Dear PAO,
I received a letter from my daughter’s school requesting a monetary donation to support the ongoing construction of a multi-purpose gymnasium in their campus. According to the letter, the gymnasium will be used for academic-related gatherings and social events for the students and faculty. Can the school conduct such a solicitation? I was told that a permit might be required for such activity.
Pauline
Dear Pauline,
The spirit of Bayanihan, or community cooperation, is deeply rooted in Philippine culture. Given the natural inclination of Filipinos to help one another, there exists a need to establish legal guidelines for conducting donation drives to ensure they are properly regulated.
Under Section 2 of Presidential Decree 1564, otherwise known as the Solicitation Permit Law, any person, corporation, organization, or association wishing to solicit or receive contributions for charitable or public welfare purposes must first secure a permit.
Particularly, the law provides that:
“Section 2. Any person, corporation, organization, or association desiring to solicit or receive contributions for charitable or public welfare purposes shall first secure a permit from the Regional Offices of the Department of Social Services and Development as provided in the Integrated Reorganization Plan. Upon the filing of a written application for a permit in the form prescribed by the Regional Offices of the Department of Social Services and Development, the Regional Director or his duly authorized representative may, in his discretion, issue a permanent or temporary permit or disapprove the application. In the interest of the public, he may in his discretion renew or revoke any permit issued under Act 4075.”
The Department of Social Services and Development, now known as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), is tasked to regulate the conduct of public solicitations. Accordingly, before any person, corporation, organization or association can conduct a solicitation for charitable or public welfare purposes of any form, a permit from the DSWD is mandatory.
To answer your question, the general rule is that all entities intending to conduct solicitations must secure a permit. However, Article V, Section B of the DSWD Memorandum Circular 5, Series of 2021, otherwise known as Guidelines in the Processing of Regional and National Public Solicitation Permits, provides the exemptions from securing a public solicitation permit. One is public solicitation conducted by schools, universities, or colleges. According to the guideline:
“The following shall be exempted from securing public solicitation permits:
“1. Organizations and agencies created by law that specifically confer them with authority to solicit or conduct fund campaign for charitable, social and/or public welfare purposes.
“2. United Nations (UN) Agencies, Instruments and Missions as covered by the UN Charter.
“3. Solicitation activities for religious purposes (e.g. construction of church, mosque or any structure for worship; evangelization or propagation of faith; welfare program of the church or congregation to their members). However, religious organizations conducting solicitation activities for charitable and public welfare activities shall be required to secure solicitation permit from the DSWD.
“4. Solicitation activities conducted within and among officemates, clan members, social/civic groups or associations such as alumni associations, fraternities or sororities, etc.
“5. Solicitation activities conducted by and within schools/universities/colleges for purposes of supporting scholars and infrastructure projects.
“6. Caroling during Christmas Seasons and other religious festivities.
“7. Request for support of a person from a government agency whose mandate include providing support or financial assistance such as but not limited to medical assistance, educational assistance, transportation assistance and burial assistance.”
Clearly, the solicitation conducted by your child’s school for the purpose of constructing a multi-purpose gymnasium may be exempted from the requirement to secure a permit if it is shown that the public solicitation is solely for the purpose of such infrastructure project. If the funds being solicited are intended for purposes other than infrastructure projects or supporting scholars, a permit is mandatory.
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]
