Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 979

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RENEE LOUISE M. CO

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM FOR E-BOOK PUBLISHING,
EMPOWERMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT ACT (SEPEDA)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

When the pandemic forced schools to swiftly transition to online learning, the
dearth of publicly accessible instructional materials in many disciplines and across all
levels became more pronounced. Students in elementary and high school, for
instance, lost secondary, substitute, and additional reading materials and references
that could have helped them in their studies while their teachers were forced to
produce modules. Whatever the age, children and youth found themselves with
relatively more time than usual—which could have been used as reading time were it
not for the lack of access to and money for books.

This, when some countries and entities such as the United States, the United
Kingdom, the European Union, and even some of our neighbor countries have been
providing open-access—that is, free and publicly accessible—electronic books or “e-
books” for years before.

In these places, the widest dissemination of knowledge—so essential to quality
education and cultivation of a culture of research—is ensured. It is high time for our
country to emulate the e-book publishing mindset, especially considering the fact that
majority of our students and academics have neither the money to spend for books nor
even the space in their homes to place them on. But, doubtless, they have the greatest


potential to imbibe the knowledge from those books and use it to develop themselves,
their families, and the nation.

Hopefully, through a vibrant book publishing industry—including an e-book
publishing industry—we can raise voracious readers and fervent reasearchers, first-
rate teachers and critical thinkers. This is a long-delayed update and follow-through
to what were mandated 28 years ago by Republic Act 8047 or the Book Publishing
Industry Development Act, such as the “creaifion of] conditions conducive to
development, production, and distribution of books, especially the acquisition and
adoption of state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and machineries on book
publishing” among “ensur[ing] an adequate, affordable, and accessible supply of
books for all segments of the population, to name a few.

This bill will provide for a system that boosts a less expensive means for
authors to make public and disemminate their knowledge, and will encourage
academics and publishers to publish more open-access books. This is one way of
bringing out and elevating state support to Filipino authorship towards greater
accessibility to books and learning references, increased quality of education, and a
more robust culture of research.

For the foregoing reasons, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
. (Aj M

p. ANTONIO L. TINIO Rep. rh HE LOUISE M.CO

ACT Teachers Party-List 'AAN Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 575

Introduced by
ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. ANTONIO L. TINIO
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. RENEE LOUISE M. CO

AN ACT

ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM FOR E-BOOK PUBLISHING,
EMPOWERMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT ACT (SEPEDA)

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

SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as “The System for E-Book Publishing,
Empowerment, and Development Act” (SEPEDA).

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The policy of the State to uphold the vital role of
communication and information in nation-building, as enshrined in Article II, Section
24 of the 1987 Constitution, is hereby recognized and implemented.

The policy of the State to promote the continuing development of the book
publishing industry, with the active participation of the private sector, to ensure an
adequate supply of affordable, quality-produced books, is hereby reiterated.

SEC. 3. Coverage. This Act shall cover all public and private publishing enterprises.
SEC. 4, National Library’s Online E-book Collection. The National Library is
hereby tasked to create and maintain the National Library's Online E-book Collection,

which will be the official repository for all e-books produced under this Act.

SEC. 5. E-Book Production of Public Publishers. Public agencies that also function
as publishers are hereby mandated to produce open access e-book titles every year.


SEC. 6. E-Book Production of Private Enterprises. Private publishing enterprises
that would publish at least 20 open access e-book titles every year shall be eligible for
tax incentives, subject to this aw’s implementing rules and regulations.

SEC. 7. E-Book Production of Individual Authors. The National Book Development
Board (NBDB), in coordination with leading public and private higher education
institutions in the country, is hereby mandated to devise a system that would allow
individual authors to publish their works as open access e-books, with the NBDB as
the publisher.

SEC. 8. Compensation for Authors of Open Access E-Books Published by Public
Agencies, including the NBDB, Subject to the implementing rules and regulations of
this Act, authors shall be given compensation for every open access e-book published.

SEC. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The National Library, the NBDB,
tment of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Komisyon sa Wikang
ino, and National Commission for Culture and the Arts, in consultation with
representatives of teachers’ organizations, professional organizations, and publishers
shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to implement this Act not later
than ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 10. Separability Clause. If any part or provision of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provision hereof which are not affected
thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules
and regulations, and other issuances, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 12. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or one (1) newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,