SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Second Regular Session ) ) ) SENATE S. B. NO. 2440 Introduced by SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA AN ACT DECLARING "BAYBAYIN" AS THE NATIONAL WRITING SYSTEM OF THE PHILIPPINES, PROVIDING FOR ITS PROMOTION, PROTECTION, PRESERV A TION AND CONSERVATION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "National Writing 2 3 System Act of 2014" . SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 4 inculcate, propagate and preserve the cultural heritage and treasures of the 5 Philippines for the evolution and development of patriotism among the citizenry by 6 giving utmost priority to the conservation and promotion of arts, letters and culture. 7 Towards this end, there is a need to promote, protect, preserve and conserve 8 "Baybayin" as the National Writing System of the Philippines, using it as a tool for 9 cultural and economic development to create a consciousness, respect and pride for 10 the legacies of Filipino cultural history, heritage and our authentic identity. 11 SEC. 3. Declaration of "Baybayin" as the National Writing System of the 12 Philippines. - To generate greater awareness on the plight of "Baybayin" and foster 13 wider appreciation on its importance and beauty, "Baybayin" is hereby declared the 14 National Writing System of the Philippines. As used in this Act, "Baybayin" shall refer 15 to all existing and discovered ancient and traditional scripts of the Philippine 16 indigenous peoples.