SENATOR Mark Villar filed a measure that seeks to designate May 16th of every year a special working holiday to celebrate the National Education Support Personnel Day.

Senate Bill 1859 or the proposed National Education Support Personnel Day Act will mandate the Department of Education to conduct events during its observance.

The DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education shall serve as the lead agencies in the preparation and implementation of the annual program of activities for the observance of the National Education Support Personnel Day.

“Education support personnel are vital to the delivery of quality education and to ensuring a safe and positive learning environment,” Villar said in his explanatory note.

He added that education support personnel must enjoy the same status, rights, and conditions as other education personnel with similar academic and technical qualifications and experience.

“It cannot be gainsaid that quality education can be provided in the Philippines if teachers do not have an effective support personnel to assist them in carrying out their responsibility,” the senator said.