EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S.B. NO. 1150
o{ lt>r i 'rc,‘‘tnrP
•If MOV-5 P5^23
_RKt!V.D 3^.
Introduced by Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay
AN ACT
INCORPORATING A SYSTEM OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN ALL PUBLIC AND 
PRIVATE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE FOR 
CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, INSTITUTIONALIZING THE 
BUREAU 
OF 
SPECIAL 
EDUCATION, 
CREATING 
THE 
IMPLEMENTING 
MACHINERY 
THEREOF, 
PROVIDING 
GUIDELINES 
FOR 
GOVERNMENT 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 
AND 
OTHER 
INCENTIVES AND 
FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
According to the Country Report by the Department of Social Welfare and Development 
(DSWD) and the Department of Health (DOH), there are about 4,124,833 persons with 
disabilities in the Philippines. Around twenty-one percent (21%) of whom are children 
from 0 to 19 years of age. However, only around seven percent (7%) of these children 
have access to educational opportunities.
The present educational system provides for limited special education (SPED) centers. 
Thus, access to SPED Centers becomes crucial to the goal of affording children with 
special needs with their right to education, as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and 
international conventions on the rights of children.
The proposed bill seeks to institutionalize an adequate and relevant educational 
program for children and youth with special needs (CYSN) through the establishment of 
SPED Centers. This will provide, all CYSN, irrespective of degree of sensory, physical or 
intellectual disability or need, the opportunity to be educated in the most enhancing


environment consistent with the provision of quality education that best meet their 
needs.
In view of the foregoing, the timely passage of this bill is earnestly recommended.
MARIA LOURDES NAJ$ICY S. BINAY 
Senator


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S.B. NO. 1150
c( tlF fi>rcn-larj»
•If NOV-5 P6 23
RECEtV. D BY;
Introduced by Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay
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AN ACT
INCORPORATING A SYSTEM OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN ALL PUBLIC AND 
PRIVATE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE FOR 
CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, INSTITUTIONALIZING THE 
BUREAU 
OF 
SPECIAL 
EDUCATION, 
CREATING 
THE 
IMPLEMENTING 
MACHINERY 
THEREOF, 
PROVIDING 
GUIDELINES 
FOR 
GOVERNMENT 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 
AND 
OTHER INCENTIVES AND 
FOR 
OTHER 
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
Section 1. Title. -  This Act shall be known as "Special Education Act o f 2019."
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
protect and promote the rights of children and youth with special needs ("CYSN") to 
quality education; to take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to them; 
and to give full support for their welfare and development to ensure their full 
integration in society, as well as, to facilitate their active participation in the affairs of 
the State.
The State shall institutionalize an adequate and relevant educational program for every 
CYSN through the establishment of Special Education (SPED) Centers for their vital 
support mechanisms. Toward this end, with the objective that all CYSN, irrespective of 
the degree of sensory, physical or intellectual disability or need, shall have the 
opportunity to be educated in the most enhancing environment consistent with the 
provision of quality education that best meet their needs.
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Sec. 3. Objectives. -  The objectives of the Special Education Act are:
(a) 
To provide access to basic education or other alternative educational systems 
to CYSN, namely the gifted and talented, children with developmental delays, 
intellectual disability, visual 
impairment, 
hearing 
impairment, 
orthopedic 
impairment, physical impairment, learning disability, speech defects, behavioral 
problems, or autism;
(b) 
To ensure that CYSN fully develop their abilities, talents, interests and all 
aspects of their development to become more responsible for their lives and 
more effective partners in all of the affairs and concerns of the country;
(c) 
To ensure that CYSN understand, appreciate and respect differences among 
groups and members of society and also to understand the nature of society in 
which they live, and vice-versa, to ensure that the general public understands, 
appreciates and respects differences between themselves and CYSNs;
(d) 
To inform parents about the full continuum of services, possible placement 
options and other relevant information, and to provide venues for discussion 
among parents in relation to their children's education, to enable them to make 
informed decisions and choices;
(e) 
To equip parents, guardians, other caregivers and teachers with the capacity to 
identify, prevent, refer and intervene with the development disorders and 
disabilities of children, as well as, the relevant individual programming and 
planning for the student, where such program differs significantly from the 
standard curriculum and other matters that enhance the role of parents and 
other caregivers as primary educators of their children from birth onwards;


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(f) 
To involve private groups, local government units and national agencies other 
than the Department of Education, in the education of children with special 
needs; and
(g) 
To effectuate significant and positive changes in community attitudes towards 
disability and the need to provide special education, care and other needs of 
CYSNs.
Sec, 4. Definition o f Terms. -  For purposes of this Act, these terms are defined 
as follows:
(a) 
Disability shall mean:
(1) 
A physical or mental impairment that limits one or more psychological, 
physiological or anatomical function of an individual or activities of such 
individual;
(2) 
A record of such impairment; or
(3) 
Being regarded as having such an impairment.
(b) Impairment is any loss, diminution or aberration of psychological, physiological 
or anatomical structure or function;
(c) Handicap refers to a disadvantage of a given individual resulting from an 
impairment or a disability that limits or prevents the functions or activity that is 
considered normal given the age and sex of the individual;
(d) Persons with disabiiities are those suffering from restrictions or different abilities 
as a result of a mental, physical, sensory or neurological impairment, to perform
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an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human 
being;
(e) Marginalized or disadvantaged disabled persons refer to disabled persons who 
lack access to rehabilitation services and educational opportunities due to 
poverty abandonment, illness and other forms of neglect. For purposes of this 
Act, the word "poor" shall refer to those who have no means of livelihood or 
have incomes below the poverty threshold, as determined by the National 
Statistics Coordinating Board C'NSCB");
(f) Children and youth with special needs are persons aged 0 to 18 years old, who 
are gifted and talented children or fast learners and those who, regardless of 
age, are disabled, impaired, handicapped or in need of special education or 
services for rehabilitation. They differs from the average child in terms of (1) 
mental characteristics; (2) sensory abilities; (3) neuromuscular or physical 
characteristics; (4) social abilities; (5) multiple handicaps; and/or (6) has 
developmental lag to such an extent that requires modified school practices or 
special education services to develop their maximum capability.
Children and youth with special needs may be classified as follows:
(1) 
Gifted and Talented Children or Fast Learners are those capable of 
superior performance, including those with demonstrated achievements 
or potential ability in one or more of the following areas:
a. General intellectual ability;
b. Special academic aptitude;
c. Creative or productive thinking ability;
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d. Leadership ability;
e. Ability in the visual or performance arts;
f. 
Psychomotor ability; or
g. Those individuals who consistently manifest the following cluster 
of traits:
i. 
Above average ability (including intelligence);
ii. 
High creativity (implies the developmental appreciation of 
innovative ideas); and
iii. 
High task commitment (related to a degree of motivation); 
and
h. Those who, by reason of the foregoing, requires services or 
activities not ordinarily provided by regular school districts.
(2) 
Intellectually disabled refers to those have substantial limitations in 
present functioning characterized by significant sub-average intellectual 
functioning, existing concurrently with the related limitation of two or 
more of the applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self- 
direction, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health 
and safety, functional academics, leisure and work;
(3) 
Visually Impaired 
those who are blind or have low vision. A person is 
blind if he has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in a better eye after
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maximum correction. A low vision person is one who retains a relatively 
low degree of vision and can read only enlarged print or regular print 
under special conditions;
(4) 
Hearing impaired are those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. A deaf 
person is one whose hearing is non-functional for ordinary purposes in 
life. The hard-of-hearing has a sense of hearing which although 
defective is functional with or without a hearing aid;
(5) 
Children and youth with behavioral problems are those who cannot 
adjust to the socially accepted norms or behavior and consequently 
disrupt academic progress, and the learning efforts of their classmates 
and interpersonal relations;
(6) The 
orthopedicaiiy 
handicapped 
are 
those 
whose 
impairment 
permanently or temporarily interferes with the normal functions of the 
joints, muscles, or limbs;
(7) 
Children and youth with special health problems are those who have 
health conditions that prevent them from attending school on a regular 
basis or those with chronic illnesses such as cardiac (heart) diseases, 
asthma, 
diabetes, 
tuberculosis 
and 
other 
respiratory 
ailments, 
carcinoma, epilepsy, malnutrition and others;
(8) 
Children and youth with learning disabilities are those who, although 
normal in sensory, emotional and intellectual abilities, exhibit disorders 
in perception, listening, thinking, reading, writing, spelling or arithmetic. 
They have such conditions as perceptual handicap, brain injury, minimal 
brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental asphyxia;


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(9) The speech impaired are those whose speech differs from the average 
so far as to draw unfavorable attention to the manner of speaking rather 
than the thought conveyed;
(10) Persons with autism are those with developmental disabilities, having 
onset before thirty (30) months of age which is marked by disturbance 
in development, language and relationship with persons, activities and 
objects and which may co-exist with intellectual disability and epilepsy. 
Children afflicted with this disorder have the perceptual cognitive 
communication and social difficulties which change over time;
{q)Auxiiiary aids and services are those that are non-educational but support the 
educational process of a child with special needs. These include:
(1) Therapy;
(2) Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of delivering materials to 
individuals with hearing impairments;
(3) Qualified readers, tape tested or other effective methods of delivering 
materials to individuals with visual impairments;
(4) Acquisition or modification of equipment or device; and
(5) Other similar services and actions of all types of aids and services that 
facilitate the learning process of people with mental disability
(h) Augmentative and aiternative communication devices are special instructional 
materials such as, but not limited to, a textbook in Braille, large type or any


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Other medium or any apparatus that conveys information to a student or 
otherwise contributes to the learning process;
(i) 
Private sector participation encompasses all forms of indispensable, substantial 
and meaningful participation of private individuals partnerships, groups or 
entities, community-based organizations or non-governmental organizations in 
the delivery of educational and rehabilitative services for students and children 
with special needs;
(j) 
Basic education consists of at least -  twelve (12) years of basic education, 
including Kindergarten, six (6) years of elementary education and six (6) years 
of secondary education;
(k) 
Special education is basic education that takes into account the special needs 
of both the disabled children, the gifted and talented and fast learners that 
requires a systematic and deliberate process for them to achieve functional 
literacy and which will bring the individual to the highest level of his potential 
and capacity. It is also defined as the type of education tailored to meet the 
needs of children who cannot profit from the regular school system because of 
disabilities or exceptional abilities;
(l) 
Functional literacy refers to the level of literacy necessary for the individual to 
become a useful citizens and effective members of the society;
(m) Learning facilitator refers to the key-learning support person who is responsible 
for supervising or facilitating the learning process and activities of the learner;
(n) 
SPED Center shaW refer to the physical space which houses learning resources 
and facilities of a learning program for CYSNs. It is a venue for face-to-face


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learning activities and other learning opportunities for SPED development and 
improvement of the CYSNs quality of life.
Sec. 5. Coverage. -  This Act shall cover all students, children and youth with 
special needs.
Sec. 6. Creation o f the Bureau o f Special Education. -  To attain the objectives of 
this Act, the Bureau of Special Education ("BSPED"), hereinafter referred to as the 
Bureau, is hereby created to institutionalize and govern special education in the 
Philippines. The Bureau is primarily tasked in the formulation and administration of an 
appropriate curriculum and developmentally suited programs to primarily achieve 
functional literacy of the CYSNs and ensure their assimilation to society. The full 
continuum of educational services shall also be made available by the Bureau to the 
CYSNs below school age through regular home visits, consultations, day-care activities 
and any other medium or program.
The Bureau shall function as a regular bureau of the Department of Education, under 
the direct supervision of the Secretary of Education and to be headed by a director and 
assistant director.
There shall be three (3) divisions within the Bureau, to be headed by its respective 
division chiefs and whose staffing needs are to be equally distributed in accordance 
with the current needs and concerns of their respective divisions, namely:
(1) 
Gifted and Talented Children and Youth Division ("GCYD");
(2) 
Children and Youth with Disabilities Division ("CYDD"); and
(3) 
Special Services and Auxiliary Aids Division ("SSAAD").


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The division chiefs shall assist the director in the formulation, implementation and 
improvement of the framework and components of the special education program.
The Philippine Printing House for the Blind under the existing organizational structure of 
the Department of Education shall become part of the SSAAD and shall take charge of 
the production of materials that convey information to a student or otherwise contribute 
to the learning process of CYSNs.
Sec. 7. Creation o f the Special Children Wellness Board. -  To aid the Bureau in 
its mandate and to ensure that the national policy of providing services to the CYSNs 
are channeled to the grassroots, local government units are hereby made partners in 
the implementation of the provisions of this Act. For this purpose, a Special Children 
Wellness Board shall be created in every province and highly urbanized city, which shall 
act as partner agency of the Bureau, and entrusted with the following powers and 
functions:
(1) Account for all special children in their respective communities;
(2) 
Formulate lifelong policies, in coordination with the Bureau, and oversee the 
entire operation of the program;
(3) 
Hire and employ adequate number of technically skilled teachers, trained 
personnel or teacher-volunteers, who shall aid the employees of the Bureau in 
implementing the provisions of this Act. Personnel hired and employed by the 
Special Children Wellness Board shall only be auxiliary and 
shall 
be 
proportionate to the total number of CYSN in a given local government unit;
(4) 
Provide easy access to educational and rehabilitation services to CYSNs and 
their families;
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(5) 
Conduct seminars and trainings on the proper management and education of 
CYSNs and their parents;
(6) 
Motivate family members to actively participate in the rehabilitation programs 
of their CYSNs;
(7) 
Provide opportunities to wellness day-care workers to enhance their knowledge 
and skills in assisting persons with disabilities to organize a formal group;
(8) 
Generate public awareness and support in mainstreaming CYSNs into the 
community through various advocacies and networking activities.
Sec. 8. SPED Centers in Regular Schools. -
(A) At least one (1) SPED Center for each school division and at least three (3) 
SPED Centers in big school divisions shall be established in regular public 
schools, where there are no existing SPED Centers. Those SPED Centers shall 
be administered by the principal of the regular school.
(B) The SPED Center shall function as the Resource Center for the implementation 
of inclusive education that will accept all kinds of children not in regular 
schools. It shall:
(1) 
Support CYSNs already integrated and included in regular schools;
(2) 
Assist in the conduct of school-based training;
(3) 
Produce appropriate teaching materials; and
(4) 
Conduct an assessment of CYSNs.
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It shall also be the responsibility of the SPED Centers to assist and facilitate the transfer 
or admission of qualified CYSNs to post-secondary or tertiary educationai institutions 
and monitor the same.
Each SPED Center shaii have at least the following staff, whose qualifications are 
compliant with the prevailing standards of the Department of Education:
(1) 
One (1) SPED teacher for the gifted and talented;
(2) 
One (1) SPED teacher for the intellectually disabled;
(3) 
One (1) SPED teacher for the visually impaired;
(4) 
One (1) SPED teacher for the hearing impaired;
(5) 
One (1) SPED teacher for those with autism;
(6) 
One (1) SPED teacher for those with learning disabilities; and
(7) 
One (1) SPED teacher for those with behavioral problems.
SPED teachers shall receive a starting salary classification of three (3) grades higher 
than regular teachers.
Regular teachers currently handling special education classes may be classified as SPED 
teacher, entitled to the same salary grade classification, as mentioned in the preceding 
paragraph, upon compliance with qualifications set by the Bureau. They shall also be 
entitled to all other compensations awarded to SPED teachers.
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(C) There shall be an assistant principal for each SPED Center. He/she shall 
administer and supervise the alternative education program, early intervention 
programs, 
monitoring, supervision and technical assistance and 
human 
resource training, SPED personnel enhancement programs, referral and 
placement procedures, advisory services and other components of the SPED 
program in his/her jurisdiction. He/she shall also be responsible for the 
formation 
and 
supervision of the placement committee 
under his/her 
jurisdiction, as well as, in the resolution of disagreements on placement and 
services.
Sec. 9. Other Personnel o f SPED Centers. -  One (1) educational psychologist or 
psychometrician, one (1) social worker, one (1) educational supervisor, one (1) physical 
therapist, one (1) occupational therapist, one (1) speech and language therapist or 
speech correction teacher and one (1) medical health officer for each city and province 
shall be appointed who, among other responsibilities, shall comprise the administrative 
core and placement committed of the SPED Center in the area. They shall also be 
jointly tasked to develop and maintain a database of special education in the respective 
jurisdictions. The placement committee shall, among others, ensure that students with 
disabilities are educated as close as possible to their homes and alongside their age- 
appropriate peer groups, and that these students attend their local schools or travel the 
shortest distance possible in the availment of educational service, in consultation with, 
and active participation of parents.
Sec. 10. Itinerant or Mobile SPED Teachers. -  Itinerant or mobile SPED teachers 
shall also be appointed whenever necessary, subject to the hiring and employment 
assignments of the Special Children Wellness Board. He/she shall assist isolated or 
remote schools with specialized equipment, individual programs, curriculum adjustment, 
teaching aids and building medications.
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All appointments or assignments of itinerant or mobile SPED teachers shall be subject 
to the approval of the Special Children Wellness Board.
Sec. 11. Authority o f the Secretary o f Education to Give Grants to, or Enter Into 
Cooperative Arrangements for the Creation o f SPED Centers. -  The Secretary of 
Education 
is hereby authorized to give grants to, or enter into cooperative 
arrangements r contracts with public or private non-profit agencies, institutions or 
organizations for the establishment or creation of SPED Centers Provided, That a grant 
made pursuant to this Section may be made only for the following or similar purposes:
(1) Technical assistance of SPED Centers providing educational assistance for 
CYSNs;
(2) 
Pre-service or in-service training of professional or related services personnel 
preparing to serve or serving CYSN;
(3) 
Replication of successful innovative approaches to providing educational or 
related services to CYSNs;
(4) 
Facilitation of parental involvement in the education of their CYSNs;
(5) 
Diagnosis and educational evaluation of CYSN at risk of being certified CYSN;
(6) 
Consultative, counseling and training services for families of CYSN; and
(7) 
Familiarization of the municipality or city to be served by a SPED Center with 
the problems and potentialities of such children.
Sec. 12. Provision for Continuing Research to Identify Speciai Needs o f CYSN. -  
The Bureau, by itself, or in association with such organizations or institutions as may be
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determined by the Secretary of Education, shall undertake continuing research to 
identify and design programs that meet the full range of children with special needs; 
Provided, That such continuing research shall also be used to develop instructional 
techniques for use by the SPED Centers that will improve the CYSN's acquisition of skills 
necessary for transition to independent living, vocational training or competitive 
development; Provided, Finally, That such continuing research shall further be used to 
design physical education and therapeutic recreation program for use by the SPED 
Center to increase the potential of CYSN for community participation.
Sec. 13. Student Assistance. -  The Bureau shall provide financial assistance to 
economically marginalized but deserving students with special needs at the elementary 
and secondary levels, including any post-secondary or tertiary education which may 
come in the form of scholarship grants, transportation allowance, food allowance, board 
and lodging allowance, book allowance, student loan programs, artistic and cultural 
tours, training programs, subsidies and other incentives. Marginalized disabled persons 
and those coming from indigenous cultural communities shall be the priority in the 
grant of the aforesaid assistance.
Social equipment like wheelchair, crutches, special toilet and hygiene requirements, 
hearing aids, eyeglasses and the like, required by the children and youth to optimize 
education and participation in the educational process shall also be provided for free or 
at discounted rates to deserving students at very affordable rates in general through a 
reasonable funding scheme that shall be designated by the Bureau.
Sec. 14. Medical Assistance. -  The Bureau shall prepare a scheme that will 
ensure adequate and affordable medical assistance and intervention programs, 
including those essential to the student's or child's rehabilitation such as therapy, 
psychometric assessments, medical examinations and the like, with government clinics, 
hospitals and other health facilities. In case medical needs are not offered by the 
government clinics, hospitals and other health facilities or cannot be obtained by reason
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of critical immediacy or the need to obtain a more specialized or advance treatment, 
CYSNs may avail of the service of private clinics, hospitals and other specialized 
agencies as may be identified by the Bureau through a grant of at least twenty percent 
(20%) discount; Provided, That private clinics, hospitals and other specialized agencies 
may claim such discount as tax credit.
Sec. 15. Recreational and Artistic Opportunities. -  The Bureau shall institute and 
include a program for CYSN to afford them full opportunities for safe and wholesome 
recreation and activities, individuals, as well as, social, for the wholesome use of their 
leisure hours and for the advancement of their physical, mental, social and cultural 
development.
Sec. 16. Continuing Education and Assistance to Teachers or Instructors o f 
CYSNs. -  The Bureau shall enhance the gift of teachers or instructors to professional 
advancement and ensure that the teaching staff attract the best available talents 
through adequate remuneration, scholarship and training grants; teacher exchange 
programs, incentives and allowances and other means of securing job satisfaction and 
fulfillment, as well as, their long and stable tenure in their respective posts. A similar 
program shall be designed for support personnel like interpreters, psychologists, social 
workers and others involved in the education and rehabilitation of the children and 
youth.
The Bureau shall identify at least one (1) leading institution or University in Luzon, 
Visayas and Mindanao, whose faculty is considered or regarded as highly competent in 
the area of special education, and where a uniform or standardized curriculum for any 
post-graduate studies in special education programs shall be designed to benefit SPED 
teachers and other personnel of SPED Centers. The manner of selection of such 
institution shall be provided under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act.
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Sec. 17. Special Instruction Materials. -  Publishers shall grant the Department of 
Education, through the SSAAD, the authority to transcribe adopted instructional 
materials to Braille, large type and audio type without penalty or payment of royalty. 
Furthermore, on or before the second working day after the adoption of textbook titled 
by the Department of Education, each publisher of newly adopted instructional 
materials shall provide computerized files as specified by the Department of Education, 
which may be copied and distributed to a school division, upon request, for instructional 
purposes.
Copies of these instructional materials shall be furnished without cost to either the 
student or teacher, who is blind or visually impaired. The materials are to be loaned to 
the public school district as long as needed and are to be returned to SSAAD when no 
longer needed.
Sec. 18. Incentives to Private Sector Participation. -  Partnership between the 
government and private institutions catering to the needs of CYSNs shall 
be 
encouraged. All profits and income generated by the SPED Center derived from its 
fundamental function as an educational institution shall be exempt from income tax. 
Any donation, contribution, bequest and grant which may be made to the SPED Center 
shall be exempt from donor's tax and the same shall be considered as an allowable 
deduction from the Gross Income in the computation of the income tax of the donor in 
accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended; 
Provided, That such donations shall not be disposed of, transferred or sold by the SPED 
Center.
Economic, technical and cultural books or publications shall be imported duty-free, upon 
certification by the Bureau that such imported books or publication are for the 
economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical or actual purposes of 
SPED Centers, in accordance with the provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code, as 
amended.
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Sec. 19. Local Government Unit Participation. -  The local government units shall 
be responsible for the following:
(1) 
Provision of building or centers and sites, which are PWD-friendly, where there 
are no existing school facilities that will house the SPED Center;
(2) 
Organization of one (1) parent-teacher association in every school in their 
respective jurisdictions offering special education to CYSNs;
(3) 
Identification, coordination and the tapping of public and private volunteers 
and 
private 
organizations, 
national 
or 
international, 
for 
information 
dissemination campaigns, funding programs and other projects to augment the 
funding of equipment for SPED programs, among others; and
(4) 
Provision of counterpart funds for the training and seminars of parents and 
teachers for CYSNs in their respective localities to be determined by the 
Bureau, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management 
("DBM") and the Department of Finance ("DOF").
Sec. 20. Public Information, Education and Communication. -  A nationwide 
information dissemination campaign on prevention, early identification and intervention 
programs for CYSNs shall be intensified. This shall be the joint responsibility of the 
Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and the 
Department of Education. The Department of Education, in collaboration with the DOH, 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the local government unit, shall also 
disseminate materials and information concerning effective practices in working with, 
training and education of CYSNs.
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Sec. 21. Appropriations. -  To implement the provisions of this Act, the amount of 
Six Hundred Million Pesos (P 600,000,000.00) per year for five (5) consecutive years is 
hereby appropriated for the SPED program to be included in the General Appropriations 
Act.
A 
supplementary 
appropriation 
in 
the 
amount 
of Twenty 
Million 
Pesos 
(P 
20,000,000.00) to be sourced from the President's Social Fund and Philippine 
Amusement and Gaming Corporation shall be provided to the Bureau as a reserve fund 
for every year of operation, immediately upon approval of this Act. This shall be used 
exclusively to augment funding for auxiliary aids and services.
Sec. 22. Implementation. -  The Department of Education through the Bureau, in 
coordination with the DILG, DOH, DOF, CWC, Early Childhood Care and Development 
Council and the National Council for Disability Affairs shall promulgate and issue the 
necessary implementing rules and regulations for the creation and operation of SPED 
Centers within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act.
Sec. 23. Separability Clause. 
-  If any provision of part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting.
Sec. 24. Repealing Clause. -  Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rules and regulations contrary to or 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingiy.
Sec. 25 Effectivity Clause. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,
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