By Nimfa L. Estrellado Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan discusses House Bill No. 5646 during a committee hearing at the...
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| Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan discusses House Bill No. 5646 during a committee hearing at the House of Representatives, where the proposed creation of Quezon–Schools Division II was taken up.(Atorni Mike/FB) |
LUCENA CITY, Quezon - Measure seeks to split the current Division of Quezon to improve school supervision and service delivery as House Bill No. 5646 moves closer to becoming a reality. Authored by Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan, House Bill No. 5646 advanced at the committee level to bring education services closer to schools in the province’s third and fourth districts.
The bill comes amid long-standing concerns over delays in school supervision, teacher deployment, and access to basic support services in several parts of the province. These concerns have been more pronounced in towns located far from the current provincial education office.
According to Tan, the proposal directly responds to persistent problems in school supervision, teacher deployment, and access to basic education support. He noted that these challenges are most evident in communities located far from the provincial education office.
Quezon is among the largest provinces in the country in terms of land area, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Records from the Department of Education show that the province has hundreds of public elementary and secondary schools spread across coastal, lowland, and mountainous municipalities.
Distance between schools and central offices has slowed coordination and delayed response time in some areas, Tan said. He added that service delays remain common in far-flung southern towns.
“Common challenges include slow processing of personnel requests, delays in classroom repairs, and gaps in the delivery of learning materials,” Tan said. “In some remote areas, schools wait months for approval of basic needs,” he added.
Under House Bill No. 5646, Quezon–Schools Division I will continue to oversee the first and second congressional districts, while the proposed Quezon–Schools Division II will manage the third and fourth districts, according to the bill’s provisions.
“This is part of our HEALING Plus Agenda where education is a top priority. Our goal is to address shortages, improve quality, and make the delivery of education services faster and more effective for every Quezonian student. By bringing education services closer to the ground, we can respond faster and serve our students better,” he added.
The bill further states that the creation of a second school administration office will require new offices, additional staff, and added operating funds to supervise the schools under its coverage. It also provides that implementation will require working with the Department of Education on staffing, budget, and daily operations.
Further committee hearings are scheduled as House Bill No. 5646 moves forward in the lawmaking process toward a final vote by the full House, based on the House legislative calendar. The bill must still undergo additional hearings, technical review, and possible changes before final approval.
Also taken up during the same hearing was House Bill No. 2633, which proposes the establishment of the Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) authored by Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila Jr.. In the bill’s explanatory note, Dimaguila cited the national classroom backlog of more than 165,000 as of 2023.
According to the bill’s explanatory note, the CAP seeks to allow local government units and private groups to directly take part in building public-school classrooms as a way to help address classroom shortages.
Tan said the program is not intended to replace national funding but to help speed up classroom construction through partnerships with local governments and the private sector. He said the added support at the local level is expected to help address classroom shortages more quickly.
House Bill No. 2633 further states that the CAP is intended to support existing government school-building programs, particularly in public schools with large student populations and in areas frequently affected by storms or flooding.
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