Eighteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _____
Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVE LOREN LEGARDA
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL STUDIES CENTERS IN
STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES THROUGHOUT THE PHILIPPINES, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The past 50 years has witnessed the rise of interest among Filipinos on the local
history, culture, and heritage of their provinces and cultural communities. The attention
and regard help one perceive how his or her locality contributes to the meaning of
Filipino that is multicultural and multilingual. In particular, local history has enriched the
ever-developing understanding of our nation’s past. It has paved the way for the
rewriting of Philippine history by acknowledging the role of illustrious personages from
the provinces and cultural communities. Understanding and discovering the wealth of
Philippine culture and history in the provinces and cultural communities help the national
government in various programs such as settling disputes; addressing stereotypes,
unequal
opportunities
and
representations;
conserving
what
has been studied,
recovered and previously taken for granted; and acknowledging our holistic identity,
which is beneficial in appraising Filipino identity and pride.
Pursuant to the foregoing, there is a need to establish Local Studies Centers in
all state colleges and universities (SUCs). These centers shall serve as research
institutions that focus on the grassroots level with the thrust of identifying, recognizing,
documenting, conserving, preserving, and promoting local history, folklore, language,
and other aspects of cultural heritage through academic, scientific, and scholastic
approaches. It is through learning and appreciating the wealth of our local history and
culture that we will be able to better enrich our national identity and achieve more
sustainable and inclusive social and economic progress.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
LOREN LEGARDA
November 26, 2021
9:35 am
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Eighteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _____
Introduced by
REPRESENTATIVE LOREN LEGARDA
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL STUDIES CENTERS IN
STATE
UNIVERSITIES
AND
COLLEGES
(SUCs)
THROUGHOUT
THE
PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
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 “Local Studies Center Act.”
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the long-standing efforts
of various private universities, colleges and SUCs in spearheading the idea of
establishing a local studies center. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to
recognize the wealth of Philippine culture and history in the provinces and cultural
communities, which is beneficial in strengthening government programs and policies
in:
dispute
settlement;
addressing
stereotypes,
unequal
opportunities
and
representations; conserving what has been studied and recovered; and appraising
Filipino identity and pride.
SECTION 3.
Establishment of Local Studies Centers. – There shall be established
local studies centers, hereinafter referred to as the “Center,” in each province, or if
necessary, dedicated for the cultural community at large, in state universities and
colleges (SUCs).
SECTION 4. Province- and Cultural Community-wide cooperation. – Given that there
are provinces and cultural communities with multiple SUCs, inter-institutional
cooperation is encouraged to prevent redundancy in establishing a Center.
SECTION 5. Existing Local Studies Centers. – It is hereby encouraged that the
existing local studies centers shall be automatically designated as the Center of a
particular province and/or cultural community, enjoying the support of other SUCs
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located within the immediate locality and cultural community and of the concerned
government agencies. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall maintain
a directory of existing and future Centers and ensure that no duplication and
redundancy shall take place.
SECTION 6. Structure and Staffing Pattern. – The administration of each individual
SUC-based Center shall have plantilla positions for a Director, a librarian or archivist,
history researchers, and if necessary, a museum curator, museum researchers, and
conservators. It shall have the liberty to determine its organizational structure and
create new divisions or units as it may deem necessary and appoint officers and
employees.
SECTION 7. Composition and Functions of the Center. – The Center shall be
composed of but not limited to the four (4) major service areas with their respective
functions namely:
a) Research Service Area – conducts research and studies on their locality and
cultural community to document local history culture and society
and
contribute in the local policymaking;
b) Publication Service Area – acts as the leading publisher of local history,
culture and society knowledge in the locality and cultural community, in print
and online. It shall support the production of educational materials on local
history, culture and society, the promotion of vernacular literature and
language, and other studies concerning the locality and cultural community.
c) Awareness Campaign Service Area – creates and promotes participatory
programs, projects, and activities to continue and encourage discourse on
local history, culture and society, as well as champion or cultivate the laws and
policies on cultural heritage to guide the local government units;
d) Collection Service Area – tasked with the collection building of local historical
and cultural resources and the conservation thereof, through:
i.
Collecting printed materials focusing on publications from their locality
and cultural community;
ii.
Gathering available microfilm/microfiche publications;
iii.
Photoduplicating documents found in various government institutions,
especially the national cultural agencies, and in other institutions where
data relevant to local studies are available, here and abroad;
iv.
Obtaining memoirs and other writings about significant personages and
institutions in the locality and cultural community;
v.
Acquiring materials significant to the enrichment of local history, culture
and society scholarship; and
vi.
Procuring through donations, exchanges or purchases of important
historical documents, manuscripts, journals, books, etc.
Section 8. SUC Support to the Center. The host SUC of a Center shall
a. Designate premises conducive and equipped enough to contain the collection
of the Center, conduct public programs such as lectures, seminars and
exhibits, and entertain researchers and visitors;


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b. Build the collection of the Center by acquiring and purchasing seminal
Filipiniana core collection;
c. Harmonize the university research program with the goals and objectives of
the Center;
d. Encourage localized studies among the faculty and the students to benefit the
immediate community where the school is located;
e. Involve academics, experts and scholars outside the SUC to contribute in the
research and publication activities of the Center; and
f.
Develop policies and programs appraising the quality and scholarship of
historical and cultural research and publication for the Center.
Section 9. Patronage of Publications Produced by the Center. The dire need for a
body of knowledge about the towns, cities, provinces, regions, and cultural
communities shall be augmented by encouraging the Center to produce regular
publications, either by its resident scholars or non-residents. It shall provide at least
two copies of each publication produced for deposit at the Historical Data Bank of
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the National Library of
the Philippines (NLP), and the University of the Philippines Diliman Filipiniana
Library. The Department of Foreign Affairs shall purchase copies of the publications
for dissemination to all Sentro Rizal cultural centers in foreign service posts. The
local school board and the Department of Education shall do the same for all public
and
private
schools
of the concerned immediate schools division, and the
Department of the Interior and Local Government and NLP for the public libraries.
SECTION 10. Local Historical Committees Network (LHCN). This existing unit within
the NHCP shall develop a comprehensive local and international linkage program
that
will
connect
the
Center
not
only
with
relevant
government
agencies,
non-governmental organizations, and other local and international historical and
cultural societies, committees, associations, and councils, whose objectives are in
line with the goals and objectives of the Center, but also with the national
government, the provincial government, and already existing Centers.
SECTION 11. Representation of the Center. The Center must be represented in the
Local School Board and the Local Culture and Arts Council of concerned local
government units, the National Economic and Development Authority in the regions,
and other government bodies concerning local history, culture, and heritage.
SECTION 12. Funding. – The initial funding requirements for the implementation of
this Act shall be charged against the current appropriations of the SUCs. Thereafter,
such sums as it may deem necessary for its continual implementation, shall be
included in the institutions’ yearly budgets under the General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 13. Repealing Clause – All laws, rules, and regulations or parts thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.


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SECTION 14. Separability Clause. – If any part, section or provision of this Act shall
be held invalid or unconstitutional, no other part, section or provisions thereof shall
be affected thereby.
SECTION 15. Effectivity – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved.