ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DepEd, DILG hold historic first meeting under ECCD System Act to strengthen early childhood care

DepEd, DILG hold historic first meeting under ECCD System Act to strengthen early childhood care

Published Oct 17, 2025 12:13 pm
DepEd and DILG hold historic first ECCD Council meeting under RA 12199, strengthening early childhood care, holistic development, and feeding programs nationwide. (Photo from DepEd)
DepEd and DILG hold historic first ECCD Council meeting under RA 12199, strengthening early childhood care, holistic development, and feeding programs nationwide. (Photo from DepEd)
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) convened the 46th Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Governing Board Meeting on Friday, October 17, marking the first organizational meeting under the newly signed ECCD System Act (RA 12199).
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla presided over the meeting, with DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara serving as co-chair.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla (right) presides over the 46th ECCD Governing Board Meeting in Makati City, with DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara (left) as co-chair, marking the first session under the newly signed ECCD System Act. (Photo from DepEd)
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla (right) presides over the 46th ECCD Governing Board Meeting in Makati City, with DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara (left) as co-chair, marking the first session under the newly signed ECCD System Act. (Photo from DepEd)
Held in Makati City, the historic session focused on implementing a whole-of-government approach to early childhood care, emphasizing feeding programs and holistic child development—priorities close to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s heart.
“This is a very important law, malapit sa puso ng Presidente (it’s close to the heart of the President),” said Angara.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara highlights the government’s commitment to feeding programs and holistic development during the historic ECCD Council meeting. (Photo from DepEd)
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara highlights the government’s commitment to feeding programs and holistic development during the historic ECCD Council meeting. (Photo from DepEd)
“We are here to support its implementation, particularly the feeding programs and holistic development initiatives,” he added.
Key highlights from the ECCD Council Meeting
The ECCD Council, previously under DepEd, is now attached to the DILG, with both DILG and DepEd serving as co-chairpersons. This new structure aims to strengthen local government mobilization and interagency coordination.
Member agencies, including DSWD, CHED, TESDA, DOH, NNC, and DA, convene to coordinate nationwide early childhood care initiatives under RA 12199. (Photo from DepEd)
Member agencies, including DSWD, CHED, TESDA, DOH, NNC, and DA, convene to coordinate nationwide early childhood care initiatives under RA 12199. (Photo from DepEd)
Member agencies include the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Health (DOH), National Nutrition Council (NNC), and Department of Agriculture (DA).
All local government units (LGUs) are mandated to establish ECCD Offices to oversee the work of Child Development Teachers (CDTs) and Child Development Workers (CDWs). These offices are to implement standardized plantilla positions and salary grades: SG 11 for CDTs, SG 10 for CDWs with associate degrees, and SG 8 for other qualified CDWs.
To professionalize ECCD personnel, national assessments, certification, training programs, and scholarship support will be provided to ensure that all workers meet the required standards.
Private sector participation is encouraged through incentives under the Adopt-a-School Act, promoting donations to public Child Development Centers. Meanwhile, a joint congressional oversight committee will monitor and evaluate the law’s implementation and impact.
LGUs are now mandated to establish ECCD Offices to oversee Child Development Teachers and Workers, ensuring standardized positions, training, and certification nationwide. (Photo from DepEd)
LGUs are now mandated to establish ECCD Offices to oversee Child Development Teachers and Workers, ensuring standardized positions, training, and certification nationwide. (Photo from DepEd)
The draft Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) are in the final stages of completion, following consultations with DILG, DepEd, council representatives, and civil society organizations from July to September 2025. A ceremonial signing is planned once the IRR is finalized.
Council membership includes permanent members, education experts, and representatives from the academe. Selection criteria emphasize advanced degrees in early childhood education, relevant professional experience, recognized expertise, and good moral standing. Regular council meetings are proposed for the last Friday or during the last week of each quarter.
Additionally, a resolution was discussed to authorize the ECCD Executive Director to enter into memoranda of agreement (MOAs) on behalf of the Council under limited conditions.
Signed on May 8, 2025, the ECCD System Act aims to institutionalize a national system for early childhood care and development, ensuring that children aged 0–4 receive developmentally appropriate care, education, nutrition, and social services.
Angara emphasized DepEd’s commitment to supporting LGUs and partner agencies in fully implementing the ECCD System, aligning with the government’s vision for holistic child development.

Related Tags

ECCD System Act 2025 DepEd DILG ECCD meeting early childhood care Philippines DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.