FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.No. 1623 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article XIV, Section I provides that: 
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SEC. 1. The State shal1 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. 
In Section 2 paragraph 3 of the same article, the Constitution further mandates that: 
SEC. 2. The State shall: 
(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarShip grants, student loan 
programs, subsidies and other incentives which shall be avaIlable to 
deserving students in both public and private schools, espeCIally to the 
underpnvileged; 
In a recent letter to the editor published by the Inquirer entitled "UP Closed to the 
Brightest of Poor"!, Mr. Noli Reyes highlighted the financial problems besetting our students in 
our country's premiere State University. The poor student was not able to neither afford the 
tuition fee nor figure out how to work through the system to assist him in his education. As a 
result, he did not pursue the degree program he worked so hard to get into. Without any 
connections, the poor student was not able to avail in time any of the multitudes of scholarship 
programs available to our impoverished youth. 
By creating a centralized scholarship database online, scholarship infoJ111ation will be 
easily accessible to both the institutions granting the scholarship and their beneficiaries. It will 
make the application for scholarship truly competitive instead of being limited to those who have 
direct access to the information. 
I Reyes, Noli N. UP Closed to the Brightest of the Poor. Philippine Daily InqUIrer. June 20, 2008. 


This bill seeks to democratize the access to scholarship information by making the 
information available online. This will effectively connect the sponsors to their intended 
beneficiaries and truly provide support to the less privileged but deserving students. 2 
2 ThIS bill was onginally filed 111 the Fourteenth Congress, Second Regular Session 
2 


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
) 
) 
First Regular Session 
SENiW23 
S.No.~~~~ 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
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AN ACT 
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TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A 
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PUBLIC WEBSITE THROUGH WHICH INDIVIDUALS MAY FIND A COMPLETE 
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DATABASE OF AVAILABLE SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND OTHER 
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PROGRAMS OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE STUDY OF SCIENCE, 
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TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of representatives of the Philippines in 
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Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title . . - This Act shall be known as the "National STEM Scholarship 
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Database Act." 
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SECTION 2. Establishment of a Database. - The Secretary of Education shall establish 
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and maintain, on the public website of the Department of Education, a database consisting of 
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information on scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of financial assistance available 
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from public and private sources for the study of science, technology, engineering, or 
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mathematics at the post-secondary and post-baccalaureate levels. 
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SECTION 3. Presentation of Information. - The information maintained on the database 
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established under the preceding section shall be displayed on the website in the following 
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manner: 
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(A) Separate information shall be provided for each of the fields of study referred to in 
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Section 2 and for post-secondary and post-baccalaureate programs of financial assistance. 
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(B) The database shall provide specific information on any programs of financial 
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assistance which are targeted to individuals of a particular gender, ethnicity, or other 
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demographic group. 
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(C) If the sponsor of any program of financial assistance included on the database 
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maintains a public website, the database shall provide hyperlinks to the website. 
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(D) In addition to providing the hyperlink to the website of a sponsor of a program of 
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financial assistance as required under subparagraph (C), the database shall provide 
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general information that an interested person may use to contact the sponsor, including 
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the sponsor's electronic mail address. 
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(E) The database shall have a search capability which permits an individual to search for 
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information on the basis of each category of the information provided and on the basis of 
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combInations of categories of the infonnation provided, including whether the 
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scholarship is need- or merit-based and by relevant academic majors. 
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(F) The database shall include a recommendation that students and families should 
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carefully review all of the application requirements prior to applying for aid, and a 
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disclaimer that the scholarships presented in the database are not provided or endorsed by 
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the Department of Education. 
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SECTION 4. Dissemination of Information on Database. - The Secretary shall take such 
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actions as may be necessary on an ongoing basis, including sending notices to secondary schools 
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and institutions of higher education, to disseminate infonnation on the database established and 
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maintained under this Act and to encourage its use by interested parties. 
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SECTION 5. Use of Vendor to Obtain Information. -
In carrying out this Act, the 
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Secretary of Education shall enter into a contract with a private entity under which the entity 
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shall furnish and regularly update all of the information required to be maintained on the 
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database established under this section. 
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SECTION 6. Encouraging the Provision of Information. - In carrying out this Act, the 
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Secretary of Education and the contracted entity shall consult with public and private sources of 
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scholarships and make easily available a process for such entities to provide regular and updated 
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information. 
2 


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SECTION 7. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
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hereby necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
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SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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vaJid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or is inconsistent 
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with the provision ofthis Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved, 
/apm062708 
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