President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday approved the PHP700-million funding for the establishment of child development centers (CDCs) in 4th and 5th class municipalities.

“Gawin na natin ito (Let’s do it). I am thinking the daycare centers can also be CDCs. Ganoon na rin ‘yun eh (They are also the same). You have the same kind of training for the people. The kids are there,” Marcos said during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang with the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) and other concerned agencies.

EDCOM 2, a national commission tasked to undertake a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the education sector, has asked the President to allocate PHP700 million in the next three years to provide low-income barangays access to early childhood development initiatives.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) committed to fund the establishment of CDCs for this year.

The PHP700 million, which will be coursed through the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), will finance the development of CDCs for every municipality, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said during the meeting.

According to EDCOM 2’s Year Two Report, around 5,800 barangays still do not have CDCs despite a 1990 law requiring each barangay to have at least one. Some 229 of them belong to low-income LGUs.

During the meeting, it was also noted that EDCOM 2 will work with the Commission on Higher Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Early Childhood Care and Development Council to increase the number of early childhood education graduates in regions identified to be lacking.

This is in line with the EDCOM 2’s call to “fix the foundations” of the education system through early childhood education, nutrition, and early-grade numeracy and literacy.

“By fixing the foundations – nutrition, early childhood education, literacy and numeracy by Grade 3- we will ensure that our reforms are strategic, targeted, and enduring,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee said.

Marcos, meanwhile, underscored the importance of addressing the challenges in education.

“We’ve been talking about economic development, we’ve been talking about inflation, agriculture, et cetera. It’s time to shift focus to education. That’s our only hope for the future,” he said.

Yee thanked Marcos and the DBM for the swift action on their funding request. (PNA)