SENATOR Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada believes that providing elementary and high school students digital copies of textbooks is the only way to realize the ideal 1:1 textbook-student ratio.

“Kung pipilitin natin na mabigyan ng sapat na bilang ng libro ang bawat mag-aaral sa mga pampublikong paaralan, matatagalan pa ito. Ang pagkakaroon ng digital copies na maa-access nila gamit ang internet ang tanging paraan na nakikita ko upang magutunan ang kanilang pangangailangan,” Estrada said.

He filed Senate Bill 2075 or the proposed Philippine Online Library Act which seeks to establish a Philippine Online Library which would serve as the repository of all digitized copies of textbooks and reference materials being used by students in public elementary and secondary levels.

Under the bill, the Department of Education will provide digitized copies of all textbooks and reference books in elementary and secondary schools.

These shall be compiled in the proposed Philippine Online Library, which shall be jointly managed by the DepEd and the Department of Information and Communication Technology.

Estrada said that making books available online “will not only complement the existing physical libraries in schools and local government units around the country but will also aid both teachers and students especially those who have utilized various learning modalities.”

“The insufficient number of textbooks in public schools remains a serious concern and with the sheer number of students, the achievement of the ideal textbook-to-student ratio is far from realization. In this light, the Philippine Online Library can supplement the required books, especially for students who have internet connectivity,” he said.

“Apart from serving the needs of the students and teachers, this reliable database will be useful by both present and future generations,” he added.

To ensure access to the digital books, the DepEd shall provide computers and laptops to primary and secondary public schools nationwide while the DICT shall provide fast and reliable internet.

“Recycling of computers, laptops, etc of all national government agencies, GOCCs, and government financial institutions shall be required,” Estrada said.

The DepEd and the National Library of the Philippines shall have joint custody over the digitized copies of the textbooks.

An initial P500 million shall be appropriated by Congress for the implementation of the project.