QUEZON City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo has filed a measure that mandates the establishment of a Philippine Electronic Library.

In filing House Bill 9895 or the proposed Philippine E-Library Act of 2021, Hipolito said it is high time for the country to establish vital cyberinfrastructures to improve the quality of education.

“Instead of having to spend their time in social media sites where misinformation is apparent, children should be encouraged to read and consume academic articles and books from the internet,” Hipolito said in her explanatory note.

The lawmaker added that Filipinos are heavy users of the internet.

In a report called Digital 2019, Filipinos were found to spend an average of 10 hours a day on the internet.

The measure mandates the Department of Education and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to jointly establish and manage the Philippine E-Library.

The E-Library will be the centralized electronic library and its use will be free of charge.