Schools Physical Education and Sports Development Act

Policy and guiding principles

Section 2 directs the establishment of an integrated physical education and sports development program in all schools in the Philippines.
The physical education goal is to instill in young citizens a proper appreciation of the importance of physical development hand in hand with the mental development in individual and social activities.
Sports and other physical education activities must provide opportunities for athletic development of children and youth with competitive spirit and grace, coordination, stamina and strength.
A well-rounded physical education program must cover physical growth, social training, and personal discipline for all pupils and students, and provide superior athletic achievement for those who are psychologically inclined and physically gifted.
An integrated sports development program requires effective organizational planning and administration with adequate training facilities and sustained stable financing.

Department program requirements

Section 3 requires the Secretary of Education to prescribe, by regulation, a program of activities for the Bureau of Public Schools, Bureau of Private Schools, and Bureau of Vocational Education.
The program of activities must include: (1) health education and nutrition with increased emphasis on food production activities to augment and improve pupils’ and students’ diets.
The program of activities must include: (2) general physical fitness for all pupils in elementary and secondary schools through a daily routine of calisthenics exercises and a separate daily period for physical education, including folk dancing and gymnastics.
The program of activities must include: (3) competitive athletics in all schools starting in the intermediate grades, to identify promising athletes whose participation in individual and team athletics must be encouraged, developed and supervised more intensively in secondary schools.
The program of activities must include: (4) intramural and inter-unit athletic competition within schools, districts and provinces prescribed by the three bureaus, with proper recognition and incentive awards for outstanding performance.
The program of activities must include: (5) an annual program of athletic competition within and among regions and in interscholastic or national meets formulated by athletic associations organized by each bureau.
The Secretary of Education must seek the recommendation of the Department of Health through its Secretary when formulating regulations for general physical fitness for pupils and students and health education in the present.

Physical Education and Sports Center Commission

Section 4 creates the Physical Education and Sports Center Development Commission within the Department of Education.
The Commission consists of: the Assistant Secretary for Physical Education as Chairman, the Director of Public Works, the Physical Director of the University of the Philippines, the three coordinators representing the three bureaus (Bureau of Public Schools, Bureau of Vocational Education, and Bureau of Private Schools), and the President of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation.
The Assistant Secretary for Physical Education is appointed by the President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
The three coordinators are appointed by the Secretary of Education and must have the rank of division superintendents of schools.
The Assistant Secretary for Physical Education acts as the Executive Director of the Commission.

Operational structure and reporting

Section 5 places the Assistant Secretary for Physical Education in charge of the promotion and coordination of the schools’ physical education and sports development program, under the general supervision and control of the Secretary of Education.
Section 5 requires physical education coordinators to promote and coordinate the program in their respective bureaus under the direction of the corresponding bureau director.
Section 5 requires the Commission to submit an annual report to the Secretary of Education, who must make appropriate recommendations to the President and to Congress.

Field supervisors in bureaus

Section 6 requires a physical education supervisor in each division of the Bureau of Public Schools.
Section 6 requires a regional physical education supervisor for each region of the Bureau of Private Schools.
Section 6 requires nine physical education supervisors in the Bureau of Vocational Education, assigned by geographical area.
Supervisors are appointed by the Secretary of Education upon the recommendation of the respective bureau directors, with priority given to the highest qualified ranking supervisors from their respective bureaus.
Supervisors must promote and coordinate physical education activities in their areas and assume leadership in sports promotion in their areas.

Coach development program rules

Section 7 requires the Department of Education to undertake, within one year following the effectivity of the Act, a five-year coach development program.
The coach development program must be coordinated with similar programs launched by the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The program must train coaches in the Bureau of Public Schools, Bureau of Private Schools, and Bureau of Vocational Education.
The program must run in three phases: phase one at the national level training a full complement to coaching instructors for each region in each bureau; phase two at the provincial level by graduate coaching instructors; and phase three through coaching seminars or clinics on the school level.
Section 7 allows supplementary training programs in the form of scholarships of from six months to one year to the National College of Physical Education or the University of the Philippines, or through coaching clinics under specialists invited from abroad.
The five-year coach development program must be financed from national appropriations.
Scholarships must be available to participants from the Bureau of Public Schools, Bureau of Private Schools, Bureau of Vocational Education, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The supplementary training program must also be open to participants from private schools, colleges and universities at the expense of the sponsoring institution.

Sports centers: ten-year program

Section 8 authorizes a ten-year program for construction and development of sports centers in each province.
The ten-year sports center program is to be financed out of funds of the Physical Education and Sports Center Development Commission created under Section 4.
Sports centers must be established in cities, provincial capitals or in municipalities determined by the Commission upon recommendation of the provincial board or the city council, as the case may be.
Each sports center must have standard grounds and facilities for: track and field and ball games, gymnasia, swimming pools, and dormitory and cafeteria facilities, and facilities for coaches and athletes in training for regional, interscholastic and national athletic meets.
The Commission must prescribe rules for the administration and operation of sports centers.
Provisions must be made for the use of sports center facilities by public and private schools and duly organized athletic associations in the region.

Commission duties on construction and priorities

Section 9 makes it the Commission’s responsibility to undertake the ten-year construction and development program of sports centers in all provinces and administer the funds authorized under the Act.
Section 10 makes the Commission responsible for deciding plans and specifications for construction or improvement, establishing priorities, entering into contracts, authorizing and approving payments, and performing acts necessary for efficient prosecution of the program.
Section 10 prohibits authorizing construction or improvement projects unless the site is duly decided upon by local authorities and the property is duly acquired by the local government.
Section 10 requires first priority for provinces that are immediate hosts to interscholastics and/or regional athletic meets.
Section 10 limits funding for each sports center project: national appropriation for any new sports center must not exceed five hundred thousand pesos, and appropriation for improvement of an existing one must not exceed two hundred fifty thousand pesos.

Athletic fee: cap and use

Section 11 requires the charging of an athletic fee not exceeding ten pesos per annum from each college and university student (public and private).
Section 11 requires that the total sum collected each year be expended exclusively for the promotion of the schools’ physical education and sports center development program.
Section 11 prohibits any school, public or private, from charging any other athletic fee of any kind or under any denomination whatsoever.
Section 11 subjects the receipts and expenditures of every school from athletic fees to examination by the Physical Education and Sports Center Development Commission.

Financing of regional and interscholastic meets

Section 12 requires financing of regional or interscholastic meets to come from the host province through any of the following: sale of admission tickets, transfers of general funds of the province or city, contributions of member institutions in the case of private schools, or donations from the private sector.

National funding for programs

Section 13 authorizes annual appropriation of five million pesos for five consecutive years, starting with the fiscal year next following the approval of the Act.
Section 13 requires the five-year annual appropriation to constitute a revolving fund to finance the Department of Education’s five-year physical education and sports development program.
Section 13 makes the revolving fund subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission and approved by the Secretary of Education.
Section 13 requires that after the five-year revolving fund period, sums necessary to carry on the program must be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

National funding for sports centers

Section 14 authorizes annual appropriation of five million pesos for ten consecutive years, starting with the fiscal year next following the approval of the Act.
Section 14 requires these annual appropriations to be deposited with the Philippine National Bank to constitute the funds of the Commission under Section 4.
Section 14 requires transfer of all unexpended balances following termination of the ten-year program to the credit of the Department of Education.
Section 14 requires unexpended balances to be expended for the schools’ sports development program under rules and regulations prescribed by the President of the Philippines.

Repeal clause

Section 15 repeals all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 5708.