, ., 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 15 0 2 
) 
) 
) 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The country is besieged by a multitude of problems but none as 
tremendous as the critical condition of our educational system tOday: the 
staggering shortage in classrooms, school facilities and educational materials, 
the shortage of teachers in public schools, and the dismal performance of our 
students. In the midst of a food crisis and skyrocketing prices of basic 
commodities, schoolchildren from the poorest families face the threat of hunger 
or malnutrition even as the government has resorted to allocating food subsidies. 
Given the scarce resources of the national government, there is a need to 
be innovative in our approach in harnessing investments for education and health 
modernization programs. Only recently, the National Telecommunications 
Commission explored the possibility of lowering access charges between 
telecommunication companies for text messaging or short messaging service 
(SMS). This bill. proposes that instead of merely lowering the cost of 
communication through lowered access charges, current rates should be 
maintained but with the government collecting half of the revenues, to be used to 
fund critical programs for acceleration of education .and health standards in the 
country, At the same time, the economy is pump-primed with much needed 
investments. 
For these purposes, this bill seeks to create the Health and Education 
Acceleration Program (HEAP) Corporation, a government corporation to 
spearhead the rehabilitation arid acceleration of education and health 
infrastructure in the country. Under the HEAP, every commercial mobile service 
provider shall be required to remit to the HEAP Fund half or 50% of its net 
revenue earnings arising from local text messages. These funds shall be 
earmarked for the construction of classrooms, 
computer and science 
laboratories, clean cafeterias and school facilities for schoolchildren's wholistic 
development, acquisition of books, desks, chairs and instruction materials, hiring 
of teachers, regular conduct of teacher-training programs and augmentation of 
teachers' 
pay 
provision 
of scholarship 
grants to deserving 
students; 
establishment of school clinics with dental equipment and a regular staff nurse; 
and school feeding and vaccination programs. For these reasons, the passage of 
this bill is earnestly sought. 
OY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 1502 
) 
) 
) 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
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CREATING THE HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACCELERATION PROGRAM 
CORPORATION, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Health and 
Education Acceleration Program (HEAP) Act of 2013". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policies. - It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to protect the right of all citizens to quality and accessible education 
especially at the elementary and high school levels, and to promote the 
modernization, acceleration and efficient delivery of basic education, while 
ensuring the right of teachers to professional advancement and adequate 
remuneration for their talents. It is likewise declared the policy of the State to 
achieve improvements in the delivery of basic health services to the studentry, 
recognizing the integral value of health for any nation, the coordination of 
resources from all sectors, and the right to access quality care. To this end, the 
State shall encourage the participation of the private sector and the whole 
citizenry in the pursuit of a comprehensive and long-term rehabilitation and 
modernization program in the education sector. 
SEC. 3. Health and Education Acceleration Program Corporation. -
There is hereby created a body corporate to be known as the Health and 
Education Acceleration Program Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the 
"Corporation") to carry out the purposes of this Act, which shall be vested with 
the powers of a corporation. The Corporation shall be an independent 
government instrumentality attached to the Office of the President for 
administrative purposes only. It shall establish its principal office in Metropolitan 
Manila. 
SEC. 4. Powers and Functions of the HEAP Corporation. - The 
Corporation shall have the following powers and functions: 
(a) To administer the Health and Education Acceleration Program; 
" 


(b) To hold and administer the HEAP Fund created under Section 5, 
according to the purposes specified under Section 6, of this Act; 
(c) To implement all policies and programs of the Department of Education 
and Department of Health necessary for the accomplishment of the 
objectives of this Act; 
(d) To adopt, prepare and implement a comprehensive and detailed six-
year development plan during its first fiscal year of operation, containing 
an assessment of the existing needs of public elementary and high 
schools and embodying a list of projects, including but not limited to those 
provided in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), for 
the rehabilitation and enhancement of the national educational and school 
health system; Provided, That on its third year and every three years 
thereafter, the Board of Directors of the Corporation created under Section 
8 of this Act shall review the existing development plan taking into 
consideration the completion, status and impact of projects. 
(e) To apply for, receive and accept grants and donations and other 
conveyances by gratuitous title, including funds, materials, equipment and 
services needed to accomplish its objectives under this Act; (f) To do all 
such other things and to transact all such business directly or indirectly 
necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment of its purpose; (9) To 
exercise the power of eminent domain; and 
(h) Generally, to exercise all powers of a corporation under the 
Corporation Law. 
SEC. 5. Health and Education Acceleration Program Fund. - For 
purposes of this Act, the Health and Education Acceleration Program Fund 
(hereinafter referred to as the "Fund") is hereby established, to consist of fifty 
percent (50%) of the revenue assessed and collected on all local mobile phone 
text messages sent from their networks, to be remitted by domestic mobile phone 
service providers to the Fund monthly during the lifetime of the Corporation. All 
proceeds accruing to the Fund shall be earmarked solely and used exclusively to 
finance the priority programs stated under Section 6 of this Act. 
SEC. 6. Priority Uses of Fund. - The Fund shall be used to finance 
programs aimed at rehabilitating and modernizing educational and health 
infrastructure, raising the quality of instruction, and strengthening delivery of 
basic health services in public elementary and high schools nationwide. The 
programs, including but not limited to the' following, shall be implemented in 
phases to ensure continuity and sustainability, according to the following 
schedule of priority: 
(a) Construction, repair or upgrading of school buildings, classrooms and 
facilities, including the establishment or upgrading of libraries to be 
provided with at least two computers with Internet access and science 
laboratories with modern equipment to improve competencies of students 
in science and technology; Hiring, training and remuneration of teachers; 
(b) Establishment or upgrading of school clinics, to be provided with at 
least one registered nurse; 


(c) Computerization, with the establishment of at least one computer 
laboratory for each public high school with a minimum of 10 computers 
each with Internet access; 
(d)Feeding program for public elementary schools to consist of at least 
two meals a day; and 
(e) Regular vaccination and dental checkup programs; 
No money shall be released from the Fund without any identified program 
and/or project, nor used to pay obligations incurred before the approval of 
this Act. 
SEC. 7. Capitalization. -The Corporation shall have an authorized 
capitalization of Twenty Million Pesos (P20,000,000) as its initial organization 
and/or operational expenses; Provided, That such amount as may be necessary 
for the Corporation's administration and operation shall be set aside from the 
Fund; Provided further, That such amount shall not exceed one percent (1%) of 
the Fund at any time. 
SEC. 8. Board of Directors. - Within 30 days from the approval of this 
Act, the President of the Philippines shall constitute a Board of Directors to be 
composed of a Chairperson and six members, as follows: 
(a) In an ex-officio capacity, the Secretary of the Department of Education; 
(b) Two representatives each from premier public and private education 
institutions; 
(c) Two representatives from the telecommunications sector; and 
(d) One representative from the national organization of Parent-Teacher 
Associations. 
Provided, That the Chairperson and members of the Board of Directors 
shall serve at the appointing pleasure of the President and be persons of proven 
integrity, independence, and administrative proficiency, and fully 
committed to 
the objectives of this Act. 
The Board of Directors shall be the policy-making body of the Corporation 
and shall perform the following functions: 
(a) Carry out the purposes of the Corporation as embodied in this Act; 
(b) Determine the organizational structure of the Corporation, define the 
duties and responsibilities of all officials and employees and adopt a 
compensation scheme; Provided, That the Corporation shall engage the 
services of urban and regional planners, engineers and management 
experts; 
(c) Adopt an annual budget for and authorize such expenditures by the 
Corporation in the interest of its effective administration and operation, in 
accordance with applicable rules and regulations; and 
(d) Six months from its constitution and every six months thereafter, 
submit a report of the operation of the Corporation to the President of the 


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Philippines, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of 
Representatives. All procedural matters in the conduct of Board meetings 
shall be prescribed in its intemal rules. Members of the Board shall 
receive a per diem for every meeting actually attended subject to the 
pertinent budgetary laws, rules and regulations on compensation, 
honoraria and allowances; Provided, That the per diem collected per 
month does not exceed the equivalent of four meetings. 
SEC. 9. Administrator. - The President shall appoint a professional 
manager as Administrator of the Corporation with compensation to be 
determined by the Board subject to the approval of the Secretary of Budget and 
Management. 
The Administrator shall 
have the following 
duties and 
responsibilities: 
(a) To act as Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the 
Corporation; 
(b) To execute, administer and implement the policies and measures 
approved by the Board; 
(c) To direct and supervise the operations and administration of the 
Corporation; 
. 
. 
. 
(d) To represent the Corporation in all dealings with offices, agencies and 
instrumentalities of the government and with all persons and entities, 
public or private, domestic or foreign; 
(e) To direct and supervise the preparation of the agenda for the meeting 
of the Board, and to submit for the consideration of the Board such 
poliCies and measures as necessary to carry out the purpose and 
objectives of this Act; and 
(f) To exercise such other powers and functions provided in the by-laws 
and as may be vested upon the office by the Board. 
SEC. 10. Education Modernization· MonitOring Department. - Among 
the staff departments that will be established by the Corporation shall be the 
Education Modernization Monitoring Department which shall regularly perform 
the following duties and functions, in coordination with the appropriate provincial 
State Universities and Colleges: 
(a) conduct of on-site inspections on the HEAP projects to ensure the 
projects adequacy and responsiveness to existing sector needs; 
(b) review and evaluation of the impact of the HEAP on the access to and 
quality of facilities for public elementary and high schools; and 
An annual report on the results of these inspections, review and 
evaluation shall be submitted tei the Board for its policy formulation. 
SEC. 11. Supervision. - The Corporation shall be under the direct control 
and supervision of the Office of the President for purposes of policy direction and 
coordination. 


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SEC. 12. Audit. - The Commission on Audit shall appoint a representative 
who shall be the full time auditor of the Corporation, and such personnel as may 
be necessary to assist said representative in the performance of duty. 
SEC. 13. Report to Congress. -The Corporation shall submit to the 
Department of Education and to Congress a detailed quarterly report on the 
funds allocated, indicating the amount released, obligated and disbursed under 
this Act, including but not limited. to funds for the construction or repair and 
reconstruction of infrastructure projects, the list of contractors and projects being 
financed, and the accomplishments for the expended appropriation, including the 
percentage of completion. The Corporation shall also submit as part of the 
quarterly report a list of all donors and the nature of their donations. The 
Corporation shall cause to be disseminated in the community the list of 
beneficiaries and contractors mentioned above. 
SEC. 14. Congressional Oversight Committee. - There is hereby 
created a Congressional Oversight Committee, which shall be composed of three 
representatives each from the Senate and the House of Representatives, to be 
appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, to monitor the implementation of this Act. The Committee shall 
conduct an annual review of this Act in aid of legislation. 
SEC. 15. Injunction and Restraining Order. - Projects under the HEAP 
are urgent and necessary. Their. implementation shall not be restrained or 
enjoined except by an order issued by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. 
SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulation. - Within 90 days from the 
effectivity of this Act, the Board of Directors shall transmit to the President for 
approval such rules and regulations to implement and carry out the intent, 
purposes and provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 17. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act or any part 
hereof be declared unconstitutional or invalid the remainder of this Act or any 
provision not affected thereby. shall remain in force and effect. 
SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, orders, proclamations, rules and 
regulations, or part thereof, which are inconsistent with any provision of this Act 
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 19. Effectivity - This Act shall take effect 15 days following its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two newspapers of general 
circulation. 
Approved,