Priority Infrastructure for for State Universities and Colleges Act

Sendin Office of the Suretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 25 SEP 10 P6:31 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session RECEIVED SM SENATE 5. No. 1379 Introduced by SENATOR IV EJERCITO AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PRIORITY INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE Quality higher education is both a constitutional promise and a practical necessity. Republic Act No. 10931 opened the doors wider by providing free tuition and other support in state universities and colleges (SUCs). But wider access means little if students learn in overcrowded classrooms, outdated laboratories, or unsafe buildings. Access must be matched with places that genuinely enable learning, research, and student life, especially for those who travel far from home and rely on campus dormitories. 1 Under Republic Act No. 11396, every SUC must craft a Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) to guide campus growth, thus moving us away from piecemeal projects and toward master-planned development. CHED's implementing guidelines (CMO No. 11, s. 2020) further detail how these plans should be prepared, evaluated, and used for future campus works, including dormitories and staff housing. ' Republic Act No. 10931 (Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act) 2 Republic Act No. 11396

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 calls for strengthening research and innovation capacity and improving public R&D platforms. These targets hinge on fit-for-purpose classrooms, labs, libraries, and shared facilities. A predictable, rolling infrastructure program for SUCs will help deliver these outcomes while avoiding waste from fragmented construction. Our public higher-education system is large and diverse, with campuses scattered across the country and serving communities with very different needs. Prioritizing investments based on each SUC's LUDIP will let us decongest classrooms where demand is highest, expand laboratories where research can flourish, build resilient facilities in hazard-prone areas, and provide dormitories that lower student costs and reduce dropout risks. This proposed measure aims to shift us from isolated, project-by-project requests to an evidence-based, plan-driven pipeline. That means better value for public funds, faster improvements in learning and research environments, and wider and more meaningful access to quality higher education. In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this measure is earnestly sought. JV EJERCITO

Senate Offter of the sa tiptory TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 SEP 10 P6:31 First Regular Session SENATE RECENED BY S. No. 1379 Introduced by SENATOR JV EJERCITO AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PRIORITY INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES, 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 "Priority Infrastructure

2 for State Universities and Colleges Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State under the

4 1987 Constitution to protect and promote the rights of all students to quality education s at all levels. This was further emphasized in Republic Act No. 10931 or 6 the "Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act", where quality education is 7 declared an inalienable right of all Filipinos. However, in addition to providing access, 8 achieving universal quality education necessitates guaranteeing adequate and appropriate education infrastructure. Towards this end, the State shall identify and 10 fund priority infrastructure for education.

SEC. 3. Priority Infrastructure Plan for State Universities and Colleges. - Upon

the passage of this Act, all state universities and colleges (SUCs) shall submit to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) their yearly priority infrastructure projects, which shall be consistent with their Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan as provided under Republic Act No. 11396 otherwise known as the sues Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan (LUDIP) Act.

Within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall submit to 2 Congress and other relevant agencies a five- (5- year priority infrastructure plan based on the submissions of the sues, which shall include annual plan allocating funds for every compliant SUC. The priority infrastructure plan shall be consistent with the 5 national priorities, goals, and objectives and regional needs as determined by the 6 National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the LUDIP of each sue. 7 The priority infrastructure plan may be subject to annual adjustments and modifications, as may be necessary. After the five- (5-) year implementation period, the CHED, in coordination with 10 the SUCs will come up with another five- (5-) year plan with the corresponding annual budgetary requirement.

SEC. 4. Inter-Agency Committee. - There is hereby established an Inter-Agency

Committee for the monitoring of the implementation of this Act. The Committee shall be composed of the Chairperson of the CHED, Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and Director General of the NEDA, or their respective authorized representatives.

SEC. 5. Appropriation. - The amount

of twenty-five billion pesos (P25,000,000,000) shall automatically be included yearly in the annual appropriation of the CHED for the next five years for the implementation of the first Priority Infrastructure Plan for SUCs under Section 3 of this Act. The funding necessary for any subsequent priority infrastructure plans shall be included in the succeeding annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 6. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication

in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,