Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No] 13

Introduced by HONORABLE MARCELINO C. LIBANAN

AN
ACT CONVERTING THE SAMAR NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TRADE IN THE
MUNICIPALITY OF TAFT, PROVINCE OF EASTERN SAMAR INTO A POLYTECHNIC
INSTITUTION TO BE ADMINISTERED AND SUPERVISED BY THE TECHNICAL EDUCATION
AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The bill seeks to convert Samar National School of Arts and Trade (SNSAT) into Eastem Samar
Polytechnic State College (ESPSC).

‘The Samar National School of Arts and Trade (SNSAT) was established as trade school on June 21,
1969 by the enactment of Republic Act No. 5949, under the Department of Education Culture and Sports
(DECS), now the Department of Education (DepEd).

With the establishment of TESDA as agency, SNSAT was among those which qualified its transfer
from the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) to TESDA. SNSAT is one of
the supervised-Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) trainigg institutions of the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Throughout its history, SNSAT has effectively responded to TESDA's mandate, offering high-
quality and relevant TVET programs. The institution's goal has been to continuously enhance
educational offerings, meeting the burgeoning demand for technically skilled professionals both locally
and globally. This has included the introduction of higher-level courses and diploma programs aimed at
bridging the skills gap in various industries.

The conversion of SNSAT to ESPSC represents a pivotal shift towards creating a more responsive,
industry-aligned educational institution that caters to the evolving demands of the global job market. The
approval of this bill is crucial for realizing this vision and significantly enbancing technical education and
vocational training in Easter Samar and beyond. Therefore, eamest support for this legislative initiative is
sought to ensure its successful enactment and implementation. This bill has been filed in the 19° Congress
of the Philippines and was approved by the House on February 3, 2025.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 113

Introduced by Representative MARCELINO C. LIBANAN

AN ACT
CONVERTING THE SAMAR NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TRADE IN THE
MUNICIPALITY OF TAFT, PROVINCE OF EASTERN SAMAR INTO A
POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION TO BE ADMINISTERED AND SUPERVISED BY THE
TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 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 “Eastern Samar Polytechnic
Institute Act”.

SEC. 2. Conversion. — The Samar National School of Arts and Trade (SNSAT) located in
the Municipality of Taft, Province of Eastern Samar, is hereby converted into a polytechnic
institution, to be known as the “Eastern Samar Polytechnic Institute (ESPD),” under the supervision
and administration of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

SEC. 3. The General Mandate. — The ESPI shall restructure its technical-vocational
education and training (TVET) curricular programs to respond to the needs of the local and
international labor markets for technical skills, and align curriculum with current international
skills standards.

To this end, the ESPI shall upgrade its curricular standards as a post-secondary polytechnic
skills educational institution and provide higher level competency qualifications for instructors in
TESDA-tegistered TVET programs and certificate courses. It shall provide relevant skills
trainings and trade specialization courses to facilitate the acquisition by the citizenry of the
necessary technical skills that will enhance their access to gainful employment, practical livelihood,
and entrepreneurial opportunities, and thus hasten the development of the host area and the
adjacent localities in the Province of Eastern Samar into human resource and productivity hubs.

Priority admission to the ESPI, including availment of scholarships, grants-in-aid and other
forms of student financial assistance, shall be given to the most economically disadvantaged
students, out-of-school youths, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples in the
Municipality of Taft and the adjacent localities in the Province of Eastern Samar to ensure their
development into productive and globally competitive skilled labor assets.


The ESPI shall serve as a TESDA-accredited assessment center, subject to the accreditation
requirements under the Philippine TVET Competency Assessment and Certification System, for
acquired competencies in TVET programs in the Province of Eastern Samar. It shall also provide
teachers’ training and assistance to secondary schools offering the technical-vocational livelihood
track under the K to 12 Program in the area of curriculum designing, in coordination with the
Department of Education (DepEd), the TESDA and the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE).

SEC. 4, Curricular Offerings and Training Programs. - The ESP| shall offer TESDA-
registered TVET programs, undergraduate certificate courses, and short-term courses and modular
trainings on preferred technical-vocational skills. It shall aim to meet the competency requirements
under Level V of the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), which is the diploma level in
TVET.

To this end, the DOLE, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science
and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), business-industry
partners, and other relevant agencies and instrumentalities, both local and international, shall
provide the necessary assistance so the ESPI can produce skilled manpower to supply the needs of
a robust and inclusive economy.

The ESPI may establish research and technology hubs. technology development farms,
satellite or extension training centers, promote mobile training programs, and strengthen linkages
with industry partners and the academe.

It shall also adopt the use of innovative training modes such as information technology-
assisted instruction, dual learning system, open or distance education, community laboratory, and
such other instructional programs that will allow local residents greater access to TVET program
offerings of the ESPI.

Course completion at the ESPI shall be credited after a skills competency assessment under
National Certification Levels III to V. When applicable, TVET competency shall qualify a student
for academic degree recognition under the ladderized interface system for tertiary education,
provided that the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education are complied with.

The ESPI shall offer skills development for higher competency qualifications in areas
relating to technical-industrial education, trade technology, tourism, agricultural technology,
business literacy, and innovation in TESDA -registered skills courses as follows:

(a) Skills training in industrial technology and hard trades such as metal and steelwork,
machine fabrication and operation, heavy equipment operation, automotive
mechanical assembly, refrigeration and air conditioning, electronics, and operation of
power tools and equipment for both medium skills grade and industrial purposes;

(b) Tourism and hospitality-related courses relating to hotel, restaurant, and tourism
development management; {

(©) Agriculture and aquaculture-related trainings and skills development in such areas as


farming technology, fishing operations technology, backyard farming and home-
based aquaculture and propagation innovations, mechanized farming, fishing tools
and equipment operation, agribusiness and agri-aqua trade technology and
innovations, and relevant training seminars for farmers and fisherfolk to encourage
entrepreneurship and thus increase productivity;

(d) Livelihood skills development courses for preferred skills employment and small-
scale entrepreneurship, including practical skills education in arts and crafts,
workmanship and design, high-speed sewing, dressmaking and tailoring, horticulture,
livestock raising and breeding, food processing technology, home technology,
culinary arts and commercial cooking, cosmetology, and health and wellness training;

(e) Basic business literacy training in financial management, marketing, practical
accountancy, bookkeeping, office procedures, business processes and application
procedures, including registration, licensing, documentation, business patent and
intellectual property regulation, business financing and investment opportunities
sourcing, import-export accreditation, online home-based business operation, and use
of social media business marketing;

(f) Technical-vocational occupation and trades skills such as carpentry. masonry,
plumbing, welding, practical electricity and installation, automotive servicing,
electronics servicing, personal computer servicing, and such other relevant practical
skills courses;

(g) Computer literacy and information technology-related skills, basic computer
operation, web development, digital animation, game development and computer-
aided design application;

(h) Social communication skills development and language proficiency courses in
English and other languages for business process outsourcing employment and
overseas job placement;

(i) Personality development, career counseling and job placement. and work ethic and
values; and

(j) Other preferred priority skills and trades training that may be needed by the people of
the Municipality of Taft and the adjacent localities to enhance their capacities for
practical livelihood, gainful employment and entrepreneurship skills.

SEC. 5. Compliance with TESDA Requirements. - The provisions of this Act
notwithstanding, the conversion of the SNSAT into the ESPI shall become operational only upon
the issuance by the TESDA of a formal recommendation and certificate of compliance attesting
that the ESPI has satisfactorily complied with the minimum standards of quality it has prescribed
governing the following:

(a) Standard procedures and guidelines for the conversion and operation of a TESDA
polytechnic institute; {

(b) Operational sustainability of the ESPI in terms of licensed faculty-trainers and


personnel, equipment, training and laboratory facilities, instructional materials, and
other standard requirements of a TESDA-accredited and supervised school;

«

Sustainable funding source and regular allocation of budgetary requirement for
TESDA-operated schools;

@

Full alignment of the training programs offered with the minimum standards of
competency-based quality technical-vocational technology skills and the needs of the
host area and adjacent localities served within the context of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations integration and the PQF for TVET; and

(e) Compliance with such other TESDA conditionalities and standards, as may be
necessary and applicable, on the conversion of the SNSAT.

SEC. 6. Administration. -The ESPI shall be headed by a Vocational School Superintendent
under the supervision of the TESDA, who shall render full-time service and be responsible for its
administration and operation. The Vocational School Superintendent shall be appointed by the
TESDA Director General in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Civil Service
Commission (CSC) and the qualification requirements for such office.

The Vocational School Superintendent shall pursue cooperative undertakings and
partnerships with locally based private and public institutions, counterpart agencies or
instrumentalities, and other persons as may be necessary to effectively implement this Act, subject
to the approval of the TESDA Director General.

The academic and administrative staff of the ESPI shall be organized following the staffing
pattern of the TESDA for such type of schools, pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations of
the CSC.

SEC. 7. Assets, Liabilities and Personnel. -All assets, fixed and movable. personnel,
records and documents, as well as the liabilities or obligations of the SNSAT, shall be transferred
to the ESPI: Provided, That the positions, rights, and security of tenure of faculty and personnel
therein employed prior to its conversion into the ESPI, shall not be impaired, pursuant to existing
laws,

All parcels of land belonging to the government occupied by the SNSAT are henceforth
declared as property of the ESPI and shall be titled under that name: Provided, That should the
ESPI cease to exist or such aforementioned parcels of land be no longer needed by the ESPI, the
same shall revert to the local govemment unit (LGU) concerned or to the Province of Eastern
Samar.

SEC. 8. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the initial funding of the operation of
the ESPI shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the SNSAT. Thereafter, the
funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -Within ninety (90) days after the approval
of this Act, the TESDA shall, in coordination with the DOLE, DTI, DOST, DA, Department of
Budget and Management, DepEd, DILG, NEDA, the concerned LGUs, and such other relevant
agencies and industry-business partners of the host locality, issue rules and regulations for the



effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 10, Separabitity Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected
and shall remain in force and in effect.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. -All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are repealed or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette ot in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,