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Remits
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
F irst R eg u lar Session )
16 JUL 20 P5:19

SENATE

S.B. No. 7 2 2

Introduced by S E N A TO R C Y N TH IA A . V IL L A R

AN ACT
PEN ALIZIN G TH E IM PO SITION O F A NO PERM IT, NO E XAM P O LIC Y O R A N Y
SUCH PO LICY T H A T PR O H IBITS STU D ENTS O F PO ST-SECO ND AR Y A N D
HIGHER ED UC ATIO N FROM TA K IN G TH EIR M IDTERM OR FINAL
EXAM IN ATIO N O R O TH E R S IM ILA R A S S E S S M E N TS DUE T O UNPAID TUITION
A N D O TH E R S C H O O L FEES

E X P LA N A TO R Y NOTE

To m ost Filipino parents, education is the m ost precious inheritance they can
pass on to th e ir children. Even to the poorest o f fam ilies, they consider it im perative
to send their children to school, and this com es w ith hope that the educated children
can help in im proving their quality o f life to a level that is com fortable. In the
Philippine setting, it is not peculiar th a t fam ilies m ortgage a piece o f their land or
homes, and even sell a few o f th e ir possessions in o rd er th a t their children could
pursue college or tertiary education. In short, it is typical fo r Filipino parents to
sacrifice so much so that their children could get education.

Unfortunately fo r students and th e ir parents, schools can be quite exacting

w hen it comes to tuition, and this could not be any m ore apparent than during
examinations. W hile fam ilies understand that tuition and other fees are necessary fo r
schools to provide the service required o f them, they encounter unavoidable
circum stances at tim es w hen they could not m eet th e obligation to pay the tuition fee
on time. And w hile CHED has issued a M em orandum O rder requiring colleges and
universities to provide a S tudent A ffairs and Services (SAS) office that w ill provide its
students a package o f services, including guidance and counseling, career and job
placement, econom ic enterprise developm ent and scholarship and financial
assistance, it does not categorically prohibit the no permit, no exam policy and so
this does not effectively stop schools from practicing it.

Not too long ago, in 2013, w e w ere quite distressed w hen w e heard the news
about a prom ising student in a prem ier state university w ho allegedly com m itted
suicide because she w as not allow ed to take her college exam ination due to her
inability to pay the school fees. T o my mind, this could have been avoided, if only
w e have in place a more considerate policy tow ards students undergoing financial
difficulties.