Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
INTRODUCED BY TUTOK TO WIN 
PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVE SAM “SV” VERZOSA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Last May 18, 2023, the CNN reported that “Pinoys have below average IQ.” Based 
on World Population Review, out of 199 countries, the Philippines ranked 111th with an 
average IQ of 81.64. 1 This is far from the global average IQ of a person which is 100. 
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) also reported in their 
2018 assessment that the Philippines scored the lowest in Reading and second lowest in 
Science and Mathematics. 2  
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) thus confirmed that we 
are now in the middle of an educational crisis.3 They stated that: 
“The country still has high attendance rates at all levels of the education 
system compared to countries of similar development state. It is, however, 
facing the challenge of low quality on the average.”  
1 Report: Filipinos have below average IQ. Accessed at: http://www.cnnphilippines.com/videos/2023/5/18/Report--Filipinos-
have-below-average-IQ.html#:~:text=A%20report%20reveals%20that%20Filipinos,Kaithreen%20Cruz%20tells%20us%20more 
2 https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_PHL.pdf 
3 Philippine Education: Situationer, Challenges, and Ways Forward by Aniceto C. Orbeta Jr. and Vicente B. Paqueo Philippine 
Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). Discussion Paper Series No. 2022-2023. Accessed at; 
https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/document/pidsdps2223.pdf 
May 22, 2023
2:50 pm
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Thus, they recommended that: 
 
“This finding can be interpreted to mean that an average Filipino student 
spent more time in school but less productively than their counterparts in 
comparator countries. We should focus more on improving quality 
because our attendance rates are already high…”  
 
If we are to correlate the PIDS study to the PISA findings and other scholarly 
journals, the problem lies in the students having excessive school hours but are low in 
learning productivity. Upon going home, they are still piled with homework, despite 
experts saying that one (1) hour of homework is enough.4 
The solution is clear: we need to increase the learning productivity in school and 
reduce homework because there is very little, if any, evidence that time spent on 
homework in most subject areas has a positive effect on achievement5. Moreover, too 
much homework causes stress and physical health problems.6  
In 2013, research conducted at Stanford University found that students in high-
achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, 
physical health problems, a lack of balance in their lives, and alienation from society.7 
In one study, pupils who get homework perform 12 percent worse on average than 
those pupils who do not get homework.8 Alternatively, having less homework 
contributed to the better performance of a student.9  
Having too much homework can also be one of the reasons why according to the 
Department of Education, we have reached 404 cases of suicide and 2,147 attempted 
suicides by students in the last school year.10  
The optimal amount of time to spend on homework is 90-100 minutes daily and 
once that threshold is passed, the time spent and the amount of homework stopped being 
effective and end up being detrimental. However, the most effective is not always the 
 
4 Fernández-Alonso, R., Suárez-Álvarez, J., & Muñiz, J. (2015). Adolescents’ homework performance in mathematics and science: 
Personal factors and teaching practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 1075–1085. Accessed at: 
https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000032 
5 https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/09/01/does-homework-work-when-kids-are-learning-all-day-home/ 
6 Is Too Much Homework Bad For Your Kids?. Accessed at: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/children-more-homework-
means-more-stress-031114#Consequences-for-high-school-students- 
7 Ibid. 
8 Who benefits from homework assignments? Economics of Education Review Volume 30, Issue 1, February 2011, Pages 55-64. 
9 British Educational Research Journal Volume 25, Issue 3 p. 323-341 Homework and Attainment in Primary Schools, Steve Farrow, 
Peter Tymms, Brian Henderson 
10  404 Estudyante nag-suicide noong 2021 – DepEd. Accessed at: https://thepost.net.ph/news/nation/404-estudyante-nag-suicide-
noong-2021-deped/ 


most efficient. Around 1 hour a day of homework seems to be sufficient time to achieve 
satisfactory results.11  
There is also a disparity between the rich and the poor when it comes to doing 
homework. Kids from wealthier homes are more likely to have resources such as 
computers, internet connections, dedicated areas to do schoolwork and parents who tend 
to be more educated and more available to help them with their homework.  
On the other hand, kids from disadvantaged homes are more likely to work at after 
school jobs, or to be home without supervision in the evenings, taking care of their 
siblings while their parents work multiple jobs. Adding homework into the mix is one 
more thing to deal with — and if the student is struggling, the task of completing 
homework can be too much to consider at the end of an already long school day.12 
According to the Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) President, 
Ms. Eva P. De Leon, giving of homework affects the balance between academic and life 
skills learning. It diminishes family time, interaction, and the opportunity for the students 
to learn from their parents the necessary life skills that cannot be taught in the four 
corners of the classroom. 
Thus, in order for the pupils to enjoy their childhood and to allow them to spend 
quality time with their parents, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd 
Memorandum Circular No. 392, s. 2010 advising teachers to limit the giving of homework 
to public elementary school pupils to a reasonable quantity on weekdays while no 
homework shall be given to them during weekends. 
This bill thus aims to institutionalize and expand the Department of Education 
(DepEd) Memorandum Circular No. 392, s. 2010 which is the main guideline on giving 
homework or assignments to all public elementary school pupils. 
Therefore, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
 
 
                 SAM “SV” VERZOSA 
  
                        Representative 
                                     Tutok to Win Party List 
 
 
11 Fernández-Alonso, R., Suárez-Álvarez, J., & Muñiz, J. (2015). Adolescents’ homework performance in mathematics and science: 
Personal factors and teaching practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(4), 1075–1085. Accessed at: 
https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000032 
12 Education Inequity: Homework and its Negative Impact on Students. Accessed at: 
https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/education-inequity-and-homework/ 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
INTRODUCED BY TUTOK TO WIN 
PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVE SAM “SV” VERZOSA 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A NO-HOMEWORK POLICY FOR ALL PRIMARY AND 
SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “No Homework Law”. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
safeguard and promote the welfare of teachers and school children, protect them from 
conditions that may adversely affect their health and their right to a balanced life, and 
uphold the quality among students across different socio-economic backgrounds. 
SEC. 3. Scope. – This Act shall apply to both public and private primary and 
secondary schools in the country. 
         SEC 4. No Homework on Weekends. All primary and secondary schools in the 
country shall not allow teachers to give any homework or assignments to primary and 
secondary students during weekends. Assigning homework to students will only be 
allowed on weekdays; Provided, that such homework shall be minimal and will not 
require more than four (4) hours per week to be completed. 
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SEC. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). – Within ninety (90) days from 
the approval of this Act, the Department of Education (DepEd) shall formulate the 
necessary rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act. 
 
SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations contrary 
to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended 
accordingly. 
 
SEC. 7. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part of this Act or the application 
thereof to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder 
of this Act shall not be affected thereby. 
 
SEC. 8. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette. 
 
Approved,