Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 18) — A lawmaker has filed a bill that proposes the creation of a “pandemic-proof” national online library, allowing Filipino students to access digitized copies of learning materials.
In a statement on Sunday, Sen. Win Gatchalian said he filed Senate Bill No. 477 or the Philippine Online Library Act which seeks to require the Department of Education (DepEd) “to create digitized copies of all textbooks and reference books it deems necessary for the public education of our elementary and secondary learners.”
If the bill would be passed into law, the platform dubbed “Philippine Online Library” would be managed by DepEd and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
DepEd would also be mandated to distribute computers, laptops, and other devices to all public elementary and secondary schools, while the DICT would provide free internet connectivity across schools nationwide.
Gatchalian believes that the establishment of an online library could help address learning gaps among students.
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“While we return to face-to-face classes, our public libraries, one of the country’s pathways to educational resources, should remain pandemic-proof — ubiquitous and accessible — regardless of the geographical location and type of device used by the learners,” he said.
Citing a 2021 report by the World Bank, Gatchalian noted that 95.5% of low-income households surveyed used paper-based learning modules despite the government implementing remote learning during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.
