Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Co-chairperson of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), has raised a call for urgent reforms to address gaps in early education in the Philippines. Following the release of the commission’s Year Two Report, Gatchalian emphasized the critical need to strengthen the foundations of learning among Filipino children.
“The message is clear and unambiguous: we need to fix the very foundations of the system. We must realign our priorities to the earliest stages of education,” Gatchalian stated, stressing the importance of addressing issues that affect children during their formative years.
The report, titled 'Fixing the Foundations', highlighted several vulnerabilities in early childhood education. It revealed that many children face stunted growth and deep deficits in literacy and numeracy, which hinder their long-term development. “These problems do not just hinder our individual potential; they reverberate throughout a lifetime”, Gatchalian added.
One of the key findings of the report is the lack of access to Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programs for many families. Insufficient child development centers (CDCs) and inequitable access to quality education have been longstanding issues. Gatchalian noted that over 5,800 barangays still do not have daycare centers, despite a law mandating their establishment in every barangay.
Gatchalian also emphasized the importance of addressing nutrition during a child’s first 1,000 days. Alarmingly, only 25% of Filipino infants aged 6 to 12 months meet the recommended energy intake, and one in four children under five years old suffers from stunting, reflecting widespread malnutrition.
The senator called for a focused and consistent approach to addressing these gaps, particularly with the proposed amendments to the Early Years Act of 2013. The amending law, which has already passed both houses of Congress, seeks to provide universal ECCD access for all children under five years old by expanding the National ECCD System nationwide.
In addition to addressing early childhood gaps, Gatchalian also urged the effective implementation of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program under Republic Act No. 12028. This program aims to help students recover from learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on those struggling in reading, mathematics, and science.
Gatchalian concluded by urging policymakers to prioritize foundational issues in education. “All these findings point to one clear message: we must act now to fix the foundations of our education system”, he said.
