Leaders of the House of Representatives hailed Tuesday President Duterte’s signing into law of the measure seeking to institutionalize the Alternative Learning System (ALS), saying that it is a victory for all marginalized students.

TINGOG party-list Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez thanked Duterte for signing Republic Act No. 11510 or the ALS Act which institutionalizes a parallel learning system for non-formal sources of knowledge and skills.

“The enactment into law of the Alternative Learning System Act is a win for the millions of out-of-school children, youth, and adult learners, as well as Madrasah students, indigenous peoples, learners with disabilities, and other marginalized sectors. This law will strengthen the State support and mechanisms so our learners will  be able to complete the appropriate and functional literacy, life skills and basic education they deserve,” said Rep. Yedda,  one of the principal authors of the bill.

The chairperson of the House Committee on Welfare of Children described the approval of their group’s priority measure as  "a signal of hope for the future of our marginalized learners.”

"But more importantly, this is a signal that we have to work harder to ensure that our learners would directly benefit from this law and that the long-term goals of this measure will be realized,” she added.

Majority Leader Romualdez, who also principally authored the bill, also expressed gratitude to Duterte for prioritizing the approval of the pro-poor measure.

“President Duterte’s approval of this measure is consistent with his commitment to improve the lives of the Filipino people, especially our learners who wanted to pursue non-formal education. This is a step towards the fulfillment of our goal to provide education for all,” he said.

“Through this law, the government will not just support our ‘out-of-school children in special cases’ and adults, but also ALS teachers.”

RA No. 11510 mandates the Department of Education (DepEd), in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management and the Civil Service Commission, to create teaching positions and allocate corresponding salary grades to help strengthen the ALS Teachers Program.

The law entitles the ALS teachers to promotion to the next higher levels based on the CSC's qualification standards.

Covered by the ALS Act are out-of-school children in special cases or those children of official school age who are not enrolled in elementary or secondary schools due to economic, geographic, political, and cultural factors, and even social barriers; learners with disabilities or conditions, indigenous peoples, children in conflict with the law, and other marginalized sectors.