PRESIDENT MARCOS SIGNS LAWS ESTABLISHING SPECIAL BAGUIO HIGH SCHOOLS FOR SPORTS, ARTS
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed laws establishing the Baguio City Sports High School and Baguio City High School for the Arts, catering to talented youth across Baguio, the Cordilleras, and Northern Luzon.
On January 3, Marcos Jr. 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.”
Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, the primary author and sponsor of these laws, welcomed the laws’ passage as a “well-deserved development in providing an avenue for talented youth in Baguio and the greater Northern Luzon area to hone their skills and nurture outstanding talent in the country.”
“We thank President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for recognizing the importance of establishing these specialized high schools in the country in order to provide the proper support and training for our promising young athletes and artists, as we help open doors for greater opportunities,” Rep. Go said.
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 shall be administered by the Department of Education (DepEd) in coordination with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the National Academy for Sports (NAS).
It shall be administered and operated in accordance with the policies, guidelines and criteria to be issued by the NAS System Board of Trustees.
Meanwhile, 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 shall 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.
Rep. Go added that the Baguio City sports high school comes at an exciting time for Philippine sports, after the successful performance of the Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the highest-ranking Southeast Asian country finishing with four medals, including Carlos Yulo’s historic two gold medals.
Meanwhile, Go said that the arts-centered high school was also a milestone for Baguio city, which was the first Philippine city to be inducted into the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017.
According to Go, a formal academic institution focused on the arts would help ensure long-term sustainability in the creative sector, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
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