Republic Act No. 11699

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1

August 30 of every year is hereby declared as “National Press Freedom Day”, a working holiday, in honor of Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the father of Philippine Journalism, who wrote under the pen name “Plaridel”, and who was born on August 30, 1850.

Section 2

To ensure the meaningful observance and celebration of National Press Freedom Day, all government agencies and instrumentalities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units, as well as the private sector shall afford sufficient time and opportunity for their employees to engage and participate in any related activity to be conducted in the premises of their respective offices or establishments.

Section 3

The Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), in consultation with the Office of the President (OP), government and private media organizations, shall lead public and private schools at all levels in organizing consciousness-raising activities on the importance of the press, their rights and social responsibilities, and the elimination of all forms of violence against the press.

Section 4

This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

(SGD.) LORD ALLAN JAY Q. VELASCO Speaker of the House of Representatives	(SGD.) VICENTE C. SOTTO III President of the Senate

This Act was passed by the Senate of the Philippines as Senate Bill No. 670 on January 31, 2022 and adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill No. 9182 on February 2,2022.

(SGD.) MARK LLANDRO L. MENDOZA Secretary General House of Representatives	(SGD.) MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA Secretary of the Senate

Approved: APR 13 2022

(SGD.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE President of the Philippines