects, and activities that address the needs of the Last Mile Schools, in 
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coordination and collaboration with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples 
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(NCIP), DPWH, DICT, DOE, NEA, Department of Social Welfare and Development 
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(DSWD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Disaster 
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Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), and concerned LGUs.  
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SEC. 8. Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the implementation of this Act 
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shall be included in the budgets of the concerned Departments, agencies and 
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Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations in the annual General Appropriations 
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Act.  
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SEC. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days from the 
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approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall, in consultation with the NCIP, 
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DPWH, DICT, DOE, NEA, DSWD, DENR, NDRRMC, and Union of Local Authorities of 
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the Philippines, formulate the rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this 
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Act.    
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SEC. 10. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.  
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SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders and rules and regulations 
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contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended 
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accordingly.    
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SEC. 12. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
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in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.   
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Approved,   
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