QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 139)
It amends certain sections of Act No. 2957, the law creating the Board in charge of selection and approval of textbooks for public schools, as previously amended by Acts Nos. 3185, 3402, and 3722.
The board is known as the Board on Textbooks, and it has charge of the selection and approval of textbooks to be used in public schools.
At least six years from the date of their adoption.
The Board may prohibit the use of any such textbooks if it finds them against the law, offensive to the dignity and honor of the government and people of the Philippines, against general government policies, or pedagogically unsuitable.
Decisions of the Board on Textbooks are subject to approval of the Secretary of Instruction upon recommendation of the National Council of Education.
The Board shall be composed of five members appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Members hold office for six years. In the first Board, one member is appointed for two years, two members for four years, and two members for six years.
Every two years, the Board selects a Chairman from among its members.
They serve without compensation. All members must be citizens of the Philippines.
It is unlawful for the Board to consider for adoption or to adopt any treatise, textbook, or manuscript in whose authorship, editorship, or preparation a member of the Board may have direct or indirect interest.
The prohibition does not apply to deliberation concerning a treatise, textbook, or manuscript written by a Board member during his incumbency, provided that the member does not participate in the deliberation; the work must be turned over to the government, which may print and distribute it.
During incumbency, it is unlawful for any Board member to own, directly or indirectly, any interest whatsoever in any firm, partnership, or corporation publishing or dealing in school textbooks.
The Board is directly under the Secretary of Instruction.
With the approval of the Department Head, the Chairman may obtain the technical assistance of officers and employees of any department, bureau, or office of the government deemed necessary for proper performance of the Board’s duties.
It provides for a permanent secretary with compensation at the rate of four thousand eight hundred pesos per annum, and authorizes additional employees as may be necessary.
It appropriates ten thousand pesos from funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the current fiscal year, and requires that a like amount be included in the annual General Appropriation Act for succeeding years.
All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with RA 139 are repealed, and the Act takes effect on its approval.