Recognizing the importance of having equal access to higher education, the House of Representatives approved House Bill 9015 or the proposed “Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) Act.”
TINGOG Party-list Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre principally authored the measure.
In his sponsorship speech, Committee on Higher and Technical Education Chairperson and Baguio City Representative Mark Go stated that people with proven competency should have access to educational opportunities to realize their full potential and prepare for higher-value career paths needed for global competitiveness.
“We all know that the acquisition of knowledge and skills does not only take place within the confines of the classroom.”
“We all know that the acquisition of knowledge and skills does not only take place within the confines of the classroom,” Go said.
The ETEEAP is an equivalency and accreditation pathway for obtaining a bachelor’s degree for high school graduates, postsecondary technical-vocational graduates, and college undergraduates with at least five years of professional experience.
The veteran legislator also noted that institutionalizing the ETEEAP as an alternative learning program will allow workers, employees, professionals, and other undergraduate adults with acquired competencies to obtain a degree by recognizing their work experience, knowledge, abilities, and expertise as school credits.
Other measures approved on Second Reading were
1) HB 6933, which seeks to declare Pampanga as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines;”
2) HB 9045, which would provide the Muslim Filipinos better access to Shari’a courts; and
3) HB 4641 that would declare General Santos City as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines.”
