Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE:
Quezon City

Sixteenth Congress
1* Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 38215

Introduced by HON. ROGELIO NEIL P. ROQUE

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This bill seeks to establish a Higher Education Accessibility Loan Program,
a national, comprehensive and integrated loan assistance program for students
to give them access to higher education.

Section 1, Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that:

“The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens
to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to
make such education accessible to all.”

Education is not only a major factor in the nation’s economic and social
growth but also an important tool for human development. However, despite
govemment efforts to make it accessible to all citizens through scholarships,
grants-in-aid and special loan programs, quality higher education remains
inaccessible to many, especially to the poor or underprivileged. With the high
cost of tuition and other school fees and the other expenses needed to enroll in
higher education institutions, many high school graduates are unable to pursue
higher education for lack of financial resources.

Several student loan programs have been implemented by the govemment
to provide loan assistance to students who want to pursue higher education,
however, due to various factors such as limited scope and coverage, limited
funds, dubious loan processes, and inefficient loan collection schemes, these
programs tum out to be insufficient to afford all eligible citizens full access to
higher education.

This measure aims to make higher education more accessible by providing
a national loan assistance program to support all qualified applicants in pursuing
higher education. This bill also establishes a technology aided tracking system


between and among govemment agencies to ensure an efficient administration
of the program, create a competent monitoring and tracking scheme, and
facilitate automatic loan payment collection, in order to provide a more
comprehensive and effective educational loan program for higher education.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

nol let P. ROQUE


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Sixteenth Congress
4* Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 3215

Introduced by HON. ROGELIO NEIL P. ROQUE

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESSIBILITY LOAN
PROGRAM AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the
“Higher Education Accessibility Act.”

SEC. 2. Statement of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to
protect and promote the rights of all citizen to quality education and to take
appropriate action to ensure that it is accessible to all especially to the poor
and underprivileged. Towards this end, the State shall establish a
comprehensive and integrated educational loan assistance program for all
qualified student applicants to enable them to finish a higher education
course or study.

SEC. 3. Higher Education Accessibility Loan Program. —
There is hereby established a national and comprehensive higher education
loan assistance program under the Commission on Higher Education to

support qualified students in pursuing and obtaining higher education which


shall be known as the Higher Education Accessibility Loan Program
(HEALP).

For purposes of this Act, “higher education” means studies beyond
secondary level such as vocational or post-secondary technical education,
college course or bachelor’s degree course and post graduate studies.

SEC. 4. Executive Committee. — To carry out the policy declared
under this Act, there is hereby created an Executive Committee, hereinafter
referred to as the ExeCom, which shall formulate policies, guidelines, rules
and regulations necessary for the over all operation, management and
supervision of the HEALP. The Executive Committee shall be composed of
the following:

a) The Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, as
chairperson;

b) Director General of the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) as vice-chairperson;

c) Three (3) representatives from national students’ organizations
or associations;

d) ‘Two (2) representatives from state universities and colleges;
and

e) Two (2) representatives from private universities and colleges,
as members.

Cabinet-ranked ex officio members of the ExeCom shall
designate their permanent representatives to the ExeCom in case they fail
to attend its meetings. The designated permanent representative of any of

2:


the cabinet-ranked members of the ExeCom must hold a position not lower
than a bureau director.

The representatives of the students’ organizations, state and private
universities and colleges shall be chosen by the President from among the
nominees submitted by their organizations, colleges or universities to serve
in the ExeCom for a term of three (3) years.

The chairperson and members of the ExeCom shall be entitled to a
reasonable per diem for each meeting actually attended at such amount as
may be fixed by the ExeCom in accordance with existing laws, rules and
regulations.

The ExeCom shall, from time to time, call upon the participation of
government agencies to attend its meetings to assist in clarifying issues
and finding resolution to problems that concern their respective offices
pertinent to the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 5. Powers and Functions. — The ExeCom shall exercise
the following powers and functions:

a) Effectively implement the HEALP;

b) Develop fund generating programs for educational loans to
finance the loan assistance program;

c) Establish the policy, scheme and system for the loan program,

d) Create a technology aided tracking system for the efficient
collection of loan payments, ensure the collection and recovery of all
indebtedness, liabilities and accountabilities, and institute all necessary
legal actions to protect the Higher Education Loan Fund (HELF) as

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established under Section 18 of this Act;

e) Institute a system with the Government Service Insurance
System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) that will automatically
withhold the payment for the educational loan by borrowers who have
already gained employment and automatically remit the amount to the
HELF account;

f) Set up a system for the screening of loan applicants;

g) Establish offices, formulate organizational and administrative
structure, and staffing patter for its effective operation and administration:

h) Hire and appoint personnel and fix appropriate salaries;

i) Solicit and receive donations, legacies, grants and other forms
of contributions or donations which shall accrue to the HELF, whether in
cash or in property from various sources, domestic or foreign, and in
accordance with the existing laws and regulations;

) Invest or participate in any equity firm organized under existing
laws of the Philippines;

k) Formulate policies for the effective implementation of this Act;
and

!) Promulgate such rules and regulations and exercise such other
powers and functions as may be necessary to carry out the objectives of
this Act.

SEC. 6. Meetings. — The ExeCom shall hold regular monthly
meetings or as often as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act
The chairperson of the ExeCom shall be the presiding officer. The minutes

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of all meetings shall be recorded and attested by a majority of all the
ExeCom members present during the meeting.

SEC. 7. Quorum. — A majority of the members of the ExeCom
shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of its business.

SEC.8. Secretariat. — To carry out the administrative functions
and operations of the HEALP, the ExeCom shall create a Secretariat which
shall be headed by the Executive Director.

The Executive Director shall have at least seven (7) years of
experience in school administration and a holder of at least a master’s
degree conferred by a reputable educational institution.

The Secretariat shall exercise the following functions:

a) Execute and implement the policies, rules and regulations,
established and adopted by the ExeCom;

b) Administer and conduct the day to day operation of the HEALP
office;

¢) Process loan applications for the approval of the ExeCom; and

d) Perform such other powers and functions as may be
determined by the ExeCom.

The ExeCom shall provide for the qualifications and compensation of
the employees of the Secretariat in accordance with existing civil service
law, and rules and regulations.

SEC. 9. HEALP Offices. — The ExeCom may establish HEALP
offices in all regions and other areas of the Philippines as it may deem

necessary to carry out its powers and functions.


SEC.10. HEALP System Technology. - The ExeCom shall, in
consultation and coordination with the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Government Service Insurance
System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS) and the Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), establish a technology aided
system and linkages that will facilitate the efficient and effective
administration of HEALP, the automatic collection of the loan payments of
borrowers who are GSIS or SSS members, and the creation of a national
monitoring and tracking system of borrowers to enforce collection through
the cooperation of various government agencies.

SEC. 11. Information Campaign. - The ExeCom shall conduct an
information dissemination campaign for the benefit of the public, utilizing to
the maximum extent practicable, electronically accessible formats and
means, such as the World Wide Web. The information campaign shall
provide basic information to the public about the HEALP particularly on loan
qualifications, processes and payments.

SEC.12. Applicant Qualifications. — Any Filipino citizen who
graduates from a duly recognized high school and desires to continue a
vocational or college education, or any college graduate who wishes to
pursue post graduate studies, may apply for an educational loan under the
HEALP: Provided, That the applicant passes the entrance examination and
requirements of the school, college or university where the applicant

intends to enroll.


SEC. 13. Loanable Amount. - The maximum loan amount that
can be availed of by the borrower shall be determined by the ExeCom. It
shall cover tuition fees, school fees and educational expenses for books,
subsistence, board and lodging. The loan amount covering tuition fees,
other school fees, and educational expenses for books shall be released on
semestral basis while the amount intended for educational expenses for
subsistence and board and lodging shall be released monthly.

SEC. 14. Direct Payment. — The proceeds of the loan intended for
tuition and other school fees shall be paid directly to the school, college or
universities in the form of checks or guarantees.

SEC. 15. Loan Payment. - The loan obtained under this Act shall
be paid by the borrower after finishing the entire course or profession for
which the proceeds of the loan was expended after gaining an employment
or starting a profitable business: Provided, That when a borrower fails to
finish the course but secures gainful employment or operates a business,
the borrower must still pay the loan upon employment or operating a
business. The borrower may voluntarily pay the loan even before gaining
employment.

The borrower shall execute promissory notes, guarantees and other
loan instruments in securing the loan to ensure payment.

SEC.16. Interests. — The loan amount shall bear an interest of six
percent (6%) per annum except for the loan of the borrower whose family
income is below the poverty threshold as certified by the DWSD or the local

government unit where the borrower resides. The loan amount of the


borrower whose annual family income is below the poverty threshold shall
bear an interest of two percent (2%) per annum.

SEC. 17. Loan Collection Scheme. - To ensure collection, the
payment for the amortization of the loan secured under the HEALP shall be
automatically deducted by the GSIS and SSS from the salary of the
borrower upon employment. The GSIS and SSS shall remit the payments
to the Higher Education Loan Fund. The ExeCom shall determine the
amount to be withheld by the GSIS and SSS from the members who are
loan borrowers. The borrower may also opt to pay directly to any branch of
a government bank deputized to receive loan payments.

For purposes of collection, the ExeCom shall establish a technology
aided tracking system and linkages with the NBI, DILG, and POEA to
indicate in the NBI clearance, business permit and overseas employment
certificate that a person has availed of the benefits of HEALP and that the
borrower has unpaid balance on the loan secured under the HEALP. The
NBI clearance, business permit and overseas employment certificate of the
borrower shall not be issued or renewed unless the borrower presents a
certification or clearance from the HEALP that the borrower is not
delinquent in paying the loan, if already required to pay, or has already paid
the loan in full.

SEC.18. Higher Education Loan Fund. — A special fund, herein
referred to as the Higher Education Loan Fund, is hereby created to be held
in trust by the ExeCom and shall be used to finance the educational loan

grants to students under the HEALP.


SEC.19. Appropriations. —- There is hereby appropriated the sum
of Two Billion Pesos (P2,000,000,000.00) out of the funds in the National
Treasury not otherwise appropriated to be used to finance the HEALP. Five
Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) of said appropriation shall be used initially for
the operating expenses of the program, the rest shall form part of the
Higher Education Loan Fund.

Thereafter the amount necessary for the continuous implementation
of the program shall be included in the budget of the CHED under the
annual
General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 20. Non-Impairment Clause. — Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to diminish, impair, or repeal the rights granted to students under
existing laws.

SEC.21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety
(90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall, in consultation and
coordination with the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Labor, Secretary
of the Interior and Local Government, Chairpersons of the Board of GSIS
and SSS, Director of the NBI, Administrator of the POEA and students’
organizations, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 22. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part of this Act
is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not

affected shall remain in full force and effect.


SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. — All laws, executive orders,
presidential decrees, rules and regulation or parts thereof inconsistent with
any provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 24. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers
of general circulation.

Approved,