Gatchalian: CDCs to rise in fourth, fifth-class municipalities

SENATOR Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian hailed the signing of a joint memorandum circular (JMC), which will allocate funding for the establishment of child development centers (CDCs) in fourth and fifth-class municipalities.

Under the JMC, funding for these CDCs will be coursed through the local government support fund (LGSF). P1 billion is allotted for the construction of 328 CDCs in low-income local government units (LGUs).

Gatchalian first proposed the use of the LGSF for the establishment of CDCs in fourth and fifth-class municipalities during the deliberations on the Early Childhood Care and Development System Act.

Under Gatchalian's proposal, which was eventually carried in the ratified measure, allocations from the LGSF under the annual General Appropriations Act shall include a line-item allocation for the establishment of CDCs; the hiring of Child Development Teachers and Child Development Workers; and addressing other human resource needs in fourth and fifth-class municipalities.

In its Year Two Report, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II) found that some 5,800 barangays do not have CDCs, with 229 of them belonging to low-income LGUs.

"Allocating funds for CDCs in municipalities that need it is a huge milestone for us. It will allow us to widen our service in early childhood care and development, which provides children with a strong foundation," Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said in Filipino.