Section 3Sec./Art. 3

Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act:

(a) Disaster refers to the following: (1) a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources; (2) the result of the combination of: (i) the exposure to a hazard, (ii) the conditions of vulnerability that are present, and (iii) insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences, and (3) an event that causes loss of life injury, disease, and other negative effects on human, physical, mental, and social well-being, together with damage to property, destruction of assets, loss of services, social and economic disruption, and environmental degradation;

(b) Emergency refers to an unforeseen or sudden occurrence, especially danger, demanding immediate action;

(c) Higher Education refers to the stage of formal education, or its equivalent, requiring completion of secondary education and covering programs of study leading to bachelor and advanced degrees, including associate degrees;

(d) Higher Education Institutions (HEI) refers to an education institution authorized and recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to offer bachelor's degrees or graduate courses;

(e) Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) refer to duly accredited public HEIs established by local government units (LGUs) through an enabling ordinance, financially supported by the LGU concerned, and compliant with the policies, standards, and guidelines of the CHED;

(f) Private Higher Education Institutions refers to HEIs duly recognized by the CHED which are owned or operated by private individuals and entities;

(g) State of Calamity refers to a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damage to property, disruption of means of livelihood, roads, and a normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of natural or human-induced hazards;

(h) State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) refer to public HEIs established by law and managed by their respective independent and separate governing boards;

(i) Student Loan refers to a sum of money or other forms of accommodation exclusively intended for the payment of all fees, charges, and costs to SUCs, LUCs, private HEIs, and public and private Technical-Vocational Institutions (TVIs) is extended to students in exchange for repayment in the future as evidenced by a loan agreement in writing and duly executed for the purpose;

(j) Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) refers to post-secondary education or training process involving general education, the study of technologies and related sciences, acquisition of practical skills relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life, and comprising formal (organized programs as part of the school system) and non-formal (organized classes outside the school system) approaches; and

(k) Technical-Vocational Institutions (TVIs) refer to learning institutions offering TVET programs.