Senate bill seeks to give poor students access to cheaper books

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manuel “Lito”  Lapid has filed a bill seeking to make cheaper textbooks available to underprivileged students in colleges and universities.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, Senate Bill No. 898 — the proposed Cheaper Books for the Poor Act — aims to establish a mechanism that would provide cheaper textbooks and other materials for students.

Lapid said some college students still could not afford some textbooks despite the free tuition given to them under Republic Act No. 10931.

Under the bill, students could borrow books at an affordable price or loan basis to lower cost of “purchasing college and post-graduate textbooks and supplemental materials.”

Book rental distribution branches in various towns, cities, and will be put up with the help of the Philippine Textbook Rent Foundation (PTRF).

PTRF, which will become an attached agency of Commission on Higher Education, will be in charge “of reproduction and procurement of the books needed in college and post-graduate studies.”

/atm