Explanation of Vote 

House Bill 7584  – An Act Allowing Elementary And Secondary Learners With Unpaid Tuition And Other School Fees To Take The Periodic And Final Examinations On Good Cause And Justifiable Grounds

By Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto

8 May 2023

Mr. Speaker, my dear colleagues.

Simple lang naman ang lohika sa panukalang ito. At klaro ang tamang prinsipyong ipinapahiwatig.

Kung ang taong bumili ng kotseng hulugan ay nagmintis sa kanyang buwanang hulog, hindi naman agad hinahatak ang sasakyan. 

Ganoon din sa bahay. Kung di nakapagbayad ng monthly amortization, di rin agad nireremata.

Kotse man o condo, walang automatic locking mechanism ang mga pintuan ng mga ito na pipigil sa pagpasok ng may-ari kapag pumalya sa pagbayad ng buwanang hulog.

Bagkus, ang ginagawa ay binibigyan ng palugit upang magampanan ang obligasyon.

Forfeiture of mortgaged property is not automatic when payment of amortization is delayed. The continued use is allowed until the payables have been settled.

And the bigger the assets of a company in arrears, the more generous the consideration given, every help extended, to avoid it from going under.

Bailouts, using taxpayers’ funds, have saved corporations in distress. Debts converted to equity, surcharges erased, and even completely written off.

And many of these legislated lifelines were debated and approved in this very hall. 

Using that benchmark of compassion, it would be hard not to vote for this measure, as it involves puny amounts. 

Kaya naman siguro kung ang isang bata sa elementarya ay hindi nakapagbayad ng tuition, masakit na parusa ang pigilan sya sa pagkuha ng pagsusulit.

Especially, if it is not the child’s fault. He should not be punished for an oversight not of his own making.

And to be barred from taking the exam because his tuition is not up to date is mental anguish that hurts more than a bully’s insult.

The embarrassment caused by a single act of exclusion, no matter how fleeting, wounds the child’s spirit that perhaps it will never fully heal.

The conditions by which the policy this bill seeks to implement is fair to all – to the school, to the child, to the parents.

The title of the bill clearly spells out when it can be invoked: good cause and reasonable ground.

It does not extinguish any obligation. It merely allows a reasonable extension of its settlement.

This is a kind of arrangement which balances the student’s right to education and the school’s right to survive, which does not make victims out of either.

I vote Yes to this measure.