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Philippine President Marcos signs law strengthening childcare for kids ages 0-5

Signed on May 8, the “Early Childhood Care and Development System Act,” the Presidential Communications Office said the law was passed to “implement the State’s policy to safeguard and promote every child’s right to holistic well-being, growth, and dedicated care.”

Zacarian Sarao

Zacarian Sarao

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr speaks during a campaign rally of senatorial candidates under his party in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, on May 9, 2025, ahead of the midterm elections. PHOTO: AFP

May 15, 2025

MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12199, which prioritizes early education, proper nutrition, and caring support for children ages zero to five.

Signed on May 8, RA No. 12199, or the “Early Childhood Care and Development System Act,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the law was passed to “implement the State’s policy to safeguard and promote every child’s right to holistic well-being, growth, and dedicated care.”

READ: Marcos approves fund request for child development centers

The new law repealed RA No. 10410, otherwise known as the “Early Years Act (EYA) of 2013.”

Under RA No. 12199, the ECCD Council is assigned to care for children below age five, while the Department of Education (DepEd) oversees those aged five to eight, in line with the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

The ECCD will then be institutionalized through multi-sectoral and interagency collaboration at the national and local levels in government with other stakeholders.

“The law aims to reduce child mortality, support all areas of child development, prepare young children for formal schooling, and establish early intervention systems for those with special needs,” the PCO said in a statement.

RA No. 12199 lists the following as the ECCD Council’s objectives:

  • Reduce infant and child mortality rates, and subsequently eliminate preventable deaths, by ensuring that adequate health and nutrition programs are accessible to young children and their parents and parent-substitutes, from the prenatal period throughout the early childhood years;
  • Enhance the physical-motor, socio-emotional, cognitive, language, psychological, and spiritual development of infants and young children;
  • Facilitate a seamless transition to, and ensure that young children are adequately prepared for, the formal learning system that begins at kindergarten;
  • Establish an efficient system for early identification, prevention, referral, and intervention for the wide range of children with special needs below five years of age, using the Child Find System under Republic Act No. 11650;
  • Reinforce the role of parents and parent-substitutes as the primary caregivers and educators of their children, especially those below five years of age;
  • Improve the quality standards of public and private ECCD programs through, among others, recognition and accreditation; and upgrade and update the capabilities of service providers and their supervisors through their continuing education, reskilling, and upskilling.
  • Ensure that special support is provided in the delivery of the ECCD programs and services for the poor, disadvantaged, and minority communities, and that children with disabilities are accommodated through the most appropriate languages and means of communication, and in environments that maximize academic and social development; and
  • Employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified to manage young children with developmental delays and disabilities, and train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education.

Meanwhile, local government units are mandated to play a key role in implementing ECCD programs through their respective ECCD offices.

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