Despite the established benefits of early childhood care education on a child’s development, the quality of such programs still depends on local government units (LGUs), Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said. That is why, it is imperative to strengthen the involvement of LGUs in the implementation of early childhood care and development (ECCD) programs, the senator said. Gatchalian said the quality of ECCD services is highly dependent on the financial and budget framework, resources, and political will of the LGU. With this, he said the ECCD Council should submit to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) its proposed reforms to improve governance and the operational structure of the National ECCD System. “If we don’t change the law, the structure, the governance, we will never achieve universal coverage and produce high-quality child-development teachers and workers, because all of these are in the hands of local government units,” said Gatchalian. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has estimated that there will be 11.1 million children aged 0 to 4 this July, 4.5 million of which are aged 3 to 4 that the ECCD System should capture. Gatchalian said data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) revealed, however, that there were only 1,260,707 young children enrolled in child development centers (CDCs) for School Year (SY) 2021-2022. Gatchalian earlier filed the proposed Basic Education and Early Childhood Education Alignment Act or Senate Bill No. 2029, which seeks to address challenges hounding the implementation of ECCD programs. The bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10410 or the Early Years Act of 2013 to ensure that the ECCD curriculum is aligned with the K to 12 basic education. The measure also mandates greater responsibilities on the LGUs, through the local school board on the implementation of ECCD programs. Under the bill, LGUs shall also aim to achieve universal coverage for the national ECCD System by identifying and supporting young children, their parents, and their parent substitutes. LGUs shall also be mandated to create plantilla positions for child development workers and child development teachers and promote their professional development.