Last Mile and Gida Schools Act

CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES TWENTIETH CONGRESS First Regular Session SENATE S. No. 1937 PREPARED AND SUBMITTED BY THE COMMITTEES ON BASIC EDUCATION: PUBLIC WORKS: AND FINANCE WITH SENATORS LEGARDA, TULFO (E.), VILLANUEVA, PANGILINAN, AQUINO, ESTRADA, HONTIVEROS, TULFO (R.), VILLAR (M.), ZUBIRI, AND PADILLA AS AUTHORS THEREOF AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED AND DISADVANTAGED AREAS (GIDA) 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 "GIDA Schools Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State shall

protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and take appropriate steps to make education accessible to all.

The State also recognizes that the accessibility of school sites is an essential component of the right to basic education. Education planning, school mapping, and school 4 infrastructure development shall be guided by the principle that learners must have reasonable geographic access to a basic education school that is compliant with national education facilities standards. To this end. the State shall improve the quality and access to basic education for children in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, by investing in school infrastructure, access roads, and programs responsive to their unique contexts. In implementing these measures, the State recognizes and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities within the framework of national unity and development. To this end, the State shall recognize the right of indigenous families and communities to retain shared the responsibility for upbringing, training,

• education, and well-being of their children, consistent with the rights of the child.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

(a) Basic Education refers to basic learning needs which provide the foundation for subsequent learning. It includes kindergarten, elementary. and secondary education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school learners and those with special needs: (b) Basic Education School refers to learning institutions accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd) to deliver services addressing the basic learning needs of students: (c) Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) refer to remote or marginalized areas or communities, with limited access to essential services and infrastructure, and may include areas impacted by conflict or insecurity; and (d) Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)/ Indigenous 19 Peoples (IPs) refer to people or homogenous societies

identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized communities on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under time claims of ownership since immemorial, occupied, possessed, and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions, and other 7 distinctive cultural traits, or who have. through resistance to political, social, and cultural inroads of colonization. 9 non-indigenous religions and cultures, become historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the 14 time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic. cultural, and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains.

SEC. 4. Establishment of GIDA Schools. - Public

2 basic education schools located in geographically isolated 3 and disadvantaged areas are hereby established as GIDA 4 Schools, under the administration of the DepEd, to cater to learners who face significant geographic, infrastructural, or access-related barriers to basic education. For purposes of this Act, a school may be identified as a GIDA School if it has any or a combination of the following indicators: (a) Less than four (4) classrooms: (b) Makeshift or nonstandard rooms: (c) Irregular or no electricity; (d) No allocation of funds for repairs or new construction projects in the last four (4) years; (e) Access travel time of more than one (1) hour from the center of a city or municipality, or with difficulty of 17 terrain or of such nature as to be considered having 18 difficulty of access to existing educational institutions;

(f) Multigrade classes or rooms; (g) Less than five (5) teachers; (h) A student population of less than one hundred (100) learners: (i) More than seventy-five percent (75%) IP learners; (i) Location in communities affected by conflict, insecurity, disaster vulnerability. or other conditions that significantly impede safe access to education; and (k) Such other analogous circumstances identified by the DepEd, which make it demonstrably difficult for learners to access school facilities. The DepEd is hereby vested with the authority, through appropriate guidelines, to supplement, refine, operationalize, and update these indicators affecting geographic isolation, resource deprivation, or community vulnerability based on evidence and measurable criteria, and consistent with the policy and objectives of this Act.

The establishment of GIDA Schools within ancestral 2 domains shall be undertaken in accordance with Republic 3 Act No. 8371 or the "Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997", including compliance with Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) requirements.

SEC. 5. Accessibility of Basic Education School Sites. -

The DepEd shall adopt and implement a national school accessibility standard to guide school siting, school mapping, and infrastructure programming for public basic education schools, including GIDA Schools. The accessibility standard for these school sites must ensure that: (a) Students have access to a basic education school within a walkable distance of three (3) kilometers from their place of residence; or (b) Where walkable access is not feasible due to terrain, geography, or safety considerations, there is reasonable access through available and safe transportation arrangements.

This standard shall be periodically reviewed and integrated into school planning systems and inter-agency coordination, subject to considerations of safety and feasibility.

SEC. 6. Establishment of the National GIDA Schools

Mapping System. - Within one (1) year from effectivity of 7 this Act, DepEd shall develop and publish a National 8 GIDA Schools Map which shall serve as basis for planning. resource allocation, and program implementation under this Act. The DepEd shall review and update the GIDA Schools Map at least once every three (3) years to ensure responsiveness to changing conditions and educational needs.

SEC. 7. Access to Education and Inter-Agency

Support. - To ensure access to education in GIDA, the DepEd shall collaborate with concerned national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs). civil society organizations (CSOs), and other stakeholders. including the following:

• (a) LGUs and CSOs, for the construction, upgrading. and community-based support of GIDA Schools; (b) The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for the construction of access roads leading to GIDA Schools; (c) The Department of Energy (DOE) and National 6 Electrification Administration (NEA), for the provision of 7 electricity: (d) The Department of Information and Communications 9 Technology (DICT), for the installation of information and communications technology and connectivity: and (e) The National Commission on Indigenous 12 Peoples (NCIP), for compliance with the process of 13 obtaining the FPIC of concerned ICCs/IPs in cases where a GIDA School or access road is to be established within ancestral domains. The establishment of GIDA Schools and access roads within ancestral domains shall be undertaken in consideration of the rights of the concerned ICCs/IPs to

their ancestral domain and their right to FPIC, in accordance with Republic Act No. 8371. For purposes of implementing partnerships under 4 Section 7(a), the DepEd shall establish guidelines for the engagement of CSOs through Memoranda of Agreement 6 (MOA) and other community-based partnership modalities, 7 adopting context-responsive and streamlined procedures to 8 facilitate timely delivery of school infrastructure in GIDA. 9 The DepEd may likewise engage the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the construction of GIDA School infrastructure in priority, conflict-affected, disaster-prone. or hard-to-reach areas.

SEC. 8. Construction Standards for GIDA Schools. -

School buildings and related facilities under this Act shall comply with the minimum standards and specifications prescribed by the DepEd for public school infrastructure: Provided, That where full compliance with these minimum standards and specifications is not feasible, the DepEd shall prescribe appropriate and context-responsive

standards specifically for GIDA Schools. Such standards shall ensure that all school facilities remain safe, durable, accessible, climate- and disaster-resilient, and suitable to 4 the geographic, cultural. and environmental conditions of the communities they serve. When practicable, the DepEd shall integrate the use of bamboo, engineered bamboo, and other sustainable. locally sourced materials in the design, construction, repair, and rehabilitation of public school buildings and facilities: Provided, That the use of such materials shall strictly comply with the building codes, safety metrics, structural standards, and guidelines set forth by relevant regulatory bodies to ensure the structural integrity and 14 disaster resilience of the school infrastructure. The construction of GIDA Schools shall be subject to applicable environmental laws, including Republic Act No. 11038 or the "Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018* and Presidential 19 Decree No. 705 or the "Revised Forestry Code of the

Philippines" , in coordination with the Department of 2 Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

SEC. 9. Programs for GIDA Schools. - The DepEd shall

formulate and implement programs responsive to the unique context of GIDA Schools, teachers, and learners, including: (a) Learning delivery and intervention mechanisms, 8 including alternative learning modalities suited for GIDA Schools; (b) School staffing standards and teacher deployment. given the unique needs of learners in GIDA Schools; (c) Formula for school maintenance and other operating expenses, in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); (d) Learning tools and equipment appropriate for the context of GIDA Schools: (e) Learner support services, including psychological and socio-emotional support, feeding programs and other

health and nutrition interventions, tutoring, mentoring, and other individualized interventions; (f) Relevant undergraduate and graduate teacher training curriculum; and (g) Teacher, school head, and school performance evaluations in accordance with the Teacher Education 7 Council's (TEC) affirmation system of career stages, and in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (CSC). the For GIDA Schools in ancestral domains, curriculum shall integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems and and Practices (IKSP), indigenous languages, community-validated cultural narratives, in coordination with the NCIP and consistent with Republic Act No. 8371.

SEC. 10. Targeted Support for Teachers and Non-Teaching

15 Staff in GIDA Schools. - The DepEd, in coordination with the DBM, concerned LGUs, and other relevant agencies, shall provide a comprehensive support package for teachers and non-teaching staff assigned to GIDA Schools, which shall include:

(a) Additional Compensation and Allowances - Personnel assigned to GIDA Schools shall be entitled to additional compensation separate from existing benefits, including hardship allowance, hazard pay, per diem, food allowance, teaching and learning materials allowance, and relocation or mobility assistance, based on distance or difficulty. 7 including transportation support for deployment and periodic travel, when applicable; (b) Housing and Accommodation Support - The DepEd, in coordination with concerned LGUs. shall provide accommodation support which may include the •12 construction of teacher quarters where feasible. rental or housing subsidies, or partnerships with LGUs and communities for safe local housing; (c) Professional Development and Teacher Pipeline - The DepEd shall strengthen teacher preparation and retention through:

• (1) Relevant in-service and training bridging 2 programs through the National Educators' Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) in coordination with TEC: teacher education (2) Scholarships and support programs for aspiring teachers from GIDA and ICC/IP communities, linked to return-to-service obligations in GIDA Schools; and (3) Additional Credit Points in the evaluation and ranking of teachers in GIDA Schools for purposes of promotion, reclassification, scholarship grants, leadership designation, and other career advancement opportunities: and (d) Localized Recruitment and Engagement Mechanisms - The DepEd shall promote community-based and context- responsive staffing: (1) Priority hiring of qualified teachers and essential non-teaching personnel who are residents of, willing to reside in, or culturally connected to the local community, and who demonstrate proficiency in the local language;

(2) Adopting provisional or alternative deployment pathways for qualified individuals, including deployment as Learning Support Aides (LSAs), subject to appropriate safeguards; and (3) Engage respected community elders as Indigenous Knowledge Educators for the teaching of IKSP, consistent 7 with Republic Act No. 8371 and local cultural protocols.

SEC. 11. Role of Local School Boards. - The Local

School Boards shall: (a) Assist the DepEd in identifying, establishing, and prioritizing GIDA Schools: (b) Recommend and allocate funds. including the Special Education Fund and other local resources. for the establishment of and support to GIDA Schools; (c) Ensure GIDA School needs are included in local education and development plans: and (d) Promote community participation, including that of parents, ICCs/IPs, and other stakeholders, in school planning and monitoring.

SEC. 12. Implementation. - The DepEd shall plan and

implement programs under this Act in coordination with relevant NGAs, LGUs, and partner CSOs.

SEC. 13. Monitoring and Reporting on Learner

Outcomes. - The DepEd shall regularly assess and report on learner participation, retention, and learning outcomes 7 in GIDA Schools, which shall be the basis for the allocation of national funds and guide the participation of LGUs in schools. Learner outcomes shall be supporting these assessed and reported separately for students enrolled in GIDA Schools, to ensure that progress and gaps are systematically monitored and addressed. The DepEd shall submit an annual report to Congress on the status and implementation of this Act.

SEC. 14. Policy Review. - The DepEd shall review and

revise existing relevant policies, standards, and guidelines to directly address the specific conditions and contexts of 18 GIDA Schools.

SEC. 15. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for

the implementation of this Act shall be included in the agencies, and budgets of the concerned departments, government-owned and -controlled corporations in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -

7 Rules and regulations necessary for the effective and 8 efficient enforcement of the provisions of this Act shall be 9 formulated by the DepEd, in consultation with the NCIP, 10 DPWH, DICT. DOE. NEA, Department of Social Welfare 11 and Development. DENR, National Disaster Risk 12 Reduction and Management Council, DBM, CSC, TEC, and 13 Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), and 14 shall be implemented within ninety (90) days from the 15 effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 17. Separability Clause. - If any provision of

17 this Act is declared unconstitutional, the remainder hereof not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All other laws,

presidential decrees. executive orders, letters of instruction, proclamations. administrative orders, rules, or regulations that are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 19. Effectivity. - Notwithstanding the non-issuance

7 of the implementing rules and regulations, this Act shall take 8 effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in the 9 Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,