Las Pinas solon pushes for more student privileges

From abs-cbnnews.com:

MANILA — Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Villar has moved to grant additional privileges to public and private students at all levels to ease the pressure of high cost of education in the country.

The lawmaker filed House Bill 4314, which gives students 20 per cent discount on land, air, and sea transport fares during the school year, and 10 per cent discount on basic school supplies to be availed during the enrollment period.

Students will also be granted a 10 per cent discount on medical services in both government and private clinics, as well as a 10 per cent discount on admission fees in museums, art galleries, libraries and stage theaters.

The proposed Student Privilege Act of 2014 mandates schools, colleges, universities and other education institutions to provide students duly-signed, validated and non-transferable identification cards, which shall contain the list of privileges granted by the act.

According to Villar, the bill seeks to alleviate the difficulty of parents and students in coping with the rising cost of education in the country.

“The cost of education has considerably increased over the years in the country,” Villar said. “Apart from the tuition fee, our students and their parents are beset with other expenses such as transportation, school supplies, books, medical and dental fees and also admission fees to galleries, museums and stage theaters.”

“Such scenario has been detrimental to our national development as many of our young people drop out of school,” Villar said.

Under the bill, first and second-time violators is punishable with imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month, or a fine not more than P1,000, or both at the discretion of the court.

The third violation shall be punishable by the same penalty, with the addition of revocation of the business license or permit.

In case of partnership, corporation, association or group, the penalty shall be imposed on the President, Treasurer, Secretary or any other person responsible for the violation.

If the offender is not a Filipino citizen, he shall, after serving the sentence, be deported immediately without further proceedings by the Bureau of Immigration.