BAGUIO CITY — President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has signed laws establishing the Baguio City Sports High School and Baguio City High School for the Arts, catering to talented youth in Baguio, the Cordilleras, and across Northern Luzon.
On Jan. 3, Mr. Marcos signed Republic Act (RA) 12119, which mandates the creation of the Baguio City Sports High School that shall offer sports-focused education, and RA 12118, which establishes the Baguio City High School for the Arts intended to “promote the sustained development of young Filipinos whose aptitude and skills in culture and the arts shall be properly encouraged and honed through education and specialized training programs.”
RA 12119 mandates the Baguio City Sports High School to implement a general secondary education curriculum as prescribed by the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 to students with potential in sports, in addition to developing learners’ athletic skills through subjects related to physical education and sports.
This specialized high school for sports will be administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) in coordination with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the National Academy for Sports (NAS). It will be administered and operated in accordance with the policies, guidelines and criteria to be issued by the NAS System Board of Trustees.
RA 12118 establishes the Baguio City High School for the Arts, which will also implement a general secondary education curriculum administered and supervised by the DepEd, in close coordination with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
The NCCA and CCP will provide policy direction and technical assistance to the school through the DepEd Cordillera Administrative Region Regional Office and the Schools Division Office of Baguio City.
Initial funds for the schools will be allocated from this year’s appropriation of the Schools Division Office of Baguio City, while subsequent funds for their operations shall be included in the annual national budget. — Artemio A. Dumlao