Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, September 2 called on the government to ensure that the new law strengthening the involvement of parents in children’s education, growth and development would be fully implemented.
Gatchalian said the new law or Republic Act No. 11908, known as the Parent Effectiveness Service (PES) Program Act, seeks to establish the PES program to assist all parents and parent-substitutes in strengthening their knowledge and skills in responding to their parental duties and responsibilities amid the challenges of innovation, social media and changes in values.
The measure lapsed into law last July 28, 2022. The new law covers fathers, mothers and parent-substitutes and will be implemented in every city and municipality through their respective social welfare and development offices and local government units (LGUs).
“Sa pamamagitan ng Parent Effectiveness Service, matutulungan natin ang mga magulang na magampanan nang mahusay ang kanilang tungkulin sa kanilang mga anak (Through the PES, we can help our parents carry out their responsibilities for their children effectively),” Gatchalian said.
“Ang mga magulang ang ating unang guro at nananatiling mahalaga ang kanilang papel sa edukasyon ng mga kabataan, kaya dapat natin silang tulungang maging epektibo sa kanilang papel (Our parents are our first teachers and their role in educating our youth remains highly important so we need to help them become effective parents),” said Gatchalian.
The law primarily aims to encourage parents and parent-substitutes to fully support their children’s cognitive development, most importantly their skills in reading, mathematics, and science.
It also helps educate parents about the rights of children and familiarizing them with risk factors to prevent child abuse.
Under the law, LGU officials are required to prepare an annual complete program covering all barangays of their respective jurisdictions and should prioritize parents and parent-substitutes with vulnerable children such as children at risk, children in conflict with the law, and children who have been exposed to or involved in violence in homes and communities.
The law also seeks to prioritize solo parents, adolescent parents, and their parents or parent-substitutes.
The PES program is also designed to address the challenges of parenting, health and nutrition, building the child’s positive behavior, keeping a healthy physical environment for the child, and keeping children safe in times of disasters.