Press Release
December 6, 2012

ANGARA CONFIDENT OF PASSAGE OF EARLY YEARS ACT,
 CALLS FOR BICAM

Senator Edgardo J. Angara is hopeful that the Early Years Act (EYA) will finally be enacted into law, given the House of Representatives has already passed its version of the measure, a few months after the Senate.

Sponsored and authored by Angara, the EYA aims to institutionalize a National System for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) which is comprehensive, integrative and sustainable, involving multi-sectoral and inter-agency collaboration at the national and local levels of government.

"Now that we are overhauling our educational system, it is also time for us to expand its coverage to also include children aged 4 and below, " said Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

"By undertaking some changes in the institutional setup of current early childhood education programs, we make sure that the youngest of our youth receive proper intellectual stimuli and nutritional support."

The measure will make the current ECCD council an attached agency of the Department of Education (DepEd), with a Governing Board that includes the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), the National Nutritional Council (NNC) and the various leagues of local government units.

An earlier version of the EYA was passed by Congress last year, but later vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III for budgetary constraints.

This version stipulated an initial allocation of P1 billion plus P500 million every year for five years for the implementation of a nationwide ECCD program. After the veto, the measure was refiled and the initial allocation of P1 billion removed.

Angara lauded both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the quick action on the current version of the law, even after the Presidential veto.

"The speedy passage speaks of the urgency and importance Congress attributes to this measure. I am confident that a bicameral conference committee will quickly be convened and a reconciled version will be up for signing by Malacanang very soon," stressed the former UP President.

Angara is also the author of the Universal Kindergarten Education Act (RA 10157) which grants all Filipino children equal opportunities to avail mandatory and compulsory kindergarten education.

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