Citing the importance of National Child Development Centers (NCDCs) in preparing young children for their entry into school, Senator Juan Edgardo ‘’Sonny’’ Angara is pushing for the continuation of the funding provided by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for this program for another five years.
The establishment of the NCDCs is one of the main provisions of Republic Act (RA) No.10410, or the Early Years Act of 2013, which created the Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCDC).
The Early Years Act of 2013 created the Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCDC) and has as its flagship program the establishment of NCDCs and the conversion of existing day care centers into NCDCs.
Authored by Angara during his term as congressman of Aurora Province and his father, former Senate President Edgardo Angara, who was also sponsor of the measure, the law sought to transform day care centers from mere playrooms for children aged zero to four years old to education-oriented institutions.
“The objective of this law is to prepare very young children for their entry into school. Through the NCDCs, we have improved the health and nutrition of these children and reduced the rate of dropouts in school,” Angara said.
As of end-2022, the ECCDC reported that a total of 878 NCDCs have been established nationwide, representing 51 percent of all provinces, cities and municipalities in the country.
Apart from the regular appropriations provided under the national budget, the ECCDC also received P500 million per year from PAGCOR for the establishment of the NCDCs.
“We still have a ways to go in converting the day care centers to NCDCs and establishing more of these facilities for our children in all parts of the country. Sadly, the mandatory contributions of PAGCOR to this program ended in 2018. PAGCOR has played a huge role in the implementation of the Early Years Act and we would like to see the continuation of its contributions to the development of our children,” Angara said.
Based on RA No.10410, which was enacted in 2013, PAGCOR was required to contribute P500 million annually for five years as part of the funding sources for the establishment of NCDCs.
To pave the way for the resumption of PAGCOR’s support to the program, Angara has filed Senate Bill 1754 that seeks to amend RA 10410.
Under the bill, PAGCOR will be tasked to contribute P1 billion per year for another five years to the ECCDC to fund the establishment of new NCDCs and for the conversion of the existing day care centers and child development centers of the different local government units (LGUs).
The bill also provides for the creation of a Provincial Early Childhood Care and Development Office in all provinces to ensure the implementation of ECCD programs and projects in the respective localities.
To strengthen local government support and coordination towards the effective delivery of ECCD programs and services, the bill proposes to include the Department of the Interior and Local Government in the Governing Board of the ECCD Council.
Under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), a total of P232.38 million was allocated for the ECCDC for the establishment of NCDCs.
This was an increase of almost P173 million, through the intervention of the Senate, from the proposed budget submitted by Malacañang under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Angara is also the author of RA No. 10157, or the Free Kindergarten law that institutionalized kindergarten education as part of the country’s basic education system.