Press Release
May 10, 2011

EARLY YEARS ACT TO BENEFIT 17M CHILDREN--ANGARA

Following his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill 2802 or the Early Years Act (EYA) , Senator Edgardo J. Angara outlined the implementation scheme for the proposed early education system in the Philippines.

During the interpellation, Angara revealed that the Early Childhood Care and Development or ECCD program would cost the government Php500 million a year for the first five years, to benefit around 17 million children aged 0-6.

"We are able to minimize the initial funding requirement because the basic infrastructure for the child development centers is already there. We will be using the existing daycare centers throughout the country, turning them into more education-oriented institutions," he explained.

According to Angara, this conversion of established daycare centers is necessary because ECCD entails more than just child-minding and childcare--it includes the provision of health, nutrition, early education and social development services for the children.

"Right now, there are around 44 thousand barangays while there are 49 thousand registered daycare centers in the Philippines. Ideally, this would mean at least one daycare center for each Barangay, and more for the larger communities in rural areas," he said.

Community training for home-based programs will also be provided, to arm parents with the information, skills and support systems needed as the primary caregivers and educators of their children. Neighborhood-based play groups, family day care programs, parent education and home visiting programs will be established to harness and develop parents' strengths as providers of ECCD at home.

Supporting Agencies

The primary body to oversee the implementation of this law will be the ECCD Council. In addition to providing technical assistance and support to service providers, the council will also be responsible for monitoring ECCD benefits and outcomes.

Aside from the ECCD council and the Department of Education, two other government agencies shall be tasked with the accomplishment of this program:

The Department of Social Welfare and Development shall provide technical assistance and resources to support the child care program, parent effectiveness service, family child care and parent-child development programs, while the Department of Health shall support health care programs, growth monitoring and promotion and supplemental nutrition programs in the barangays.

History of the Bill

Senate Bill No. 2567 was originally filed in October last year by Angara to amend the existing ECCD system established by Republic Act 8980, which was enacted back in 2000.

The bill was recently re-filed by Angara together with Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Senator Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada as Senate Bill No. 2802. The new EYA is now awaiting the Second Reading.

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