National Book Development Board (Philippines)
The Philippines' National Book Development Board, abbreviated as NBDB, is an agency of the Philippine government under the administrative supervision of the Department of Education, responsible for developing and supporting the development of the Philippine book publishing industry. The NBDB sponsors the annual National Book Awards.History
The enactment of Republic Act 8047, also known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, was a clear demonstration of the government's attention to the important role of books in nation building. The law created the National Book Development Board which is tasked primarily to formulate and implement a National Book Policy with a corresponding National Book Development Plan geared towards the development of the Philippine book publishing industry.
The birth of the NBDB was a long struggle that started in 1998 in the halls of Congress by legislators who shared a vision and the desire to see the growth of the book publishing industry of the Philippines. That remarkable struggle ended on June 7, 1995 when His Excellency, President Fidel V. Ramos, signed into law Republic Act No. 8047, otherwise known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act, which created the National Book Development Board. Republic Act 8047 repealed Executive Order 492, series of 1991, as amended, the law that created the Instructional Materials Development Center under the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
