SENATOR Leila de Lima has filed a measure that will exempt educational applications, gadgets, computers and e-books from value-added tax for the benefit of teachers and students.

In filing Senate Bill 1872, De Lima, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Wel-fare and Rural Development, seeks to amend Section 109 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 to encourage learning amid the current global health crisis.

A World Bank study revealed that more than 1.7 billion students have been affected by the un-precedented educational crisis brought by the pandemic.

To adapt to the new normal, the Department of Education instituted a blended learning approach, which is a combination of online distance learning or e-learning and learning through modules delivered to students who don’t have access to the internet.

E-learning utilizes computers, smartphones, tablets, and the internet to bring education closer to learners.

“This novel learning mode is considered as an indispensable approach in today’s educational system with the indefinite suspension of face-to-face classes,” De Lima said.

A survey showed that a huge fraction of teachers who facilitate e-learning and their students do not have the necessary tools.

In filing the measure, De Lima said exempting the educational tools from VAT for the principal use of students and teachers can make a difference because many Filipinos still live in poverty.

“Clearly, the inequality to the access of these tools and technologies is a reflection of the coun-try’s socio-economic gap and the ‘digital divide’ worsened by the pandemic. Many households are forced to share their gadgets; between parents who need them for work and the students who use them for education,” she said.

“In exempting educational tools and gadgets that will be utilized by the students and teachers from VAT, prices of these essential commodities which we can now consider as essential, will be reduced significantly therefore making them cheaper and more obtainable,” she added.

De Lima said that her measure will be an important instrument in encouraging students to remain in school.

“While the educational landscape has drastically evolved during this pandemic, the State must also come to the aid of this sector which has likewise been badly hit by the changing times,” she added.