LAWS RELATING TO FINANCE AND

SUPPORT SERVICES
Commonwealth Act No. 586
• This is known as Educational Act of 1940.
• It was approved by the Philippine Assembly
on August 7, 1940.
• It has 11 sections
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Reduction of seven year
elementary course to six year
elementary course
• Fixing the school entrance age to
seven
• National support for elementary
education
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Compulsory attendance in the
primary grades for all children
who will enroll in Grade 1
• Introduction of double-single
session-one class in the morning
and another in the afternoon
under one teacher
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Class start from June to March
instead of July to April
• Commencing with the school year
1940–1941. public elementary
education (comprising the primary
and intermediate courses) shall be
supported by the National
government
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Matriculation fees in an amount
to be determined by the
President, but not exceeding two
pesos for each pupil enrolled in
the intermediate grades, may be
collected in municipalities and
municipal districts,
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• The proceeds thereof to accrue to
the funds of the national
Government to be expended
primarily for the purchase of
library books and equipment, and
for financing athletic activities in
the intermediate classes.
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Any amount therein remaining
unexpended and unobligated on
the date of the approval of this
Act shall part of the municipal
general fund,
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• Effective July first, nineteen
hundred and forty, the school
fond in all the municipalities and
municipal districts is
disestablished
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• All moneys hereto accruing to the
municipal school by operation of law
and not specifically transferred to the
National Government, shall, after
June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and
forty, accrue to the municipal general
fund.
Commonwealth Act No. 586
provided the following:
• No tuition fees for intermediate
instruction by municipalities and
municipal districts shall be collected,
tuition fees collected during the
school year 1940-1941 for the
maintenance of the intermediate
classes shall be returned to the
respective contributors.
Executive Order No. 150
• The title of this order is Fund for
Assistance to Private Education
• Coverage: The Fund shall be
established for the purpose of
financing programs or assistance
to private education,
• utilizing only the earnings
thereof, whether in the form of
interest, dividends or capital
gains, through grants and/or
loans for faculty training and
development in the forms of a
scholarships, research grants,
faculty incentives,
• Interinstitutional cooperative
projects, and other programs of
benefit to private education, but
excluding any support of
religious worship or instruction.
Effectivity: January 10, 1994
Administration: Fidel V. Ramos
Admin Order 53
• The title of this executive order is
Implementing the Grant of
Additional Compensation in the
amount of Php. 500.00 per
month to public school teacher
• The grant of the additional
compensation authorized in said
Special Provision shall be limited
to public school teachers under
the Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS)
occupying positions allocated to
Salary Grade 25 and below.
• Admin Order No. 53 was
effective last May 1, 1993 under
the administration of former
president Fidel V. Ramos
 Presidential Decree No. 365
• AMENDING SECTIONS 10 (c) AND 13 OF
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 6-A
(EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT DECREE OF
1972) DATED SEPTEMBER 29, 1972,
AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF ACCRUALS
TO THE SPECIAL SCIENCE FUND CREATED
UNDER REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5448, AS
AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
• WHEREAS, the sustained promotion of science
and technology is vital to achieving economic and
social development; and
• WHEREAS, the pursuit and support of scientific
goals on a national scale calls for adequate and
steady funding of scientific and technological
programs, projects and activities of the
Government;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by
virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief
of all Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No.
1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September
22, 1972, do hereby decree and order into law the following:
Section 1. Section 10(c) of Presidential Decree No. 6-A dated September 29,
1972, is hereby amended to read as follows:
• "(c) ten million pesos (P10,000,000) from the Special Science Fund for
Fiscal Year 1972-1973, and ten million pesos (P10,000,000), annually
thereafter until June 30, 1982, of the total annual receipts from the taxes
provided for under Republic Act Numbered Fifty-four forty-eight, as
provided in Section 13 hereof;
Sec. 2. Section 13 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read as
follows:
• "Sec. 13. Portion of Special Science Fund. Any provision of law to
the contrary notwithstanding, effective upon approval of this
Decree, ten million pesos (P10,000,000) of the Special Science Fund
established under Republic Act Numbered Fifty-four hundred and
forty-eight, as amended, is hereby transferred to the Educational
Special Account herein provided. Starting July 1, 1973, until June 30,
1982. Ten million pesos (P10,000,000) of the total annual collection
from the taxes imposed under Republic Act Numbered Fifty-four
hundred and forty-eight, as amended, shall accrue to the
Educational Special Account.
Sec. 3. Except as provided in Sections 10(c) and 13 of said
Presidential Decree No. 6-A, as hereby amended, the total annual
collection from the taxes imposed under Republic Act Numbered
5448, as amended, shall continue until June 30, 1982, and
expended by the National Science Development Board in pursuance
of the objectives of said Act.
Sec. 4. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of January, in the year of
Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.
 Presidential Decree No. 400
• PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 400 March 1, 1974, AMENDING
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 285
"Section 1. Whenever the price of any educational, scientific or
cultural book, pamphlet and other written materials, whether of
domestic or foreign origin, has become so exhorbitant as to be
detrimental to the national interest, as determined and declared
by a committee composed of the Secretary of Education and
Culture, the Director-General of the National Economic and
Development Authority, the Chairman of the Textbook Board and
of the Director of the National Library, such book, pamphlet or
other written material may be reprinted by the Government or
by a private printer under the following conditions:
• "a. That a single title may be reprinted by only one
printer authorized by the Government;
• "b. That anyone wishing to undertake the reprinting shall
file an application with the National Library containing
the following information: the title, author and original
publisher of the book or other written material to be
reprinted; its foreign list price in case of a foreign book or
its domestic list price in case of a Philippine book; the
proposed list price of the reprinted matter; the number
of copies to be reprinted; and the name and address of
the applicant. An application for each subsequent
reprinting shall likewise be filed.
• "c. That the successful applicant shall accomplish the
reprinting within sixty days from the date of approval
of the application. If the reprinting shall not have
been done in that time, the title may be applied for
by other interested parties.
• "All titles reprinted prior to these amendments shall
be registered, the registrant furnishing the National
Library the same information required in the
aforementioned application, within thirty (30) days
after these amendments take effect."
"Sec. 3. The reprinting of the above-mentioned books, pamphlets or
other materials shall be subject to the condition that the reprinter shall
pay a royalty of at least seven per centum (7%) of the list price in the
Philippines, in case of books published in the country, or at least two
per centum (2%) of the foreign list price in the case of books published
in other countries, the same to be paid within a reasonable period:
Provided, That in the case of non-resident authors, publishers or
copyright owners, the royalties, in dollars if so desired, shall be fully
remittable.
"Sec. 4. Any conflict or claim arising out of the provisions of this Decree
shall be decided by the Committee mentioned in Section 1 hereof. An
order or decision of said Committee shall become final after fifteen
(15) days following the receipt by the party concerned of such order or
decision, unless in the meantime an appeal therefrom to the Office of
the President has been taken by the aggrieved party.
• The Office of the President shall decide the
appealed case within ten (10) days after the filing
of the appeal.
• These amendments shall take effect immediately.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 1st day of March,
in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
 Presidential Decree No. 479
• AMENDING R.A. NO. 3478 AS
AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUBSIDY ACT, SO AS
TO INCLUDE THE BARRIO HIGH SCHOOLS
IN THE COVERAGE THEREOF
• WHEREAS, R.A. No. 3478 as amended by R.A. No.
4128 provides an appropriation of ten million pesos
(P10,000,000,00) as aid to all provinces,
municipalities and cities, except, Manila and Quezon
City, in the maintenance of public high schools;
• WHEREAS, R.A. No. 6054 enacted much later
authorizes the establishment of barrio high schools
funded mainly from tuition fees of students and from
a very meager share of the realty tax collected on
real property situated thereat;
• WHEREAS, the growth in the number of barrio high
schools today has clearly demonstrated the concern
of local officials with the educational welfare of the
barrio youth in their thirst for secondary
education; lawphi1.net
• WHEREAS, said barrio high schools are part and
parcel of the educational system but are not included
within the coverage of the national aid annually
allocated to public secondary schools under R.A. No.
3478;
• WHEREAS, due to inadequate fund resources as now
authorized by law, most barrio high schools today are
beset with financial problems for their continued
operation and maintenance;
• WHEREAS, with improved funding of secondary
schools including barrio high schools, the
reorientation of the secondary curriculum towards
increased emphasis on work-oriented programs
particularly supervised training and allied activities
can be better achieved;
• WHEREAS, the State, in assuming the obligation
to give financial assistance to public institutions
rendering service to a great number of people, is
committed to the continuing program of human
resource development, more particularly the
youth who must be encouraged and provided the
opportunity to strive for social and economic
uplift, thereby enabling them to contribute more
effectively to the development of their
communities.
Section 1. Provisions of existing law to the contrary
notwithstanding, there is appropriated out of any funds in
the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum
of ten million pesos (P10,000,000) in addition to such sums
as have been appropriated in the Appropriations Decree for
FY 1973-74 as aid to public general secondary schools
including barrio high schools.
Section 2. Excluded from the benefits of this Decree are
general secondary schools in the cities of Manila and
Quezon City and all First Class A cities and municipalities.
Section 3. All barrio high schools shall be converted into
vocational schools and work-oriented programs related to
community development needs shall be emphasized.
Section 4. The Secretary of Education and Culture shall
promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to
convert barrio high schools into vocational schools and
carry out the provisions of this Decree; Provided, however,
that in the allocation of the aid herein provided, distribution
to beneficiaries shall be as equitable as possible based on
the need instead of mainly on the basis of student
population.
Section 5. All Acts or parts of Acts, administrative
orders and rules and regulations inconsistent with
the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.
Section 6. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 6th day of June, in
the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
seventy-four.
 Presidential Decree No. 687
• FURTHER AMENDING THE TEXTBOOK LAW,
ACT 2957 AS AMENDED, PROVIDING THE
GUIDELINES IN THE SELECTION, APPROVAL,
PRICING AND DISTRIBUTION OF SUITABLE
TEXTBOOKS FOR USE IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY
AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
• WHEREAS, the Board of Textbooks performs the vital
function of selection and approval of textbooks for use in
all public elementary and secondary schools, including
the approval of textbooks used in private elementary and
secondary schools;
• WHEREAS, in order to perform this function effectively
and properly, it is necessary that the Board be composed
of persons with the highest competence, dedication and
integrity, with authority to avail of such technical
assistance as may be necessary to insure proper
evaluation of manuscripts and the selection and adoption
of quality textbooks for use in the public schools;
• WHEREAS, the objective of selection and production of quality
textbooks can be achieved by allowing open and free
competition in the submission of manuscripts by qualified
writers and the production thereof by duly registered bona
fide publishers, encouraging at the same time the production
of textbooks by competent research staffs in government-
organized curriculum research and development centers;
• WHEREAS, the assessment of production costs of any
textbook adopted by the Board for the purpose of
determining prices at which textbooks can be sold at the
minimum cost requires the adoption of a scheme whereby a
fair and just appraisal thereof can best arrived at;
• WHEREAS, a degree of control in the actual procurement and allocation of
textbooks needed in the field should be exercised by the Board to insure
the equitable distribution thereof based on needs;
Section 1. The Board of Textbooks created under the provision of Act 2957 as
amended is hereby renamed the Textbook Board. The Board shall be
composed of seven (7) members as follows: A Chairman and four (4)
members appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary
of Education and Culture, the Director of Elementary Education and the
Director of Secondary Education. The Chairman and the other four (4)
members appointed by the President, one of whom shall represent the
cultural minority, shall serve a term of three (3) years, except that of the four
first appointed, two (2) shall serve a term of three (3) years and the other two
(2) for a term of two (2) years. Any vacancy in the Board shall be filled by the
appointment by the President but the person so appointed shall serve only
for the unexpired term. No person shall be appointed to the Board unless he
is a citizen of the Philippines, with at least a master's degree or its equivalent
in terms of professional experience, status and achievements.
Section 2. The Textbook Board shall have a Secretariat
composed of personnel as are now provided under the
Integrated Reorganization Plan.
Section 3. The Board may avail itself, at any given time,
of such number of qualified personnel from the public
or private sector to perform the function of appraisal of
manuscripts submitted for evaluation and selection by
authors or by duly registered book publishers. They
shall be entitled to such honorarium for their services
for such amount per title as may be determined by the
Board.
• Section 4. The Board shall determine and adopt its own
guidelines or rules and regulations for their operational
procedure. It shall adopt such policies as will insure a fair and
objective appraisal of manuscripts submitted to it for
evaluation, the criteria for the final selection and approval as
textbooks and a policy on continuing evaluation of those
approved and adopted by the Board. It shall likewise
undertake studies from time to time on the textbook situation
in the country, seek ways and means for their production at
minimum cost, and adopt policy guidelines in the allocation
and distribution of textbooks in accordance with the
procurement program of the Department of Education and
Culture.
Section 5. The policy of free enterprise on the matter of
allowing the submission of manuscripts by writers or
duly registered publishers for possible selection and
adoption as textbooks shall be without prejudice to the
automatic adoption by the Board of any treatise,
textbook or manual on the same subject prepared by
agencies authorized by the government; Provided,
however, that in the case of the latter, the printing or
production thereof shall be farmed out to qualified
textbook publishers or printers under such guidelines
as may be prescribed by the Board.
Section 6. The manuscript thus selected and approved by the Board, in
accordance with Sec. 5 hereof, shall be printed in such number of copies and
under such guidelines as the Board may direct, such copies to be used for
determining the reasonable price at which the book shall be purchased by the
government, provisions of existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding. For
this purpose, there shall be created by the Secretary of Education and
Culture, a Price Committee consisting of three (3) members, one Board
member representing the Board as Chairman, one representing the Philippine
Educational Publishers Association and one representing the Bureau of
Printing. The Committee shall hold its meetings on the date set by the Board
which shall be in the nature of a public hearing, allowing expert testimony
therein in order to arrive at an acceptable estimate of production cost for any
given textbook. The determination of the "mark-up" in percent over the
production cost for any textbook to insure a reasonable profit for publishers
and at the same time insuring the minimum procurement cost for the
government shall be determined by the Board.
Section 7. It shall be unlawful for the Board to consider for adoption any
treatise textbook or manuscript in whose authorship, editorship or
preparation a member of the Board may have direct or indirect interest. It
shall, likewise, be unlawful for any member of the Board during the period of
his incumbency to own directly or indirectly any interest whatsoever in any
firm, partnership or corporation on publishing or dealing in school textbooks.
Section 8. Except in exceptional case as may be determined by the Board, the
textbooks selected and approved shall be used for a period of at least six (6)
years from the date of their adoption. Private schools recognized or
authorized by the Government shall, as much as possible, use textbooks
approved by the Board. The Board shall have the power to prohibit the use of
any textbook in private schools other than those approved by the Board,
which it may find to be against the law or offensive to the dignity and honor
of the Government and people of the Philippines or which it may find to be
against the general policies of the government or which it may find as
pedagogically unsuitable.
Section 9. The Board shall, as a matter of policy encourage the
writing of textbooks for Philippine schools by Filipino authors
using such Philippine sources of subject material as will develop
in pupils and students a deeper sense of nationalism, respect for
Philippine institutions and appreciation of our cultural heritage.
Section 10. For administrative purposes, the Textbook Board
shall be directly under the Office of the Secretary of Education
and Culture. The Chairman of the Board shall have authority,
with the approval of the Department Head, to obtain the
technical assistance of such personnel from any department,
bureau or office of the government which may be considered
necessary for the proper performance of its duties, with
compensation for their services as may be determined by the
Board.
Section 11. Members of the Board shall be entitled to an
allowance of One Hundred (P100.00) Pesos per meeting actually
attended but not exceeding Four Hundred (P400.00) Pesos a
month, exclusive or reimbursement of actual and necessary
expenses incurred in attendance of meetings and other official
business authorized by resolution of the Board.
Section 12. The sum of One Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00)
Pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary shall, in addition
to the regular annual appropriations for the operation and
maintenance of the Textbook Board, be appropriated annually
from funds of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated
to carry out the provisions of this Decree.
Section 13. All laws, decrees, executive orders or
existing rules and regulations contrary to or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
Section 14. The Decree shall take effect immediately.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of April, in
the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-
five.
 Presidential Decree No. 285
• AUTHORIZING THE COMPULSORY LICENSING
OR REPRINTING OF EDUCATIONAL,
SCIENTIFIC OR CULTURAL BOOKS AND
MATERIALS AS A TEMPORARY OR
EMERGENCY MEASURE WHENEVER THE
PRICES THEREOF BECOME SO EXORBITANT AS
TO BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE NATIONAL
INTEREST
• WHEREAS, the spiralling of prices of educational,
scientific or cultural books and materials has reached
very serious proportion;
• WHEREAS, it is in the national interest that such
books and materials be made available to everybody
at the least cost; and
• WHEREAS, this can be achieved by the compulsory
licensing and reprinting of both domestic and foreign
educational, scientific or cultural books and
materials, as a temporary or emergency measure,
whenever their prices become exorbitant;
Section 1. Whenever the price of any educational,
scientific or cultural book, pamphlet and other written
materials, whether of domestic or foreign origin, has
become so exorbitant as to be detrimental to the
national interest, as determined and declared by a
committee composed of the Secretary of Education and
Culture, such book, pamphlet or written material may
be reprinted by the Government or by any private
printer or printers for a limited period and only for the
purpose of making the same available to the people at
reasonable cost.
Section 2. The reprinted books, pamphlets and materials shall bear proper
acknowledgment of the source, authorship, copyright proprietors and past
printers, if known, as well as the names and addresses of the reprinter or
reprinters. If abbreviated or edited in any manner, such fact shall be stated be
stated. The following inscription shall also appear on the covers thereof:
"Export of this Book or material from the Philippines is punishable by law."
The export of such reprints under any circumstance is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. The reprinting of the above books, pamphlets and materials shall
be subject to the condition that the reprinter shall pay, in local currency, a
royalty of three per centum (3%) of the gross selling price, if so demanded by
the authors, publishers or copyright proprietors concerned, whoever is legally
entitled thereto: Provided, That in the case of non-resident authors,
publishers or copyright proprietors, the payment of the royalties shall be
made only to them personally in the Philippines or their respective
representative or branch offices in the Philippines.
Section 4. Any person, natural or judicial, who shall violate the
provisions of this Decree shall, upon conviction thereof, be
punished by imprisonment of not less than Five Thousand Pesos
nor more than two Ten Thousand Pesos. If the violation is
committed by a firm, company or corporation, the manager or
person in charge of the management of the business thereof
shall be responsible thereof. Books and materials printed or
published or exported in violation of this Decree shall be
immediately confiscated and the establishment that printed or
published or exported them shall forthwith be closed and its
operation discontinued.
Section 5. The Committee herein named shall promulgate rules
and regulations for the implementation of this Degree.
Section 6. This Decree shall take effect
immediately, the provisions of any law, decree,
executive order, treaty or executive agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of
September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen
hundred and seventy-three.
 Presidential Decree No. 932
• FURTHER DEMOCRATIZING
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
PROMOTING THE "STUDY NOW PAY
LATER PLAN" AND SPECIFYING VARIOUS
SCHEMES FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
• WHEREAS, it is of common knowledge that many
deserving students are unable to pursue their studies due
to financial difficulties;
• WHEREAS, is a declared national policy to democratize
access to education by providing opportunities to
deserving citizens to pursue higher education and
training in the fields of study vital to the development of
the national economy;
• WHEREAS, the limited scope and coverage of existing
state scholarship programs should be supplemented by
schemes whereby the state can expand its commitment
of financial assistance to deserving students;
• WHEREAS, the establishment of an educational
assistance program more commonly known as the
"study now pay later plan" has been enunciated as a
major measure to promote such democratization of
educational opportunities.
• NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS,
President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue
of the powers vested in me by the Constitution,
hereby order and decree the following to be part of
the law of the land:
Section 1. This decree shall hereinafter be referred to as the "Educational
Assistance Act of 1976".
Section 2. Under such guidelines issued by the Educational Assistance Policy
Council hereinafter created, poor but deserving students may avail of
educational assistance from loanable funds as established below:
1. Educational Loan Funds (ELF)
(a) A loan fund initially constituted at fifty million (P50,000,000.00) pesos shall
be earmarked, set up and administered independently at the SSS and GSIS
which shall allocate twenty five million (P25,000,000.00) pesos each from
their investible funds spread in a yearly contribution of five million
(P5,000,000.00) pesos starting calendar year 1976-77. This fund shall be used
to service the financial needs of eligible students regardless of whether or not
their parents or any of them are members of the SSS and GSIS. The fund shall
be in addition to the current educational loan program of the SSS and the
scholarship program of the GSIS.
(b) The PNB, DBP and the Land Bank shall set aside five
million (P5,000,000.00) pesos each of their annual
investment portfolio for the purpose. These institutions
shall submit to the Council the procedural guidelines
for their participation taking into account their own
charter objectives.
(c) All private banking institutions and Amanah Bank
shall also earmark a certain percentage of their
investible funds for the purpose.
(d) The amount of loan that may be granted each
student shall be determined by the Council considering
the number of years to complete his studies and the
amount needed for such expenditures as tuition and
other school fees, board and lodging, pocket money,
books and supplies and other miscellaneous expenses.
(e) All loans under this schemes shall be covered by a
guaranty funds which is hereby created, under such
conditions as may be imposed by the Council.
2. Educational Loan Guarantee Funds (ELGF)
(a) The sum of one million (P1,000,000.00) pesos in
hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds
in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated to
constitute the initial Educational Loan Guarantee Fund.
Earnings guarantee charges and other credits arising
from the operations of this loan fund shall accrue to the
Educational Guarantee Fund.
(b) The guarantee fund shall be administered by the
Council.
Section 3. The Council may accept donations legacies, grants-in-aid
and other contributions to form part of the loan and/or Guarantee
Funds.
Section 4. The payment of all loans granted to any student-borrowers
under the schemes enumerated shall be made immediately upon
employment under such payroll checkoff-system as may be established
by the Council.
Section 5. A policy making council to oversee this program is hereby
created to be composed of the Secretary of Education and Culture as
Chairman, the Secretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, and the Director-
General of the NEDA, Secretary of Finance, Secretary of Social Welfare,
Budget Commissioner, Presidential Assistant on Youth and Sports
Development, Governor of the Central Bank, Administrator of the SSS
and General Manager of the GSIS or their alternatives as members.
It shall be the function of the Council to:
• (a) Determine and issue the appropriate policies,
measures, rules and regulations necessary to implement,
maintain and enhance this program.
(b) Issue guidelines to govern existing and future
educational assistance programs of other government
agencies and the private sector.
(c) Enlist the cooperation of schools and other relevant
institutions for the effective implementation and
enhancement and enhancement of the program.
(d) Perform such other duties as hereinafter be assigned to
it by the President of the Philippines.
Section 6. An inter-agency secretariat, the composition and function of
which shall be determined by the Council, is hereafter created, to
assist the Council in the implementation of this program.
• The sum of two hundred thousand (P200,000.00) pesos is hereby
appropriated annually to be included in the budget of the
Department of Education and Culture to finance the operations of
the secretariat.
Section 7. Qualification of Applicants.
• Any Filipino citizen who graduates from a duly authorized secondary
school, whether public and private, desiring to pursue further
studies may avail of assistance under any of the schemes, the basic
consideration being he is poor but deserving. The Council shall
determine such other qualifications as it deems proper for the
purpose.
Section 8. This Decree shall take effect immediately
upon publication of its implementing rules and
regulations in two (2) newspapers of general circulation
in the Philippines.
Section 9. The Student Loan Authority created under
RA 6014 is hereby abolished. Likewise, all acts or parts
of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 13th day of May, in
the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-
six.
 Presidential Decree No. 155
• RECOGNIZING THE SPANISH
LANGUAGE AS AN OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR
CERTAIN PURPOSES
WHEREAS, Sec. 3 of Article XIV of the 1935 Constitution
of the Philippines provided that "until otherwise
provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as
official languages;"
WHEREAS, Sec. 3(3) of Article XV of the new
Constitution provides that "until otherwise provided by
law, English and Pilipino shall be the official languages;
WHEREAS, a sizeable part of documents in government
files are written in the Spanish language and have not
been officially translated into either English or Pilipino
language;
WHEREAS, it is advisable to maintain the legal
admissibility of important documents in government
files which are written in the Spanish language pending
their translation into either English or Pilipino language;
and
WHEREAS, Spanish language is a part of our priceless
national heritage, which we share with the great
Hispanic community of nations.
• NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the
Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces
of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081
dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated
September 22, 1972, do hereby order and decree that the
Spanish language shall continue to be recognized as an official
language in the Philippines while important documents in
government files are in the Spanish language and not
translated into either English or Pilipino language.
• This Decree shall form part of the law of the land and shall
take effect immediately.
• Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of March, in the year
of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.