Lawmaker sees end to 'no permit, no exam' rule

LAGUNA 1st District Rep. Maria Rene Ann Lourdes Matibag, one of the principal authors of the newly signed law that prohibits schools from barring students with unpaid dues from taking their examinations, expects that no poor student will miss major examinations after the finalization of the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of Republic Act 11984.

In a statement on Wednesday, Matibag said she does not want students to experience what her husband, lawyer Melvin Matibag, went through.

«My husband had experienced being singled out and embarrassed in the middle of his class because he did not take his exam due to unpaid tuition. I don't want students to experience the same fate as my husband; thus, I am very much thankful that this law has already passed,» Matibag said.

Republic Act 11984, signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on March 11, would allow financially disadvantaged students to take examinations without a permit while balancing the needs of schools and colleges.

«We laud President Marcos for signing RA 11984. The signing of the law is the culmination of my campaign that would give every student a fair chance of studying and taking their exams even if they have outstanding fees in their school,» Matibag said.

She assured the public that the law would have enough safeguards and provisions to help not only poor students but also schools, especially since a big portion of tuition is used for the school's operational costs and teachers' salaries.

«We really believe the safeguards included in the current law are fair enough for both students and school administrators. We are trying to balance out the needs of both parties as we do not want both students and the administrators to be at the losing end of this bill,» Matibag said.

Meanwhile, House Committee on Basic Education and Culture chairman, Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, said it would be «very unfair» if the law determined who would be defined as «indigents» as the parameters would be on a case-to-case basis.

«Our agencies should have flexibility, whether national or local, to tell who is their disadvantaged student to receive assistance or help from both national and local government,»