Expanded education voucher program hurdles House

THE House of Representatives on Monday passed on final reading a bill expanding the government’s private education voucher program, aiming to boost access to quality education across the country.

With 287 votes in favor, three against and two abstentions, the chamber passed House Bill No. 4744, which seeks to expand the state’s education voucher program to include kindergarten and elementary students.

The bill also proposes the creation of a private education bureau that would oversee and regulate the expanded voucher program.

“Public and private schools are not competitors but partners in nation-building,” Pasig Rep. Roman T. Romulo, who heads the House Education Committee, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Together, they ensure that all Filipinos have access to quality education.”

The proposal is a priority measure by the Marcos administration. Its passage revived a similar bill previously approved in the 19th Congress but left unenacted due to time constraints. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio